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NewsTimes of San DiegoOctober 24, 2026San Diego County

Judicial Council halts statewide rollout of AI translation at court counters after accuracy concerns raised

Photo: Times of San Diego

California’s Judicial Council canceled its plan to deploy AI voice-to-text translation at public-facing court counters statewide following criticism from legal advocates and feedback from court staff. Officials cited evolving technology and plans for an internal review of accuracy, efficiency, and effectiveness. Meanwhile, courts like San Diego Superior Court continue using human telephone interpreters.

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Read the full story at Times of San Diego

Why It Matters

Court users requiring translation services will continue relying on human interpreters rather than automated counter tools while the Judicial Council evaluates accuracy and efficiency.

Key Facts

  • California’s Judicial Council canceled its request for proposals to roll out AI translation tools at public-facing court counters statewide.
  • The cancellation followed concerns raised by legal aid groups who reviewed pilot transcripts and found multiple translation errors.
  • San Diego Superior Court was one of more than 30 courts participating in the pilot project, using the voice-to-text tool in its Civil Business Office from 2022 until spring.
  • San Diego court staff reported difficulties with the tool capturing fast speech, requiring frequent software updates, and lacking Mandarin and Haitian languages.
  • Clerks at the San Diego court preferred using a telephone translation service with human interpreters provided by United Language Group.
  • Legal aid organizations obtained hundreds of pages of pilot transcripts through public records requests, revealing mistranslations involving legal terminology like DUI and no contest.
  • The Judicial Council plans to conduct an internal review regarding accuracy, efficiency, and effectiveness before considering any new voice-to-text options.
  • The cancellation notice was published on October 15, the day before a scheduled Judicial Council meeting.

Who's Mentioned

OrganizationIBM“Evaluated technology provider during pilot exploration.”OrganizationLegal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles“Legal aid group that obtained pilot project transcripts.”PersonEmily Cox“Spokesperson for San Diego Superior Court.”PersonNorma Ventura“Program director at California Rural Legal Assistance Inc.”OrganizationUnited Language Group“Private vendor providing telephone translation services using human interpreters”PersonJoann Lee“Special counsel at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.”OrganizationAmazon“Evaluated technology provider during pilot exploration.”OrganizationSan Diego Superior Court“Participated in the AI translation pilot program.”OrganizationUniversity of Maryland“Affiliation of Marine Carpuat.”OrganizationGoogle“Evaluated technology provider during pilot exploration.”OrganizationMicrosoft“Evaluated technology provider during pilot exploration.”PersonMarine Carpuat“Professor of computer science at the University of Maryland.”OrganizationCalifornia's Judicial Council“Oversees policymaking for California courts and canceled the AI translation roll”OrganizationCalifornia Rural Legal Assistance Inc.“Legal aid group that reviewed pilot project transcripts and survey results.”