Federal criminal defense
Our translation work centers on federal criminal defense.
Representative work
Presentence Investigation Reports, translated into Spanish so the defendant can read the report themselves — check the offense conduct, correct the personal-history and family sections, and give counsel informed objections before the sentencing submission.
Defendant letters to the court, written in Spanish and rendered into English with the voice and register of the original intact rather than flattened into generic formality. A letter read at sentencing should sound like the person who wrote it.
Other document types we can take on
Sentencing and mitigation
- Addenda and objections to presentence reports
- Character and support letters from family, employers, clergy, and community members
- Mitigation materials and biographical narratives
- Program-completion, rehabilitation, and employment certificates
- Victim-impact statements
Case documents the client needs to understand
- Indictments, criminal complaints, and informations
- Plea agreements
- Rule 11 plea-colloquy materials and advice-of-rights forms
- Waivers — indictment, jury, speedy trial, appeal
- Conditions of release and bail paperwork
- Judgments, commitment orders, and sentencing transcripts
- Retainer agreements and fee disclosures
Discovery for case review
- Witness statements
- Text-message, WhatsApp, and social-media threads
- Foreign police, prosecutorial, and customs reports
- Business and financial records — ledgers, invoices, bank statements, shipping manifests
Records and civil-registry documents
- Actas del registro civil — birth, marriage, and death certificates
- Cartas de no antecedentes penales and other criminal-record certificates
- National and consular identification (INE/IFE, matrícula consular) and passports
- Academic transcripts, diplomas, and professional licenses
- Military, employment, and tax records
- Property deeds and powers of attorney (poderes)
Immigration documents
- Immigration records and A-file contents
- Country-condition documentation
Statement of accuracy
On request, we deliver a translation with a signed statement of accuracy from the translator, identifying the source and target languages and the documents covered. It is the translator’s own attestation — not a certification by a court or any other body.
Formats
- Source formats: PDF, scans and photographs of physical documents, Word, and audio transcripts. Phone photographs of paperwork are fine to send.
- Delivery: clean formatted PDF mirroring the source layout where practical, plus an editable copy on request. We handle physical originals by arrangement.
Engagement model
We quote per document set after reviewing the source material — volume, legibility, and turnaround drive the quote. Standard turnaround is quoted with each engagement; expedited turnaround, including for sentencing deadlines, may be available depending on volume. We work with CJA-appointed counsel; payment follows the authorization and voucher process that counsel arranges. We treat all materials as confidential and confirm engagement terms in writing before work begins.