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Parents’ language-access dispute raised during termination argument; panel questioned waiver and colloquy
Summary
In a termination appeal, the court examined whether a Spanish‑speaking mother knowingly waived an interpreter and whether the trial judge should have performed a statutory colloquy to ensure any waiver was knowing and voluntary before relying on testimony for credibility findings.
The panel heard argument in Department of Children and Families & Others v. Mother, docket 24P705 (partially impounded), focusing on whether the trial judge erred by failing to conduct an on-the-record colloquy when the mother—identified as a native Spanish speaker at trial—electively testified in English with an interpreter on standby.
Appellant counsel Anna Maria Gioia argued the record shows the mother repeatedly needed interpretation, that the interpreter sometimes rendered…
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