If a person fails to appear for a mitigation or contested hearing and an interpreter was requested for the hearing, can costs be imposed against the defendant?
Per RCW 2.43.040 (4):
"The cost of providing the interpreter is a taxable cost of any proceeding in which costs ordinarily are taxed."
RCW 46.63.151 provides that:
"Each party to a traffic infraction case is responsible for costs incurred by that party. No costs or attorney fees may be awarded to either party in a traffic infraction case, except as provided in RCW 46.30.0120 (2)." [Which does not apply to this question.]
RCW 7.80.140 states that:
" Each party to a civil infraction case is responsible for costs incurred by that party, but the court may assess witness fees against a Non prevailing respondent. Attorney fees may be awarded to either party in a civil infraction case."
The above RCWs appear to indicate that the court can impose interpreter costs against a respondent who fails to appear in a civil infraction matter, but that no costs can be imposed on a party in a traffic infraction case. Please check with your judge for his or her interpretation of these RCWs.
See also: RN id 2072: Imposing interpreter costs in a criminal case against a defendant who fails to appear.
RN id: 1635