Yet another reminder of the importance of sentient, human interpreters.
A motion to suppress evidence was granted to the Defense in a drug case, because the police officer used Google Translate to communicate with the Defendant.
When the officer attempted to ask, “Can I search your car?”, Google Translate spat out “¿Puedo buscar el auto?” For those who don’t speak Spanish, this “translation” literally means “Can I look for the car?”.
On June 4, 2018, in Kansas City, a US District Judge ruled that
“considering the imprecise translation, the court does not find the government has met its burden to show defendant’s consent was “unequivocal and specific and freely and intelligently given.””
Read the article here.
Read the Court’s ruling here.
(Below is an unrelated, comical image, welcoming the Pope.)
Décalage 
Leave a Reply