A New Jersey court ruling on drunken driving could affect Pennsylvania motorists.

The New Jersey Supreme Court last week overturned a conviction for failing to take an alcohol breath test because the driver did not speak English. It's an issue states with similar laws have grappled with over the years.

"Pennsylvania has the same kind of implied consent, so this could have ramifications for (state) law," Lancaster defense attorney Jeff Conrad said.

In most states, including Pennsylvania, when drivers are stopped on suspicion of drunken driving, they are reminded that they signed an "implied consent form" agreeing to submit to blood-alcohol testing when they were issued their driver's licenses.

If drivers refuse testing, their licenses are automatically suspended for a year. That's in addition to any suspensions imposed if they are subsequently convicted of drunken driving.

Drivers with previous DUI convictions or who have previously refused testing can have their licenses suspended for three years.

"If you don't submit, there are very serious consequences," Conrad said. "It can be used against you in court. One should certainly be advised in a language they understand with consequences that serious."

When the New Jersey driver, German Marquez, who speaks only Spanish, was stopped in 2007, he was reminded of New Jersey's implied consent law in English. He said he did not understand and did not take the test.

The court agreed with his attorney that suspects must be informed in a language they can understand of the consequences of refusing to take an alcohol breath test.

"If the statement were translated, it would level the playing field equal to English speakers," said his attorney before the Supreme Court issued its ruling.

 The ruling could have implications here.

According to census data from 2005, 18 percent of Lancaster County's Hispanic population who are age 5 and older, representing up to 8,000 adults and children, speak English "not well or not at all."

In Pennsylvania, driver's manuals, which include a section on the implied consent law, and knowledge tests, which must be taken to obtain a driver's permit, are offered in both English and Spanish.

Because of the court ruling, New Jersey is the only state requiring the implied consent law to be translated to non-English speaking drivers if they are stopped.

The American Civil Liberties Union, in a statement, compared it to the importance of translating Miranda Rights and court proceedings to those who do not speak English.

A local attorney disagreed.

"Having a driver's license is a privilege, not a right" said Steven Breit, a defense attorney who has handled DUI cases for more than 20 years.

"There's no 11th amendment protecting the right to drive."

In a case regarding the suspension of a driver's license, Breit said, a driver is not protected by certain Constitutional rights, such as the right to remain silent.

Breit pointed to a 2005 Dauphin County case, in which the court ruled that limited English is not a defense.

Breit said a judge in the case stated, "We do not wish to grant a drunken immigrant immunity."

The defense attorney said Pennsylvania already has a "safety net" for drivers who cannot speak English.

If a driver can prove in court that they have an "inability to understand the language completely," the suspension could be dropped, he said.

In Lancaster city, where more than a third of the residents are Hispanic, police are equipped with some tools to overcome language barriers.

"Anytime we stop someone for any violation, we try to locate an officer who speaks the language," said Lt. Todd Umstead, the city's public affairs officer.

"In the city, it's usually Spanish. We have several Spanish speaking officers."

The officers also have access to a telephone language line that provides translators.

Umstead said he has personally used the line in the field when responding to a domestic call where the residents spoke Vietnamese.

"It's time consuming, but we figure out what's going on," he said.

He said that on a DUI stop, translation would be necessary because "you couldn't explain a field sobriety test if you didn't understand the language."

"I can only speak for the city, but we make every effort to make sure the person can understand."

Across the state, different methods are used to communicate with non-English speakers, including written forms and computer programs, but there is no uniform way to handle such incidents.

"Personally, I'm glad when greater protections are afforded to citizens," said Conrad, a former Lancaster County district attorney.

"After 9/11, people seemed happy to relinquish rights. It's nice when the pendulum swings back to rights being awarded to citizens."

dmartin@lnpnews.com