Because many Hispanics emigrate from countries with different court systems, a common sentiment is "Say youre guilty, pay the fine and go home."
"Even if they have good grounds for a case, they would prefer to plead guilty," said Tyler West, a former interpreter for Franklin County courts. West said he remembers one case in which a Spanish-speaker wanted to plead guilty, but the judge wouldnt allow it.
The defendant had been pulled over for not wearing his seatbelt not grounds to be charged at the time. Only when the judge insisted did the defendant realize he shouldnt pay the fine.
Its only because of good judges and a patient court system that Spanish-speakers arent taken advantage of, West said.
As the number of non-English-speakers who end up in front of a judge continues rising, especially for common traffic and alcohol related offenses, court officials have to work harder to ensure justice is served.
Marta West, a freelance Spanish interpreter who works in Franklin County courts, says the number of non-English-speaking Hispanics has increased exponentially since she started in 1997.
"When I started, they called me once like every four months there were none," West said. "Now its every single day."
From 2002 to 2006, court interpreter expenses for Franklin County more than tripled from $9,114 to $31,966, according to the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts.
That figure includes interpreting other languages Russian, French, German, Portuguese, Bosnian, Arabic, Japanese, but the most common is Spanish.
"Were still compiling the information, but Id say the majority is Spanish," said Tara Klute, assistant general manager for the Kentucky Department of Pretrial Services. "I would estimate it is around 90 percent or more."
A big barrier
The barrier between many Hispanics and the courts, however, is more than just language, West said.
"Im interpreting everything, and theyre lost," West said during a recent day in traffic court.
She said sometimes while shes interpreting, she is met only with a blank stare.
"It happens a lot. They come here. Theyre very poor, uneducated. Theyre doing uneducated jobs, like cutting tobacco. These people are ignorant they dont know the laws," West said, explaining its not a question of intellect but familiarity. "They dont know the judges and the lawyers and all that."
For example, some defendants leave court with felony charges for providing police with fake Social Security cards but dont understand what theyve done wrong, she said.
"Theyll say, 'But I didnt steal it. I bought it," West said. "Theyve bought the card for $50 and dont realize theyve done anything wrong."
Local attorneys say they sometimes worry defendants dont know their legal rights and may enter a plea not understanding the full ramifications.
"This tends to happen more in district court, because theres so much volume to be dealt with on a regular basis," said Josian Passalacqua, a local attorney who boasts "hablo Espanol" on his business cards.
Passalacqua also pointed out that Spanish speakers often need help before or after they appear in court.
"For other functions, such as paying fines and finding out court dates and so forth, theres not necessarily an interpreter there," he said.
Also, the judges opening remarks often are not interpreted, he said.
Linda Dixon, a public advocate who works from the Frankfort trial office, said even with patient judges and good interpreters like West, "Having to rely on an interpreter really is difficult. There is a loss of communication. She (West) goes out of her way to help them understand, but I can never be 100 percent sure."
And its even difficult to communicate small details, Dixon said. During a recent court session, Dixon said she needed to tell a Spanish-speaker to return to the 1 p.m. court session so an interpreter could help. She and the defendant had to leave the courthouse and hunt for a Spanish speaker to explain.
"They dont understand our process," Dixon said.
The name game
To pick a minor cultural difference from among many is the number of surnames used by Hispanics.
Its not uncommon for citizens from Latino countries to have two (or even three) official last names, but sometimes they go by one or the other rather than both. This often confuses the court process.
Attorney Matt Browning, who learned to speak Spanish during his undergraduate studies explained, "They (Hispanics) will write down one of their two last names and then people get mad at that person because it appears they have committed some type of fraud."
Browning said educating county courts about the Latino naming system would prevent a lot of headache.
Major improvements
Both attorneys and defendants agree that administrators are making the right moves to help non-English-speakers.
Noel Novelo, originally from Beliz, recently appeared on a traffic matter before Judge Kathy Mangeot in District Court. Proficient in both Spanish and English, Novelo declined an interpreter but said he appreciates the option.
"There are more problems in other counties, but this county has made an effort to help Spanish speakers," he said.
Other Hispanics who spoke with The State Journal said there has always been an interpreter available who has made the court proceeding as painless as a court proceeding can be.
"They tell you exactly what to do," said Miguel Suarez, a Spanish speaker from Veracruz who recently appeared in traffic court. "Its not difficult."
Its not always been that way, AOC officials say. State law requires courts to provide interpreting services for non-English speakers during court proceedings, but interpreters have not always been qualified.
"Weve increased the standards; our translators are more qualified," Klute said, adding testing is now more extensive. "When we started testing interpreters, the number of interpreters was cut in half."
Klute also said her office wants to hire more staff interpreters (qualified at the highest level in the nation) as the budget allows. A staff interpreter will be sent to Franklin County within the next two months, she said. Also, the AOC Office of General Counsel is researching whether Kentucky and federal law allows for the translation of court documents into Spanish and other languages all of which will cost taxpayers more.
When it comes to having qualified court interpreters, money really isnt an issue, said County Attorney Rick Sparks.
"At the end of the day, its whats required for our justice system," he said. "Due process costs money."
"Everyone deserves due process," Sparks said. "And if it takes a little longer to get over that cultural or language barrier, so be it."