Colorado v. Nguyen

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Defendant Hung Van Nguyen, who only spoke Vietnamese, waived his Miranda rights after they were translated to him by a chaplain for the Denver Police Department. The trial court ruled that the defendant’s waiver was voluntary, but not knowing and intelligent, because the translation could be considered “confusing.” The court therefore suppressed Nguyen’s statements. The question presented for the Colorado Supreme Court’s review was whether the translation “reasonably convey[ed]” to Nguyen his rights under Miranda. The Court concluded that the translation was sufficient, and reversed the trial court’s suppression order. View "Colorado v. Nguyen" on Justia Law