The right to a fair trial is a well-known right in a state governed by the rule of law. This article delves into the subject of problematic interpretations and addresses the right to a competent interpreter as part of the right to a fair trial. It derives from a socio-legal research project in Sweden named "Negotiations in court and equality before the law: an ethnographic approach to negotiations of culture, gender and age during trials related to street crime." Our conclusion is that entering a Swedish district court today, as a non-Swedish speaker, there is an obvious risk that you will not be able to narrate your version of whatever brought you to court in the first place, nor can you be sure that court representative narratives are mediated to you in a satisfactory version.