The case stems from longstanding Pennsylvania law that triggers a one-year automatic driver’s license suspension anytime a person suspected of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs refuses chemical testing that’s being sought to confirm their level of impairment.
In a 7-0 decision in a case involving a 2019 traffic stop in Harrisburg, the court said that in such language barrier cases going forward - and especially in an age of phone-based language translation apps and other technologies - it’s on the state Department of Transportation or police departments to develop ways to make sure foreign language speakers understand the consequences of refusing a test.
The opinion written by Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough upheld a Dauphin County Judge Lawrence Clark’s decision in favor of the driver, Isak Vazquez-Santiago.
The state Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Driver Licensing had brought the appeal.
Reached Wednesday, PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services spokesman Diego Sandino said the decision is under review by department attorneys, and no determination has been made on whether to seek a review by the state Supreme Court.
Vazquez-Santiago, who speaks only Spanish, was stopped by Harrisburg police June 24, 2019 after he was observed driving erratically. The officer on the scene, who did not speak Spanish, was able to communicate enough through verbal commands, visual aids and hand gestures to get Vazquez-Santiago to show his license and registration, and to exit the car.
But Vazquez-Santiago, 37, argued he never understood the warning that police are required to read when asking all DUI suspects to submit to a blood draw, which states in part that “If you refuse to submit to the blood test, your operating privilege will be suspended for at least 12 months.”
That warning, all sides agreed, was read to Vazquez-Santiago in English, and the officer used no visual aids or hand signals, as he had during earlier attempts to communicate with his suspect. It also came, the court noted, after the officer had placed a police radio call requesting, unsuccessfully, the help of any available Spanish-speaking officer.
“We recognize that circumstances such as those presented in the instant case present a challenge for law enforcement personnel, and that it is impossible for police departments to have officers who speak many different languages on duty at all times. We also do not suggest that the provision of human interpreters on demand is a legal necessity, or even a possibility,” McCullough wrote.
“However, because we may not disregard the need to provide motorists with the ability to make a knowing and conscious choice to submit to a chemical test, it would be prudent for the bureau to develop a solution to the problem presented by these cases.”
Until then, the judge added, “our duty is simply to uphold the determination of the trial court where its finding of an insurmountable language barrier is supported by substantial evidence.”
Vazquez-Santiago’s attorney had also challenged the constitutionality of the entire license suspension provision, but the court did not address that question.
Vazquez-Santiago, incidentally, was arrested for a second time on DUI charges last June, this time by Lower Paxton Township police. That case is still pending in Dauphin County court.
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