by "ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
Published 09/08/2017 at 08:58
by "ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
Published 09/08/2017 at 08:58
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STARS: 1
Woke up this morning feeling ill. Very little sleep last night. But I have a good story for you.
This seal is for an unaccredited law school operated out of a strip mall by a lawyer I am working against.
I have been dealing with this nutty lawyer on a very contentious case for about 5 years. The case involves a workplace accident, and this guy has sued a variety of corporate entities operated by my client. I got almost all of them dismissed out, and that part is presently on appeal. There are a couple of entities left in the case that are being defended by an insurance lawyer.
The nutty lawyer hates me, and has been calling my client and me racist and heartless throughout the case. He subpoenaed one of my client’s employees for a deposition set for today. He is an older man who speaks very little English, so he took the papers to the company office yesterday to ask what it was all about.
The Office Manager called my office, and my bilingual associate explained that the papers require him to appear for a deposition. The man expressed concern, because he lives in the small town where he works, and transportation to the deposition location would be a problem. There is no Uber in Terra Bella, CA, a town that is barely a dot on the map.
He also said he would like my associate to attend, so he could ask questions about the process in Spanish if necessary.
So I emailed the lawyer, and explained the situation, including providing an affidavit from the witness. I said my client could provide conference room, and I couls have my associate there if we could reschedule to next week for the convenience of the witness. The lawyer went crazy, and accused me of lying. I pointed out that he did not arrange a Spanish interpreter, so the deposition would be pointless anyway.
He wrote this in an email about the witness:
“Mr. Alcantar has been here for a number of years. I assume he has a working familiarity with the English language.”
Whoa. That is not going to look good in court.
I have clients who have been here for decades and operate successful businesses, and speak no English. This case is in Tulare County, a place with a substantial population of non-English speaking immigrants.
And I thought I was supposed to be the racist in this case.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
09/08/2017 at 09:07, STARS: 0
i’m sorry, but it is (to me anyway) a fair assumption that he’d be able to speak a little english.
"someassemblyrequired" (someassemblyrequired)
09/08/2017 at 09:20, STARS: 2
This is not uncommon all over the west. There are many Hispanic communities, especially near farming areas where Spanish is dominant. They may speak some English, but especially if they are older, they wouldn’t necessarily use English often on a day to day basis, and would be worried about saying the wrong thing in front of a lawyer, especially in a deposition.
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
09/08/2017 at 09:23, STARS: 2
Conversational English, I could see there being a case for the assumption. Legal terminology? Absolutely not.
Heck, there are a lot of native English speakers that don’t understand legal terminology. If there are a non-trivial number of those, what hope does any ESL speaker have then of being able to understand the process?
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
09/08/2017 at 09:29, STARS: 0
Assume has a known expansion that I’m sure you are familiar with.
But really, what the heck is the problem with saying “Mr. Gutierrez prefers to use Spanish for the proceedings, so an interpreter will be needed” ? There are a lot of ESL speakers (and non-English speakers are included) who would prefer (or require) to use a different language other than English for certain proceedings. That should be accommodated.
I mean, if someone who didn’t speak English is accused of something, and cannot understand the charges against him or the proceedings, is justice really being served?
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
09/08/2017 at 09:49, STARS: 0
I’ve learned basic Spanish over the years and it has done wonders for my ability to communicate with the people I work with particularly this in skilled trades. There is such a large Hispanic population in California that learning English just isn’t necessary.
"Cash Rewards" (cashrewards)
09/08/2017 at 10:49, STARS: 0
There are professional baseball players who converse perfectly with teammates, but use an interpreter for interviews. Maybe they get nervous, maybe they don’t want to make a mistake or have a misunderstanding on record. I’d imagine the same thing could apply in a court of law.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
09/08/2017 at 13:13, STARS: 0
Wow, you deal with some real.... I’ll say interesting characters.
I can’t believe this guy is a practicing lawyer. Did he pass the bar off the back of a magazine? Cause that is how my father officiates weddings.
Also I looked up the logo
“Miseris Succurrere Disco,” which can be translated as “I learn (or endeavour) to succour the distressed.”
Which apparently if from the family shield of a Scottish Clan by the name of MacMillan
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
09/09/2017 at 09:17, STARS: 0
fair enough