Safety, Solidarity, and Surtido Rico: CALI’s First Regional Member Meeting Recap
By Lorena Pike
On March 31, 2026, the Alameda County Training and Education Facility in Oakland, CA witnessed CALI’s First Regional Member Meeting and a free CIMCE workshop for members and friends, and it proved to be a successful, welcoming gathering! Many members and friends arrived early to mix and mingle over coffee and Mexican sweet bread, fruit, and surtido rico cookies —my personal favorite (no judgment; if you know, you know.)It was great to see people gathering in person again, especially after virtual meetings have become the norm for trainings. CALI is trying to avoid this trend by organizing get-togethers, meetings, and profdev events as frequently as possible. And honestly? The cookies alone are reason enough to show up.
Around 10:0 AM, CALI’s Chair Daniel Navarro formally opened the event by introducing me —CALI’s webmaster, treasurer, and ProfDev Committee chair— as the workshop presenter, and also recognized my role as instrumental to the formation of CALI and to the operational aspect of the organization in terms of web development, finances, and professional development. (In other words: if CALI were a ship, I’m quietly running the engine room.) The training, called Safety and Security for Court Interpreters, started with a disclaimer: “We are not here to learn personal defense techniques; rather, how to avoid maximum exposure while working in and out of the courtroom.” I explained why court interpreters are particularly exposed to safety concerns: we are frequently very close to inmates and court users —sometimes even closer than their defense attorney; often times LEPs do not understand our neutral role and we may become the target of blame or anger; and the cognitive demand of interpretation requires intense concentration, making it difficult to monitor anything else going on at the same time.
One key takeway in this section is the 21-foot rule —the distance an assailant can reach an interpreter in approximately 1.5 seconds. (Let that one marinate for a moment.) I also recommended not to linger outside courthouses, either in parking lots or community venues, as interpreters can become vulnerable, soft targets (Martin p. 26).
The next part of the training included the type of hearings that are highly emotionally charged, where court interpreters may be particularly vulnerable to a violent attack: sentencing hearings, child custody, child dependency, child support, restraining orders for civil harrasment, and plea hearings. Other areas of concern are holding cells and conference areas, jails and correctional facilities, as well as deposition settings without security screening —usually hotel conference venues or law firm offices. (Yes, that fancy conference room with the fancy coffemaker and tons of tea options counts too.) I also shared some statistics about violence against courtroom staff, including judges, court reporters, deputies, and CSOs. Some examples showed not only recent events —like the judge who was attacked by an out-of-custody defendant during his sentencing hearing at Las Vegas Regional Justice Center— but also incidents that happened twenty years ago, such as the shooting inside a courtroom in Atlanta, Georgia that resulted in three fatalities. (Martin, p. 6).
Key recommendations for interpreters safety and risk-reduction are being aware of the location of duress alarms, bringing the minimum supplies like pen and notepad only (to avoid them being used as weapons of opportunity by a distressed party), staying alert and avoiding distractions, and not trying to get involved in violent situations —rather, call a deputy or 911 if not in a court setting. Other recommendations include using time and distance as protective factors (Martin, p. 22) —including but not limited to maintaining greater distance to have more time to react, using interpreter equipment to stay out of the 21-foot high-risk proximity zone, and adjusting position before proceedings begin. The next section covered the cycle of agression based on Kaplin’s Assault Cycle (Martin, p. 43), which describes the five phases of escalating behavior and the early indicators to watch for —clenched fists or stiff jaw; rigid posture; head turned away or tense mouth expressions; palm-down gestures or tapping on desk. Knowing the signs is half the battle. This module ended with recommendations on how to respond to those behavioral indicators before things escalate further.
The key takeaways of the workshop were: 1) awareness is a professional competency that needs to be cultivated and practiced, 2) interpreters should work and communicate with deputies and CSOs, 3) distance and time are an interpreter’s greatest safety tools, and 4) a safe interpreter protects effective language access rights. Everybody congratulated me for a great workshop and the valuable information shared. Several interpreters said they will start implementing some of the recommended actions right away. Safety first —always!
After the great CALI-sponsored lunch and refreshments, our esteemed Chair introduced the Bargaining Committee (BC) and explained we are in the first stages of our media campaign. Mary Lou Aranguren explained that the goal is to raise public awareness about the critical role of court interpreters and the working conditions we face —and we’re starting where everyone is: social media. The campaign will kick off with short, 30-second “rose, bud, thorn” style videos, where members share one highlight, one hope, and one challenge from their work as interpreters. Bite-sized, relatable, and real —exactly the kind of content that breaks the doomscrolling. Then, Michele Minsuk gave a summary of activities performed by the BC to date, and introduced Carol Palacio, who presented members a tight PowerPoint on the wage presentation to be submitted to the Region in an upcoming session. Many topics were raised: not only low salaries compared to other legal professions, but also concerns about ethics and professional responsibility not being acknowledged by justice partners or court staff, as well as language access incidents due to understaffing. The message was loud and clear: our work matters, and it deserves to be treated that way.
Before leaving, our videographer extraordinaire and media manager Kristina Ramsey recorded several short videos to kick off the campaign. If you are interested in participating, please email Kristina at media@caliunion.org to ask for instructions. The more voices, the louder the message!
With a full third of unit members in attendance, the event was a great way to reconnect and receive input from staff interpreters working in different counties across the Region and a great show of solidarity and camaraderie to reinforce CALI’s commitment to its membership. Stay tuned for the next one! Stay strong!
References
- Martin, Lorena P., FCCI, NCJIT. Security for Court Interpreters: A Manual Presented at the 27th Annual NAJIT Conference. Houston, Texas, May 20, 2006. Copyright 2006. Internet Version.
- “Judge attacked in courtroom during sentencing hearing.” BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c3vrwq25r64o
- “Man Kills Three in Atlanta Courthouse Shooting.” NPR, March 11, 2005. https://www.npr.org/2005/03/11/4531738/man-kills-three-in-atlanta-courthouse-shooting