Criminal Defense of Immigrants

(E)  Preserving the Claims.  The federal statutory predicate for the appointment of an interpreter is a finding by the judicial officer that a non-primary English speaker’s skills are so deficient as to inhibit comprehension of the proceed­ings.[90]  The constitutional basis for a right to an interpreter rests on the confrontation clause and due process clause as well as explicit state constitutional provisions. Counsel must raise both statutory and constitutional arguments where appropriate, and raise state as well as federal claims from the beginning in the trial court in order to preserve them for appeal.

[90] See United States v. Sanchez, 928 F.2d 1450, 1454 (6th Cir. 1991).