People v. Camagos

In People v. Camagos (160 Misc 2d 880 [Crim Ct, NY County 1993]) the garbled Spanish language warning given to the defendant was, "You should submit to the chemical exam or whatever part thereafter. It can be introduced as proof against you in a trial, process or hearing of the result of your arrest." The court properly held that this obviously defective warning failed to convey the fact that the refusal to take the exam could be used in evidence. Indeed, as translated, that warning could actually be construed as informing the defendant that taking the test could be used in evidence against him. Camagos also found that the warnings were inadequate because they did not apprise the defendant that his license would be "immediately suspended and subsequently revoked," but instead apprised him that his license will be "immediately suspended or revoked" (160 Misc 2d at 884). The judge was confronted with a non-English-speaking defendant which she took into consideration to find that: "the language barrier prevented the officers from engaging in any further communications with the defendant. There was therefore no opportunity for the defendant to continue steadfastly to refuse to take the chemical exam. The simple 'No' uttered by the defendant in no way meets the persistence standard of Vehicle and Traffic Law 1194." (Camagos at 885.)