Complaint: Court sentences Latinos to costly English classes

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A suburban New Orleans court discriminates against Latinos by charging them for inadequate English interpreters and making them attend overpriced, ineffective English classes as a condition of probation, the Southern Poverty Law Center said Wednesday in a letter to the U.S. Justice Department.

The complaint cites the experience of four people with limited English speaking abilities who said interpreters rushed them through proceedings and failed to adequately explain their cases — including what they were charged with and, in at least one case, what they were pleading guilty to.

[...] Omar Roman-Velasquez said interpreters rushed him through various court proceedings and he wound up pleading guilty to one offense — driving with an expired inspection sticker — that he would like to have disputed.

Charging fees for interpreters and English classes adds another layer of punishment for traffic offenses that isn't borne by English speakers cited for the same violations, the complaint says.

The SPLC wants the Justice Department to investigate and take action to ensure that the parish court comply with federal law by providing free interpretation services and ending the practice of making English classes a requirement for probation.