Police Must Record Conversation Between Translator and Suspect

To gauge accuracy and provide an independent way to evaluate the translated conversation of a non-English speaking suspect, police must record conversations between the suspect and translator

Commonwealth v. Adonsoto, 2016 BL 305082, Mass., No. SJC-11978., 9/16/16.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that police must record conversations between a non-English speaking suspect and their translator. This is response to a challenge by a Hispanic woman arrested for drunk driving. During an interview with the police, a telephonic translation service was used to translate the conversation between the police and woman. The defendant argued that the translated statements were inadmissible hearsay because using the interpreter was improper because an agent of the police. Ultimately, the argument was rejected by the court because the translator had no motive to lie and the evidence indicated that the interpreter was no more than a “language conduit.” The court further stated, “along with providing a method to gauge reliability, a recording of the translation provides an independent basis to evaluate the truth of the testimony for purposes of determining the applicability of the confrontation clause.” 

http://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/document/Commonwealth_v_Adonsoto_No_SJC11978_2016_BL_305082_Mass_Sept_16_2.