Opinion ID: 2427354
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Spanish Translation of Jury Instructions

Text: González argues for the first time on appeal that his right to a fair trial was violated because the district court did not provide the jury with a Spanish translation of the jury instructions. González's argument is forfeited for failure to raise it below, and is in any event foreclosed by our precedents. In United States v. Gonzalez-Maldonado, 115 F.3d 9 (1st Cir. 1997), we explained that the practice of charging the jury using non-English words was inadvisable and should be discouraged and instructed district courts to frame instructions in English. Id. at 18-19. As noted above, the governing rules require that all jurors speak, read, and write in English with proficiency. At the jury selection phase, the Defendants were not rebuffed in any effort to test any juror's comprehension of English. González has failed to show any error (let alone plain error).