MA · jury_instructions
Instruction 1.275, Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court
Interpreter assistance to deaf juror
SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER ASSISTANCE
FOR A DEAF JUROR
BEFORE AND DURING JURY DELIBERATIONS
[The interpreter must be sworn prior to participating in court proceedings and after the court
determines the competency of the interpreter. G.L. c. 234A, § 69. The interpreter should be
sworn prior to the commencement of any proceedings in the presence of the jury pool.]
Clerk Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will make true
and complete interpretation of all testimony and other court
proceedings using your best skill and judgment in accordance with
the standards prescribed by law and the ethics of the interpreter
profession?
Judge Throughout this trial, interpreters will assist a juror who is
deaf. Their role is strictly limited to interpreting what is said in the
presence of the jury during the trial and during deliberations. Other
jurors shall not ask the interpreters for advice or other assistance.
The interpreters may continue to assist a deaf juror in communicating
with other jurors and court personnel during recesses.
The interpreter’s oath prior to jury deliberations
Clerk Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will not
participate in the deliberations, will not in any way indicate agreement
or disagreement with the discussion, will not have communications,
oral or visual, with any member of the jury regarding the deliberations
except for the translation of the remarks of jurors, will not vote on the
verdict, and that you will keep the jury’s deliberations secret?
History
Instruction 1.275, Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court (Issued April 2019). Published by the Administrative Office of the District Court, District Court Department of the Trial Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on www.mass.gov. © 1988-2009 Administrative Office of the District Court; reproduced under its title-page permission ("You may freely reproduce or copy this work if you identify its source and any changes made to the original work"). Source: https://www.mass.gov/doc/1275-interpreter-assistance-to-deaf-juror/download. Changes made: the text is extracted from the published PDF (verified by three extraction engines); the running headers, page numbers and line layout are removed, and a closing NOTES section, where printed, is carried as the note.
Provenance
- Source
- mass.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-25
- Edition
- 2026-09-25
- Content hash
6795ef866fa3cf6f6df37c871c284affb16fcd0c8df2ab8546f00803b5e1853f
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