The Pre-trial Stages of Arrest and Police Questioning: Implications for Interpreters and Translators in the United States

This paper focuses on the constitutional rights of limited-English-proficiency suspects in the United States during two pre-trial stages: arrest and custodial interrogation. Specifically, the paper addresses the constitutional violations arising from the linguistic barriers between these suspects and law enforcement authorities. The paper proposes a solution in the form of statutory provisions requiring the active participation of well-qualified interpreters and translators