Poll: Would you translate prisoners' phone calls if they had no right to privacy? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Would you translate prisoners' phone calls if they had no right to privacy?".
This poll was originally submitted by Marco Ramón. View the poll results »
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As I am in the final stage of my career, I only translate what I have specialized in and I enjoy…
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Perhaps Marco could elaborate on why this poses an ethical dilemma.
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IrinaN
United States
Local time: 08:08
English to Russian
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Christopher Schröder wrote:
Perhaps Marco could elaborate on why this poses an ethical dilemma.
What you may not realize, however, is that those phone calls may be recorded—and what you say in those phone calls could ultimately be used as evidence against you. In California, so-called "jailhouse phone calls" are indeed recorded.
While counties handle incoming and outgoing calls from jail inmates differently, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice publicly advises all participants in phone calls with prisoners that they may monitor and record all phone calls.
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Arne Krueger
Germany
Local time: 15:08
German to English
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| Your life is being recorded... | Jan 22 |
IrinaN wrote: Christopher Schröder wrote:
Perhaps Marco could elaborate on why this poses an ethical dilemma. What you may not realize, however, is that those phone calls may be recorded—and what you say in those phone calls could ultimately be used as evidence against you. In California, so-called "jailhouse phone calls" are indeed recorded. While counties handle incoming and outgoing calls from jail inmates differently, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice publicly advises all participants in phone calls with prisoners that they may monitor and record all phone calls.
And I always thought it is the land of the free. ^^
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Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 09:08
Romanian to English
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IrinaN wrote: Christopher Schröder wrote:
Perhaps Marco could elaborate on why this poses an ethical dilemma. What you may not realize, however, is that those phone calls may be recorded—and what you say in those phone calls could ultimately be used as evidence against you. In California, so-called "jailhouse phone calls" are indeed recorded. While counties handle incoming and outgoing calls from jail inmates differently, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice publicly advises all participants in phone calls with prisoners that they may monitor and record all phone calls.
All jailhouse phone calls are recorded, but . . . if the inmate calls his lawyer, it is illegal to listen/translate the call. Before the any call is connected, the participants are informed that the call is being recorded.
I do not see any ethical problem. I remember a federal case where the AUSA handed me over a thousand minutes of recordings and instructed me not to listen to any attorney-client conversation. In many cases, these recordings are helpful to identify other perpetrators or to locate evidence. Why should a translator sweat over a non-existent dilemma; it is not the translator who commited the crime.
Lee
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Nicholas Boline 
United States
Local time: 08:08
Member (2023)
Spanish to English
Arne Krueger wrote: IrinaN wrote: Christopher Schröder wrote:
Perhaps Marco could elaborate on why this poses an ethical dilemma. What you may not realize, however, is that those phone calls may be recorded—and what you say in those phone calls could ultimately be used as evidence against you. In California, so-called "jailhouse phone calls" are indeed recorded. While counties handle incoming and outgoing calls from jail inmates differently, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice publicly advises all participants in phone calls with prisoners that they may monitor and record all phone calls. And I always thought it is the land of the free. ^^
Well, I'm pretty sure prisoners' phone calls are not the only ones to which the authorities have access.
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Arne Krueger
Germany
Local time: 15:08
German to English
+ ...
Nicholas Boline wrote: Arne Krueger wrote: IrinaN wrote: Christopher Schröder wrote:
Perhaps Marco could elaborate on why this poses an ethical dilemma. What you may not realize, however, is that those phone calls may be recorded—and what you say in those phone calls could ultimately be used as evidence against you. In California, so-called "jailhouse phone calls" are indeed recorded. While counties handle incoming and outgoing calls from jail inmates differently, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice publicly advises all participants in phone calls with prisoners that they may monitor and record all phone calls. And I always thought it is the land of the free. ^^ Well, I'm pretty sure prisoners' phone calls are not the only ones to which the authorities have access.
...what I meant. Constitution? Only for those who constituted it...
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 15:08
French to English
Nicholas Boline wrote:
Well, I'm pretty sure prisoners' phone calls are not the only ones to which the authorities have access.
Of course not. A woman I knew worked as a sworn translator here in Paris. She was asked to translate some tapped phone calls by the police.
She realised at one point that some conversations involved a friend of hers (small community!) and promptly told him to watch what he said. She could have lost her sworn translator status over that, but the authorities never found out. I mean, even if she'd been silly enough to have told him about it over the phone, they would have had to ask her to translate it so...
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Arne Krueger
Germany
Local time: 15:08
German to English
+ ...
Kay Denney wrote: Nicholas Boline wrote:
Well, I'm pretty sure prisoners' phone calls are not the only ones to which the authorities have access. Of course not. A woman I knew worked as a sworn translator here in Paris. She was asked to translate some tapped phone calls by the police. She realised at one point that some conversations involved a friend of hers (small community!) and promptly told him to watch what he said. She could have lost her sworn translator status over that, but the authorities never found out. I mean, even if she'd been silly enough to have told him about it over the phone, they would have had to ask her to translate it so...
...I don't quite get that. Did she want to make him aware of his phone being tapped or was she advising him to withhold information?! Sounds like that woman knew way too much... But funny, that's life, I guess!
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Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:08
Serbian to English
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| @ Marco Ramón: What's your point? | Jan 24 |
Why would that be of any concern for the interpreter?
Whether these calls should or should not be recorded might well be a very legitimate question, but why do you think than an interpreter should refuse to provide services based on the fact that the phone call is recorded?
Could you elaborate the logic behind your question?
I've seen all sorts of "interesting" concepts regarding the ethics of interpreting, but this one is new to me.
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| As long as they're aware | Jan 24 |
If the people being recorded are aware that the call was recorded, I don't see any problem. I'd feel more uncomfortable about it if it was a secret wiretap, perhaps by the police or a government agency. And I would absolutely refuse if it was a recording by a stalker/jealous spouse or something similarly crazy.
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IrinaN
United States
Local time: 08:08
English to Russian
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| Do the crime - do the time | Jan 25 |
While some may advocate tree-hugging policy towards the criminals, I prefer to be sure that no drug deals killing teens, stalking or revenge on a judge or a juror can be arranged through a simple free phone call by an inmate who can't do it himself because of the major and unjust misfortune of being locked up and monitored for murdering a human or two... He has rights!
Oh, don't forget to donate a few loafs of bread to the looters (courtesy of AOC) ... See more While some may advocate tree-hugging policy towards the criminals, I prefer to be sure that no drug deals killing teens, stalking or revenge on a judge or a juror can be arranged through a simple free phone call by an inmate who can't do it himself because of the major and unjust misfortune of being locked up and monitored for murdering a human or two... He has rights!
Oh, don't forget to donate a few loafs of bread to the looters (courtesy of AOC) ▲ Collapse
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