Opinion ID: 797699
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Interpretation Errors / Standards Regarding Consistency

Text: 51 We are also troubled by the lack of consideration given by the IJ and the Board to the issue of alleged translation errors in this case. Common sense informs us that evidence of improper translation may include direct evidence of mistranslated words, evidence that a witness is unable to understand a translator, or unresponsive answers from a witness. See, e.g., Perez-Lastor v. INS, 208 F.3d 773, 778 (9th Cir.2000) (listing forms of evidence useful in identifying translation errors). Here all three indicia of erroneous translation were present. Of course, isolated instances of translation errors are not generally a basis for relief if [t]he transcript of [a petitioner's] testimony as a whole [is] understandable and coherent, and thus [the petitioner is] able to convey her story to the IJ. Meas v. Ashcroft, 363 F.3d 729, 730 (8th Cir.2004). It remains necessary, however, to ensure testimony is coherent before dismissing allegations of infirm translation. It is also necessary to gauge the possibility of prejudice in light of any other errors that may have occurred and in relation to whether the IJ or the Board relied upon erroneous portions of the translation in reaching their decisions. Here, we believe the evidence of erroneous translation, reliance by the Board and IJ on allegedly erroneous portions of the translation, and focus by the Board and IJ on minutia in the effort to find inconsistencies added to the overall prejudice against Petitioner. 52 Looking specifically at some of the issues noted by the IJ and the Board, the IJ stated that Petitioner's testimony was largely consistent with his affidavit as to torture at Tauck Kyant, but that Petitioner failed to recite in his testimony every detail regarding abuse and conditions of confinement as set forth in his affidavit. This standard, applied by the IJ, was too exacting. It is simply not necessary for a petitioner to precisely recite the contents of an affidavit verbatim in his testimony. See Bellido v. Ashcroft, 367 F.3d 840, 843-44 (8th Cir.2004) (stating that the omission of details does not necessarily undermine the entirety of a petitioner's testimony). 53 Further, the IJ noted that Petitioner testified that he was not mistreated at Insein prison but shortly thereafter corrected himself to say that he was tortured at Insein prison. Also, Petitioner said in his affidavit he was raped at Tauck Kyant, the military headquarters, but in his testimony, he said he was raped at Insein before he corrected himself to say he was raped at Tauck Kyant. We find sufficient confusion surrounding these statements to make any reliance on this alleged inconsistency unfair. This was one of the most confusing aspects of the hearing and was obviously riddled with translation problems. While the IJ and the Board both recognized that there was some confusion in the translation as to the issue of times and locations of torture, their opinions treated the confusion as having been wholly clarified. For example, the interpreter appeared to have interchanged the words raped, mistreated, and tortured like before. The Board determined that these errors had no impact because the interpreter relayed an answer provided by Petitioner as No, I was not mistreated while at Insein. This, however, ignores the fact that the flawed interpretation works in two directions—if the interpreter was using different words interchangeably when speaking to Petitioner, we can have no confidence that the answers relayed by the interpreter to the IJ and the attorneys accurately reflected what the Petitioner answered. 54 Also, the IJ said it was inconsistent for Petitioner to state he could not obtain documents from the Burmese government, but to have a copy of the arrest warrant to present at his hearing. Petitioner clearly explained, however, that the arrest warrant was delivered to his family—no family member had to seek this document from the Burmese government. The IJ also stated that it was inconsistent that Petitioner could obtain a passport given the fact that there was a warrant for his arrest. This statement merely demonstrates that the IJ ignored or missed the fact that the warrant was not issued until 1998, after Petitioner had already left the country. 55 The Board discussed numerous other instances of alleged inconsistencies. First, in the affidavit, Petitioner said he was beaten at Insein with batons, but in the testimony, he said he was hit with a stick, rifle butts, and military boots. We believe it is self-evident that the terms baton and stick are sufficiently similar to permit the use these two terms interchangeably without giving rise to an adverse credibility determination. Also, the omission of a reference to rifle butts and boots is inconsequential in light of the overall evidence in this case. 56 Also in the affidavit, Petitioner described the severe injury of not being able to walk, sit down, eat solid food, or go to the bathroom and of suffering severe abdominal pain after torture at Tauck Kyant, but in his testimony, he only made general reference to injury in his back, shoulders, eyes, and head. The Board seized on this apparent discrepancy to support the finding of non-credibility. The Board failed to recognize, however, that the specific references were to injuries immediately after the beatings and sodomy. The general references to aches and pains, on the other hand, were entirely consistent with Petitioner's claim regarding his lingering health effects and his present state of health as described by Dr. Frye. 57 Petitioner correctly notes that the numerous instances of difficulties in understanding the interpreter and Petitioner's arguably unresponsive answers lent an air of evasiveness and confusion to the proceedings. It is not possible to mathematically weigh the impact this impression or tone may have had on the IJ, and we do not mean to suggest that we believe Petitioner's testimony was without inconsistencies or that we believe Petitioner necessarily should have been found entirely credible. We also do not suggest that it would be proper to reverse the administrative decision under the highly deferential standard for direct review as set forth in INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 & n. 1, 112 S.Ct. 812, 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992) and 8 U.S.C.A. § 1252(b)(4)(B). There remain numerous inconsistencies that do not appear to have been fully addressed by Petitioner and that might support a ruling against Petitioner. We hold only that the combined errors in this case were sufficiently pervasive that we must conclude they may have had an affect on the outcome. The excluded evidence provided strong support for Petitioner's claims, was closely related to the matters found dispositive by the Board, and involved matters that were the subject of the questionable translation. 58