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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Defendant with no language proves difficult to prosecute |
| 2011-01-13 |
| With a flick of his wrist, the interpreter at the front of the courtroom mimed the bang of a judge's gavel, his other hand pointing to the ceiling. The crude gestures were meant to convey that the case against Juan Jose Gonzalez Luna would be heard in a higher-level court. Gonzalez's face, however, remained vacant. Did the 42-year-old - who is deaf, mute, and illiterate, including no known knowledge of sign language - understand what had just happened? As Gonzalez has next to no language skills, his case has baffled Montgomery County courts since his arrest on drug trafficking charges late last year. While courts have come a long way in providing access to interpreters in a host of exotic languages, no one is sure how to translate for a man who knows no language at all. They try Klingon? Gonzalez's limited grasp began at infancy in the southern reaches of the Mexican state of Michoacán. Although uncertain of much of his client's history, Rideout thinks Gonzalez lost his hearing after a severe fever as a baby - a story reenacted through pantomime. Detectives arrested Gonzalez Oct. 8 after a purported cross-country smuggling drive, from Las Vegas to the Philadelphia suburbs, and seized more than two pounds of cocaine from his car. But this inability to communicate is exactly what made him a valued member of a King of Prussia-based drug trafficking ring, prosecutors say. "He makes the perfect drug mule," First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele said. "He can't consent to a search. He can't answer any questions about the operation." Gonzalez has shown some limited ability to communicate. Arriving at a recent preliminary hearing, he motioned toward detectives gathered around him. He pinched at his neck as if adjusting an invisible necktie. He bent his other arm mid-torso and clenched its fist, mimicking a heavy briefcase. "He can't talk to the judge," one detective joked. "But of course he knows how to ask for his lawyer." Lawyering up is an international language. More at the link. Interesting case. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #4 A severe spanking the moment he was caught might work wonders. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2011-01-13 22:36 |
| #3 Where's Annie Sullivan when you need her? |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2011-01-13 07:55 |
| #2 Speaking of rats, I smell one. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2011-01-13 06:10 |
| #1 As Gonzalez has next to no language skills, his case has baffled Montgomery County courts since his arrest on drug trafficking charges late last year. Drug trafficking charges? How did his handlers communicate with him? |
| Posted by: gorb 2011-01-13 03:15 |