The Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey is considering whether officers arresting an individual for suspicion of DWI must give instructions in a native language to a non-English speaker.
The case arose on September 20, 2007, when German Marquez rear-ended a vehicle at an intersection in Plainfield. He admits he was under the influence of alcohol, but did not understand instructions explaining he was required to take a breath test since he only speaks Spanish. He would like the conviction he received for “refusal to submit a breath test” to be removed; he is not disputing his DWI charge. He has admitted to being under the influence of pain medication the day of the accident.
As a result of the refusal conviction, Marquez has a 7-month suspension of his driving privileges. Under the law, this suspension would only apply if the police officers carried out their lawful duty to inform the suspect of his legal requirement to provide the test and his right to refuse.
Adding to speculation over Marquez’s individual case, the arresting officer did request his license and information in Spanish. Marquez complied with the requests given to him in Spanish, but he did not comply when the officer began performing sobriety exams in English.
Thus far, Marquez appealed his refusal conviction successfully in Superior Court and Appellate Court, but the Supreme Court has heard arguments since February and would like to decide for itself. For its part, the Office of the Attorney General says officers who have provided instructions in English have done their lawful duty.
The ACLU has been involved in Marquez’s case, pointing out that Spanish speakers are given a translated version of the driver’s test. Therefore, there is no requirement for them to learn the language of a DWI stop. Police officers often use translations of Miranda rights and other forms of information. Now, police across the state have been given access to a website with the information translated into multiple languages used in the state. The officers can play a recording for a suspect in order to ensure the suspect understand.
The resources of a recordable translation may be required for all traffic offenses and DWI stops statewide pending the decision of the court this week. If New Jersey determines translations are required, it is likely other states will follow suit.
