Scott Cox recently defended a client in a sexual abuse case. The client is Hispanic and speaks no English. The arresting detective had a Spanish speaking colleague on the police force act as an interpreter while he interviewed our client who then made an incriminating statement.
Scott Cox was able to have the statement suppressed citing KRS 30A.400(2). That statute mandates that for a statement to be admissible the interpreter must be a court certified interpreter who translates both the officer's questions and the defendant's answers verbatim. Because the translation provided by the interpreter was not accurate and because the officer was not a court certified interpreter, our client's statement was suppressed. This led to a successful conclusion of our client's case.
