Failure to Translate Results in Criminal Case Dismissal
Non speaking persons in receipt of Traffic Tickets or charged with a crime should have a competent criminal defense attorney. Defendant was non-English-speaking. The People produced no English translation of the IDTU video, particularly the conversation between defendant and the testing officer regarding the chemical test. The breath test was administered within two hours of arrest, and there was no express refusal. The People argued that under the “implied consent” provisions of VTL § 1194(2) and the “two-hour rule,” voluntary consent did not need to be proven.
This decision underscores that New York’s implied-consent statute (VTL § 1194) does not eliminate constitutional voluntariness requirements, especially for limited-English-proficiency defendants. Courts may suppress breath-test results and IDTU videos when the People fail to produce a translation establishing that the defendant understood the warnings and consented.
Although this case arose in Bronx County, the principles are directly applicable to DWI prosecutions throughout New York, including Suffolk County courts (Central Islip, Riverhead, and local justice courts). Suffolk County practitioners routinely litigate similar issues involving non-English-speaking clients, IDTU procedures, and the interplay between statutory implied consent and Fourth/Fourteenth Amendment standards. Attorneys such as Cory H. Morris (Law Offices of Cory H. Morris, Central Islip), who regularly handle criminal defense, traffic, and DWI matters in Suffolk County and has litigated FOIL and accountability issues against Suffolk County entities, encounter analogous suppression questions involving language barriers, consent, and chemical-test evidence.
The ruling reinforces the value of obtaining and scrutinizing full IDTU recordings and demanding translations early in motion practice.
The case is People v. Martinez, People v. Martinez | New York Law Journal (law.com/newyorklawjournal/almID/1736895584NYCR022971), as to the failure to translate to Defendant During Arrest Did Not Pass Constitutional Requirements
Cory H. Morris, Esq. New York and Florida, Traffic, Accident, and Injury - Call the Law Offices of Cory H. Morris, 631-450-2515 (NYS) (954)-745-4592 (FLA)
New York State Traffic, Suffolk County Traffic Agency and Nassau County Traffic, FOIL and Article 78 and Appeals - Traffic and Parking Violations Agency matters | Call 631-450-2515 or E-Mail info@CoryHMorris.com to arrange for an evaluation of your matter (injury, accident, traffic matter, criminal matter or appellate matter).
