In August 2000, pursuant to Executive Order 13166,
55
the Department of Justice (DOJ)
issued a general guidance document
56
setting forth principles for agencies to apply in
developing guidance documents for funding recipients pursuant to the Executive
Order.
57
Based on these principles, several federal agencies have established policy guide-
lines imposing responsibility on state recipients of federal funds to ensure that persons of
limited English proficiency have meaningful access to services and benefits, including
provision of language assistance at no charge.
58
It is an open question whether, as recipients of federal funding from the Department of
Health and Human Services (in areas such as collection of child support) and other
federal agencies and programs, state courts are bound by the above guidelines and must
provide equivalent access to linguistic minorities without charge.
59
The issue is of consid-
“Few liberties in America
have been more zealously
guarded than the right to
protect one’s property in a
court of law. This nation
has long realized that none
of our freedoms would be
secure if any person could
be deprived of his
possessions without an
opportunity to defend
them.
”
— Payne v. Superior Court,
17 Cal. 3d 908, 911 (1976)
page
14
III. The Context
55
Executive Order 13166: Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, 65
Fed. Reg. 50,121 (August 16, 2000).
56
Department of Justice Policy Guidance Document: Enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964
—
National Origin Discrimination Against Persons With Limited English Proficiency, 65 Fed. Reg.
50,123 (August 16, 2000).
57
On June 18, 2002, the U.S. Department of Justice published final guidance to DOJ recipients on the
requirement under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Title VI regulations, to ensure such
access. Department of Justice:
Final Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding
Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons
67 Fed. Reg. 41,455 (June 18, 2002). The guidance is also available on <http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/
cor/13166.htm> (the LEP portion of the of the Civil Rights Division’s Coordination and Review Section)
or at <http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/lep/DOJFinLEPFRJun182002.htm>.
See also Assistant Attorney
General
July 8, 2002, Memorandum to Heads of Federal Agencies, General Counsels, and Civil Rights
Directors concerning Executive Order 13166
(“Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited
English Proficiency
”) available at <http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/lep/BoydJul82002.pdf>.
58
See 67 Fed. Reg. 4968 (Febr
uar
y 1, 2002)
available at <http:www
.hhs.gov/ocr/>. Depar
tment of
Labor LEP Policy Guidance, 66 Fed. Reg. 4596 (January 16, 2001)
available at
<http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/lep/ dollep.htm>.
59
On December 1, 2003, a Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice Civil Rights
Division wrote a general letter to all state court administrators regarding obligations under Title VI and
Executive Or
der No. 13166, as r
ecipients of federal funding, to ensure meaningful access by LEP
persons to their federally assisted pr
ograms and activities. The letter stated:
“Most, if not all, state court systems receive, either directly or through individual sub-units, federal
financial assistance from the Department of Justice (DOJ) or another federal agency. As you may
know, recipients of such federal financial assistance must comply with various civil rights statutes,
including T
itle VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000, et seq., and the
Omnibus Crime Contr
ol and Safe Str
eets Act of 1968, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 3789d(c) (the
“Crime
Contr
ol Act
”), which together pr
ohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color
, national origin, sex,
and religion in programs that receive federal financial assistance. Under Executive Order 13166,
reprinted at 65 FR 50,121 (August 16, 2000), each federal agency that extends federal financial assis-
tance is required to issue guidance clarifying the obligation of their recipients to ensure meaningful
access by LEP persons to their federally assisted pr
ograms and activities.
”
Deputy Assistant Attor
ney General
December 1, 2003, Letter to State Court Administrators Regarding
the Provision of Language Ser
vices to Persons with Limited English Proficiency
, available at
<http://www
.usdoj. gov/cr
t/cor/cour
tsletter_generic.htm>.