Judge Orders Arizona Candidate Struck From Ballot (for lacking English proficiency)

[alp227]

Lawyers for Alejandrina Cabrera, a candidate for the City Council in the border community of San Luis, Ariz., said Thursday that they might appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court a lower-court ruling that Ms. Cabrera be removed from the ballot because she did not speak English proficiently.

Judge John Nelson of the Yuma County Superior Court ruled late Wednesday night that Ms. Cabrera be struck from the ballot because she did not know enough English to do the job. In removing Ms. Cabrera, Judge Nelson agreed with the recommendation of a linguist who had conducted tests of Ms. Cabrera and found her English skills lacking.

full: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/us/judge-orders-arizona-candidate-struck-from-ballot-over-english-skills.html

Although the US Constitution doesn't require knowledge of English as qualification to hold public office, in 1997, the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona: "Federal courts lack competence to rule definitively on the meaning of state legislation...nor may they adjudicate challenges to state measures absent a showing of actual impact on the challenger," regarding the Arizona Constitution recognizing English as the official language for government operations. However, in 1999, the Arizona Supreme Court later found a law requiring gov't employees to speak English unconstitutional, and the SCOTUS declined an appeal by AFOE.

IN 2006, Arizona voters passed Proposition 103 to make English the official language of the state.

[thelordofhell]

1. And the hits just keep on comin'

[flobee1]

2. if thats the case....

George bush, rick perry, Bachmann and most other republicans should be immediately DQ'ed

[Ecumenist]

31. Amen.. It insidious. They are trying to take away the rights of Latinos in

the Southwest, with Arizona being the epicenter of the bigotry!

[OneAngryDemocrat]

65. Fuck Arizona

Apparently, the judges in AZ don't think the state's voters are competent enough to decide whether or not Ms Cabrera can do the job or not, and have decided to make the decision FOR THEM, instead.

FUCK ARIZONA.

[Ecumenist]

69. I Fcuking HATE Arizona!! I have nebver seen a state so screwed up IN.MY.LIFE!! I have to go

there on the regular to treat at CTCA in Goodyear, (a suburb of Phoenix) and I have to tell you that I have never been exposed to such overt racism IN.MY.LIFE! I'm a Californian form the north state and it's a damn shame. I just don't get it.

[Larry Ogg]

108. If the law required people to be informed and to pass a competence test in order to vote.

Conservatives would not be able to vote, and there would be no conservative judges or politicians in government.

[freshwest]

83. +1

[quakerboy]

118. Now thats not fair

They know the language. They just don't have the intelligence to really grasp the concepts behind the language and/or are too lazy to use the language properly. Which is entirely different.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. Walk me back to 1965.

This is how millions of african americans were effectively disenfranchised until the voting rights act of 1965 abolished the cornerstone of Jim Crow apartheid laws in the south.

Fuck these rightwing bastards. We need to have zero tolerance for their fascist bullshit.

[EFerrari]

12. Plus, our Supreme Embarrassments are ignoring the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

which enshrines the rights of Spanish speakers in Federal law for all the territories covered by the treaty. But, hey, who's counting.

[arely staircase]

52. good work, i looked this up and you are right. nt

[freshwest]

84. I was taught that in public school in Tejas in the Sixties. GOPhers slept through class.

[EFerrari]

85. It's now down the Memory Hole.

Your schools did better than ours, I didn't learn it until college.

[pennylane100]

17. I think this is a very different situation.

I think she would probably make a good council member giving her willingness to fight to be eligible and I certainly give her credit for that. However, like it or not, she must be able to read and understand all matters being discussed and acted upon.

The article that I read earlier said that her English is very limited was unable to answer simple questions asked by the judge.
Based on her court appearance he asked a linguistic expert to determine whether her language comprehension was at a level needed to do the job.

Regardless of how dumb and stupid our elected officials can be, they must show their ignorance in English as it is our right as citizens to understand them.

[EFerrari]

19. Not in San Luis, AZ:

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 15,322 people, 3,018 households and 2,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 579.5 people per square mile (223.7/km²). There were 3,325 housing units at an average density of 125.8 per square mile (48.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 4.02% White, 2.95% Black or African American, 1.46% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander,and 2.26% from two or more races. 89.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[b/]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Luis,_Arizona#Demographics

[arely staircase]

53. most "matters being discussed" in that corner of the usa are in spanish. nt

[Snake Alchemist]

4. While I'm not for this ruling, how is an English test not already a requirement for office?

All of the materials are in English. How is anyone supposed to be effective in governing and forming policy if they can't speak the language of the laws?

[arely staircase]

5. i'm pretty sure spanish would be just fine in san louis arizona. nt

[Snake Alchemist]

7. Yes, but I imagine the documents and all the legalese will all be in English.

Would you have a forklift driver who could not effectively communicate?

Now this could very well be a play to eliminate him when he can speak both languages just fine. Hopefully, we'll learn more.

[arely staircase]

11. one good bilingual staffer - problem solved nt

[Snake Alchemist]

14. What about the forklift driver?

Does the supe yell to the staffer and then the staffer yells at the driver?

I'm fairly sure bilingual staffers cost money. Also, should the option be open to all languages no matter how rare?

[arely staircase]

15. what forklift driver? the story is about a city council candidate. nt

[Snake Alchemist]

20. I'm just trying to figure out if this applies to all jobs.

Or just government jobs or what. I'm fairly sure that they won't give you the MCAT in any other languages.

[arely staircase]

22. my comments are limited to the city coucil race in san louis az - the subject of the op. nt

[Snake Alchemist]

25. So that should be a special case?

Not sure that will hold up in court.

[arely staircase]

35. special case for what? your imaginary forkilift driver legal standard?

and i'll digress into your imaginings enough to say that if i were hiring a forklift driver in san loius az, you can bet any applicant better speak spanish. if she spoke english too, well that would be a bonus.

[Snake Alchemist]

40. Exactly and if a forklift driver applied who could not speak Spanish you'd.....nt

[arely staircase]

44. probably wouldn't hire her. not in a boarder town where everyone else speaks spanish. nt

[Snake Alchemist]

46. Exactly.

And that is what they'll argue in court. That English is a job requirement.

Like I said to the other poster, I don't believe you can take the Civil Service exam in Spanish either.

[arely staircase]

49. we are arguing in two subthreads so lets pick one

but while we are here - which one has to take a civil service exam? the city coucil candidate or your theoretical forklift operator?

[Snake Alchemist]

59. just pointing out that quite a few jobs require English

And they seem to have legal standing to do so.

[arely staircase]

61. so in (and i am making this up like you did the forklift operator) a town

where spanish was the overwhelming majority language, would you require city council members to speak spanish? and lets keep any discussion to this subthread, ok?

[Snake Alchemist]

63. I imagine it wouldn't be based on majority

If the majority of work was done on Spanish, then that should be the case.

[arely staircase]

64. i would let the local voters decide. this activist judge disagrees. nt

[Hugabear]

117. Poster has a history of these "what if" arguments

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=229705

[EFerrari]

16. Are you arguing that Spanish is rare in Arizona?

Or, what?

And, are you suggesting we repeal the Civil Rights Act?

What is your point?

[Snake Alchemist]

18. Government documents are in English right?

Are they in all languages?

[EFerrari]

21. In my county, they are in a number of languages.

/typo

[Snake Alchemist]

27. What language are your MCAT's printed in?

I'm just pointing out that most jobs have language requirements so I imagine all the courts will hold up this decision.

[EFerrari]

28. All jobs do not occur in a town that is 89% Hispanic.

All jobs are not government jobs and all jobs are not protected by Guadalupe Hidalgo although all jobs are in some way covered by the Civil Rights Act since it got teeth.

In San Luis, AZ, btw, your forklift driver has a 9 in 10 chance of being a Spanish speaker.

[Snake Alchemist]

30. And if the forklift company required that English be spoken, the courts would hold that up.

I'm just pointing out that they seem to have standing.

[EFerrari]

31. And if I were a bird, I could fly.

[Snake Alchemist]

41. Not if you were a cassuary. nt

[arely staircase]

39. in San Louis az? lo to the o to the mf'n l! you ever spent much time in the boarderlands amigo? nt

[Snake Alchemist]

45. So if you're taking the MCAT in San Louis, AZ you can request it in Spanish?

I'm pointing out that it depends on the "job requirements" and they'll argue in court successfully that English is required for said job.

I don't believe you can take the Civil Service exam in Spanish either.

[arely staircase]

47. ok let's go with the job requirements standard, i'm gonna go way out on a limb and

guess that spanish is more important for a forklift driver or a city council member in san louis az.

[Snake Alchemist]

48. Now that is for the court to decide.

I'm just pointing out what I believe they'll successfully argue in court. Language is not a protected class.

[arely staircase]

50. yes, a federal court. nt

[Snake Alchemist]

60. absolutely. nt

[EFerrari]

51. It is in Arizona and in all the territories ceded under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Not just language but Spanish language speakers. That's probably why the Supreme Court didn't want to go into this 2006 Engish law because the right wing nuts on the bench would lose.

[Snake Alchemist]

58. and yet certain jobs still require English. nt

[EFerrari]

72. But that isn't the issue. And, btw, it's "MCATs" not "MCAT's" which is a possesive

not the plural form.

[Snake Alchemist]

79. I thought when you pluralized an acronym you added an apostrophe?

Looks like it's generally okay to not use an apostrophe, but I guess it's sometimes okay?

http://grammar.about.com/od/punctuationandmechanics/tp/GuideApostrophe.htm

Looks like it.

http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/acronyms.html

And yes it is the issue.

[EFerrari]

80. The problem with using the MCATs as a hook to hang the argument on

is that those testing conditions apply to an even smaller group of people than the population of San Luis. It's not useful because it's a special case.

San Luis is arguably also a special case because from the demographics, it looks like Spanish is probably spoken there much more than English.

[Snake Alchemist]

81. You could argue that the city government is the smallest sample.

And it uses English.

[EFerrari]

82. Do we know that it uses English?

We know this judge decided to make it an issue because s/he could, using the new 2006 official English law. But we don't know what language the council uses in day to day working sessions.

I bet you a large chocolate shake that this judge is getting some kind of reward for using this card.

[Snake Alchemist]

86. If it doesn't then they have no case.

In that case I would hope the courts would allow him to take office and reward him damages.

[EFerrari]

87. I suspect it doesn't but what are the chances this candidate has the resources

to hire an attorney and fight this decision? In a little place like that, slim to none. And that's why it is an injustice, because she doesn't have a real opportunity to mount a defense.

As Warren S. noted way up thread, this is exactly the kind of thing that used to be pulled on black people at the polls to disqualify them from voting. And, regular people are usually not in the position to fight back, which is why it's so effective a tactic.

[Snake Alchemist]

88. No clue.

If it's the right decision then I suppose it's justice. If it's wrong, and he can't fight it then it's injustice. You would hope an attorney would take the case pro bono, but who knows.

[EFerrari]

89. The article quotes her attorney but if the real fight is poitical

I expect the attorney's statement that they will take it to the AZ Supreme Court is posturing because that would require a lot more money than a candidate for a little town council could probably raise. Maybe we'll hear more.

[Snake Alchemist]

102. I hope we hear more too. nt

[Orangepeel]

62. The "company" is the city, and it has the right not to hire her by not voting for her

The linked article doesn't have enough information for me to follow who the "they" is.

I assume there is a law on the books that requires candidates to be proficient in English and that a voter in the city brought suit? In general, I'm not a big fan of restrictions on who can run for office. I lean toward letting the voters decide.

[Bacchus4.0]

90. yep, many jobs have language requirements. seems that requirement can't be the legal issue

seems the issue is whether there were stated language requirements for the position and/or if the person can adequately perform the job without the language requirement.

cassowary lol

[arely staircase]

23. i know, right? especially a border town

i guess the perfect candidate would be bilingual in spanish and english but i'm pretty sure that if they spoke only one of those languages spanish would probably be the most effective in this case, no?

[EFerrari]

24. Yep. And I wonder how much that judge cost. n/t

[Bill O-Rights]

74. So when a gringo moves to Cuernavaca but speaks no Spanish, he should have the right to run

for local office and scream discrimination when they refuse? holy shit.

[EFerrari]

78. I'm talking about US law. I have no idea what you are talking about. n/t

[Ter]

95. Who pays for that extra staffer?

n/t

[noamnety]

33. Deaf people can't necessarily "speak" the language.

So they use translators. Thoughts on how that affects their ability to perform their job?

[Snake Alchemist]

34. That's a protected class though.

And they still won't let you do a lot of jobs if you're deaf.

[noamnety]

71. I'm not asking about their protections under ADA.

I'm asking if you think they are capable of performing the job of elected official as well as a hearing person.

[Snake Alchemist]

77. Once again, they are a protested class. Better question, could a mute person do it. nt

[ThoughtCriminal]

6. Over half the state legislature isn't all that proficient

in English - just "Teabagese".

[Bill O-Rights]

8. I'm probably non grata for agreeing with that judge, but I believe we have to have one

"official" language. If not, how to deny anyone else who starts demanding all documents and proceedings be duplicated in Urdu, Tagalog, Sanskrit, ad nauseum?

[EFerrari]

13. Why deny them anything? This country has never been monolingual

and it won't be any time soon. What you suggest just unconstitutionally deprives US citizens of equal access which is a violation of the Civil Rights Act.

[Bill O-Rights]

36. I have been to over 60 nations and worked in about a dozen. I always acknowledged the local

lingua franca and made every possible effort to use/learn it. If I were to permanently relocate to, say, Argentina (something I have actually considered) I would accede to the local language requirements...I expect those in this country to do the same. If this puts me on the wrong side of your political correctness scale, so be it.

[EFerrari]

38. San Luis, AZ is 89% Hispanic, as I posted up thread

which puts you on the wrong side of your own argument.

[Hugabear]

107. The poster you are arguing with is a troll, and has been dealt with

Only 40 posts under their belt. This one didn't get too far.

[EFerrari]

110. Yes, I know. The posts you are reading

are from last nght.

[Scuba]

9. Did they apply this to Jan "we have did" Brewer?

[Justice wanted]

10. Did I step into some sort of freaky Twlight Zone?

[LiberalFighter]

26. If English is as critical as they say wouldn't a campaign that questions the proficiency

weed out candidates that are not considered qualified when the election is held? If the voters believe it is necessary than don't vote for that candidate. But if the candidate can provide a plan that will eliminate it as an impediment than if qualify should vote for that candidate.

[EFerrari]

29. The argument is that in 2006, AZ passed an Engish as official language law.

The law is unconstitutional but no one seems to have fought it yet because it's mostly impacting poor Hispanics.

[Bill O-Rights]

37. Perhaps they don't fight it because they can't read it.

[EFerrari]

43. Enjoy your stay at DU.

[Bill O-Rights]

67. Yo creo que usted es un hombre bastante tonto.

I speak several languages in many places. Conio e merde.

[Bill O-Rights]

73. Mexican is a race now? I sure wish someone had told me about that.

[arely staircase]

75. ok, intolerante

mejor?

Seriously dude, you know your being a dick when you say things like that.

[alp227]

97. as i posted there was a similar law passed back in '88 and the state sup. ct. overturned it in '98.

I did some research on the Arizonans for Official English case and added to the Wiki article about it the background of appeals before the 1997 SCOTUS decision. The 1988 law dealt with government employees and essentially forbade them from speaking foreign languages, and a state insurance claims manager was the original plaintiff.

[arely staircase]

55. yeah, how about letting the voters of san louis az decide if the need an english speaker

in that position?

[savalez]

42. I'd like to know more about the test.

Also, was the test also given to current City Council members?

How about the other candidates?

Surely if there is a proficiency standard then everyone should take the test.

Right?

[EFerrari]

94. It would be interesting to figure out how this law is being used,

i.e., is it being used to keep Latinos out of public office in the same way similar tactics were used to exclude black office holders when the Feds rolled up Reconstruction.

[David__77]

54. She's a fucking citizen, and yet she's denied candidacy?

This is insane. She is a high school graduate and citizen of this country.

This appears to be "legal" due to certain statutory requirements, but these should be challenged as unconstitutional, or otherwise statutorily repealed.

Once there is a strong Latino majority in Arizona, this will be a thing of the past, and the southwest will comfortably live as a multilingual region, as it already is!

[usaprogress]

113. Wait a Min.....

She is a High School graduate and a citizen of this country and can't communicate in English? Really? Seriously, what happens when she has to speak with another entity outside of her little town? Is this really realistic? Ed

[usaprogress]

114. More...

The linguist, William G. Eggington, a professor at Brigham Young University in Utah, testified before the court on Wednesday. He said that based on interviews and tests he conducted with Mrs. Cabrera, she had “basic survival level” English that fell well below that needed to participate in city business.

Glenn Gimbut, the city attorney, acknowledged wearing the headphones when the conversation shifts to Spanish. He had been leading the legal challenge of Mrs. Cabrera’s candidacy. But Mrs. Cabrera’s lawyers forced him from the case for conflict of interest because he was both representing the city and suing it.

“This is the law,” Mr. Gimbut said, arguing that the 1910 act granting Arizona statehood required officeholders to perform their duties in English without the aid of a translator. “It’s been on the books since statehood.”

Three words.... "It's The Law"

Ed

[Bacchus4.0]

115. we have the answer. It is an Arizona requirement under the law

and in no way unique as many jobs require language skills both in Spanish and English or any other language as necessary.

[Blue_Tires]

56. How is it legal for a judge to subvert democracy??

If the people of San Luis don't think she's fit for office or the langage thing is too big a barrier, then why can't they just vote for another candidate? You know, that whole "freedom of choice" thing??

Besides; if you're going to go THIS route, I'd rather see intelligence tests before language tests...

[pampango]

101. Well said. If I want to vote for a council candidate who only speaks Portugese or Italian or

any other language I should have that right. Obviously, I would vote for such a candidate with the realization that he or she would need to have a full-time translator as part of the staff. But if the candidate was right on all the policy position that are important to me, why should I be forced to vote for another candidate who is wrong on the issues but happens to speak English very well.

While voting for a candidate who only speaks Portugese but is great on the issues may be a waste of my vote, since such a candidate is unlikely to win an election in most places, I should have the right to vote for such a person and that person should be eligible to assume office if a winner.

[Blue_Tires]

104. Yeah, if she can't get this appealed she may need a new legal team

[muntrv]

57. A lot of republickers, like Dimson, should have been struck

from the ballot based on this judge's ruling.

[kiranon]

91. Time to file a federal civil rights action against the judge and the State of Arizona.

In addition, appeal the decision. This is outrageous and unconstitutional IMHO. Reasonable accomodation would be having available a person such as an assistant to help with any language problems. My grandparents could only speak Finnish but they voted and participated in politics in the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. Will the National Guard be needed to protect citizens running for office in Arizona? Amazing that this is happening in 2012.

[SoapBox]

92. ...the Domestic Terrorist Party continues to make America hell.

They just keep taking away our rights.

This shit is gett'n super scarey.

[a2liberal]

93. So would Dubya not be allowed to hold office in Arizona? (n/t)

[BlueMTexpat]

100. LOL - I had the same evil thought! nt

[truthisfreedom]

96. If you look at this situation from a very serious and realistic perspective, she should be

able to speak English if she's going to represent people who only speak English. Period. But removing her from the ballot is not the answer. Ordering her to take English lessons, perhaps, would be the proper action.

Our country is full of white people who only speak English. We're not going to bother learning how to speak other languages. We're too f-ing lazy.

[Humanist_Activist]

98. Sounds to me that most of the people who are from her region either speak Spanish fluently...

or are bilingual at the very least. Its a border town.

[BlueMTexpat]

99. Unless AZ requires ALL candidates for office to pass the same linguistic tests as

Ms Cabrera was subjected to (and I can't believe that is the case), this is clearly a decision that should be appealed - and overturned.

I wonder just how many other candidates could pass the same tests.

[Bacchus4.0]

111. not necessarily, the issue is whether its a job requirement n/t

s

[mwooldri]

103. Hypothetically speaking...

if Rab C. Nesbitt was eligible and wanted to run for office in the USA, would you allow him based on the way he speaks?

For those who don't know Rab C. Nesbitt, I posted a link to a Youtube clip (seems like DU embeds the player too these days). I can understand Rab just fine. There are plenty of fluent English speakers who can't understand what he says - yet Rab is speaking in English.

As I said it is a hypothetical, since Rab is not a US citizen, and Rab wouldnae run fer office even in Glasgow.

If the candidate fulfills all the requirements of office, and there isn't a language test (yet, and shouldn't be), then they should be allowed to be on the ballot.

I sincerely hope Judge Nelsons' ruling is overturned.

Mark.

[MarkCharles]

105. The judge needs to be disbarred for not knowing about...

GOOGLE TRANSLATE!!!!!!!

Quite simply, "THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT!", dumb judge!

This is restricting the right of a U.S. citizen to run for office. Let the people decide.

In a town with a large majority of a few thousand SPANISH SPEAKING folks, what part of the judge's ruling makes sense?

This is NOT about which language she can read, write, speak and understand. This is about her basic rights as a citizen.


The very names of the town and state where she wishes to serve are Spanish names! Geesh.

[Democat]

106. Who is giving the test and who is grading the test?

Those people are the ones who should be looked at very closely.

Is this being done fairly?

[Javaman]

109. and just how much is "enough" english?

life at the end of the empire when teh stupids panick trying to keep together their moronic ways.

[Smilo]

112. I can see both points of view...

if the city council conducts its business in English, then council members need to be able to converse and understand fully what is taking place.

However, this area is highly populated by hispanics who converse and do business in Spanish and having a person who can understand their needs and language is desirable.

What would be nice is, if instead of objecting to her being on the ballot, someone actually took time and helped bring Ms. Cabrera's with her English - that way it would be a win-win. She could understand the day to day council business and help the council understand the day to day needs of the Hispanic community.

[Bacchus4.0]

116. looks like its the law, see post 114 n/t

s