20 June 2016
Interpreter 'no show' twice
delays case of Polish man accused of being drunk on a plane to Bristol
A
district judge has demanded an explanation after he was forced to adjourn a
hearing twice – because an interpreter failed to arrive at court.
Polish
Andrzej Stanislawski, 49, of St James Street, Weston-super-Mare, has twice
arrived at North Somerset Magistrates Court to face charges of being drunk in
an aircraft.
The
incident happened on May 12 this year when it is alleged Mr Stanislawski was
drunk on an Airbus 320 Easyjet flight travelling from Krakow to Bristol.
Mr Stanislawski
– who says he speaks no English - arrived on time at the North Somerset
courthouse to face the charge on both occasions, only to be told his case could
not be dealt with due to fact there was no interpreter to help him.
The case
was first heard on May 31 when it is understood police were due to request an
interpreter.
None
arrived, however.
For the
second hearing – due to be dealt with today (June 20) – the court
administration team had booked an interpreter to assist.
Again, no
one arrived.
The
magistrates court books interpreters through Capita Translation and
Interpreting, which has bases across the globe.
District
Judge David Taylor staff gave the firm until 12.30pm today for an interpreter
to arrive before calling Mr Stanislawski back before the bench to adjourn the
hearing for a second time until July 7.
Mr
Stanislawski was released on unconditional bail until the next hearing date.
District
Judge Taylor said he was 'frustrated' at the situation and has asked the court
to write to Capita Translation and Interpreting asking for a 'personal
explanation' as to why a member of their staff had failed to arrive on two
occasions.
District
Judge Taylor said: "I am most displeased at what has happened.
"It
is the second time I have not been able to deal with the case.
"I
am going to ask the court to write to the company asking for a personal
explanation to me about what has gone wrong.
"It
is unacceptable that justice is delayed because of a lack of interpreters.
"I
hope for an explanation as to what has gone wrong in this case."
Staff at
the court said that issues with getting interpreters to the court was something
which happened regularly.
The
Bristol Post has asked Capita Translation and Interpreting and North Somerset
Magistrates Court for a comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment