2nd Language Test Possible.

Byline: Morgan Lee Journal Staff Writer

Interpreters Exam Followed Storm

Because a January snowstorm coincided with the annual court interpreters examination, the state Administrative Office of the Courts may schedule a second Spanish-language test in Santa Fe.

New Mexico's court system is contending with a new demand for interpreters after the state Supreme Court ruled in January 2000 that jurors can't be excluded from service because of language barriers.

Out of 59 people who paid $75 to the take the certification test Jan. 13 in Albuquerque, 46 showed up, according to Robert Klein, a project manager at the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Meanwhile, at a corresponding test a week earlier in Las Cruces, only one out of 29 people registered failed to attend. …