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KRS 30A.400

Interpreters -- Appointment -- Hearing to determine need

Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Commonwealth v. Abukar (2016)

Most recently applied in El Pueblo v. Nazario Aponte (August 2017)

Effective: July 15, 1994

How often courts cite this section

2015201720
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) If a person has been detained in police custody or has been arrested, an interpreter shall be provided prior to any interrogation or taking of a statement from the person if the court determines he meets the criteria set forth in KRS 30A.410.

(2) Any statement made by a person who is entitled to the services of an interpreter under subsection (1) of this section to a law enforcement officer may be used as evidence against that person only if the statement was made, offered, or elicited in the presence of a qualified interpreter. This subsection shall not deny a person the right to make a voluntary confession.

(3) If the eligibility of the individual for an interpreter is challenged, the judge may, on good cause shown, hold a hearing to determine the bona fide need for interpreter services.

(4) If it is determined that the person is not entitled to these services, no portion of KRS 30A.425 to 30A.435 shall apply to him.

Official source: Kentucky General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Kentucky statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.