"It’s not easy at all," said court interpreter Suzanne Zeng.  Zeng is a Chinese interpreter with more than 10 years working in Hawaii's courts.

"You have to think accuracy and how do you say a word or term or phrase in another language," said Zeng.   "Sometimes we have to hold back tears ourselves. Other times we have to hold back anger.  But, yes, you have to be very unbiased."

"Without that language interpreter or a poor interpreter for example, it’s just too hard and (the defendant’s) life might be at stake.  So it’s very important," said Zeng.

But Zeng will tell you the reward is always when justice is served.

Applications for court interpreters are being accepted up until Feb. 1.  Salary ranges from $25 up to $50 an hour.

Click here for the Hawaii website for court interpreters and click here for an application form.

The following is the top three (high demand) languages needing court interpreting services in the Hawaii state courts (as determined by the number of case assignments in each language in Fiscal Year 2012):

First Judicial Circuit - Oahu

1. Chuukese
   
2. Ilokano
   
3. Korean