NJ Case Law - State v. Rodriguez-Alejo

Overview
In State v. Rodriguez-Alejo, the appellate court reviewed the case of a Cuban immigrant who was convicted of a refusal violation. Defendant spoke very little English and had been in the United States for less than a year at the time of the offense. Defendant had consumed two beers and was observed to have watery, droopy and bloodshot eyes. Arresting officer had difficulty in communicating with the defendant and had no training in how to deal with non-English speaking people. Defendant failed to produce sufficient breath samples. Arresting officer recited to him in English the first part of the MVC's refusal to consent statement, however failed to recite the second part. Appellate court held that defendant adequately met the burden of persuasion by demonstrating that his understanding of the English language was insufficient to comprehend the MVC's statement, which the court found to be "...lengthy and requires English fluency to be understood". Defendant demonstrated, among other things, that his MVC drivers exam was administered in Spanish, that he has two spanish-speaking supervisors, and that he always seeks spanish speaking personnel when conducting his personal banking. These facts lead the court to find that defendant was ill-informed of the necessity to consent and the court retroactively applied the State v. Marquez holding, which requires defendant's to be informed of the consent requirement in an understood language.



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