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From: rogue@cellar.UUCP (Rache McGregor)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Fate of the FOIA
Message-ID: <8aFV35w164w@cellar.UUCP>
Date: 1 Jun 91 16:21:54 GMT
References: <1991May31.203017.19854@Think.COM>
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barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin) writes:

   /* excisions, excisions... */

> like a problem they should be stuck with.  But what if it were a
> court-appointed defense attorney that were prevented from excluding a
> bilingual juror, and therefore didn't understand all the testimony; in this
> case, the defendent's only recourse would be to try to convince another
> court that he received an unfair trial due to the assignment of an
> incompetent PD, right?
> -- 
> Barry Margolin, Thinking Machines Corp.
> 
> barmar@think.com
> {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar

I don't think I'm following your reasoning.  Just because the defense 
attorney (or the prosecution) allows a bilingual juror to be seated doesn't 
mean that there won't be a translator present.  The translator will still be 
needed by the lawyers, the judge, and the other jurors.  Language ability has 
no bearing on the competence of the defense.

The purpose of having jurors who are capable of understanding the testimony 
in its original form is to have someone who can independently corroborate or 
challenge the official translator, and who is obligated to do so.  The 
probable "solution" that will arise when bilingual jurors are barred will be 
for the prosecution and defense to each have separate translators, who would 
constantly object to the "gloss" each is giving to the defendant's testimony.


Rogue Winter       | "The truth knocks on the door and you say, 
rogue@cellar.uucp  | "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so
uunet!cellar!rogue | it goes away.  Puzzling."
Cellar 215/3369503 |  -Robert Pirsig (quoted in Zen_To_Go, Jon Winokur)