Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
State v. Medina, 205 N.C. App. 683 (Jul. 20, 2010)
The defendant’s waiver of Miranda rights was valid where Miranda warnings were given by an officer who was not fluent in Spanish. The officer communicated effectively with the defendant in Spanish, notwithstanding the lack of fluency. The defendant gave clear, logical, and appropriate responses to questions. Also, when the officer informed the defendant of his Miranda rights, he did not translate English to Spanish but rather read aloud the Spanish version of the waiver of rights form. Even if the defendant did not understand the officer, the defendant read each right, written in Spanish, initialed next to each right, and signed the form indicating that he understood his rights. The court noted that officers are not required to orally apprise a defendant of Miranda rights to effectuate a valid waiver.