Counsel may need to discover important information about the client’s culture, so counsel can understand (a) how to communicate better with the client, see § 3.10, supra, (b) the significance of the client’s actions during the commission of the offense, (c) and during encounter’s with law enforcement and the courts on previous occasions. 

 

First Circuit

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Perez-Alvarez v. INS, 857 F.2d 23, 24 (1st Cir.1988) ("As a general rule, in considering claims of persecution I think it highly advisable to avoid assumptions regarding the way other societies operate. Time and again this Board has considered appeals in which assumptions of this nature have been proven to be totally wrong...."); Cordero-Trejo v. INS , 40 F.3d 482 (1st Cir. 1994).

Other

BIBLIOGRAPHY
L. FRIEDMAN RAMIREZ, ED., CULTURAL ISSUES IN CRIMINAL DEFENSE (2d ed. 2007).

BIBLIO - CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Walter Kalin,Troubled Communication: Cross-Cultural Misunderstandings in the Asylum Hearings, 20 Intl. Mig. Rev. 230 (1986).

Susan Bryant, The Five Habits: Building Cross-Cultural Competence In Lawyers 8 Clinical L. Rev. 33 (2001)

Richard W. Brislin & Eugene S. Kim, Cultural Diversity In People's Understanding And Uses Of Time, 52 Applied Psychol.: An Int'l Rev. 363, 374 (2003).

Jean R. Sternlight, Good Lawyers Should Be Good Psychologists: Insights For Interviewing And Counseling Clients, 23 Ohio St. J. On Disp. Resol. 437 (2008)

Nelson P. Miller, Equality As Talisman: Getting Beyond Bias To Cultural Competence As A Professional Skill, 25 T.M. Cooley L. Rev. 99 (2008).

Edward T. Hall's books The Silent Language and Beyond Culture.