04/25/01: English-Only?

[Freakapotimus]

Tuesday April 24 05:13 PM EDT

Court Nixes Suit Against English-Only Law
By ABCNEWS.com

A sharply divided Supreme Court rejected a Spanish-speaker's lawsuit against Alabama for its English-only driver's exam.

Limiting the scope of a key federal civil rights law, a divided U.S. Supreme Court today rejected a lawsuit that claimed that English-only driver's exams are unconstitutional.

The court ruled 5-4 that private citizens cannot sue federally funded state agencies under a federal law that bans discrimination based on race, color or national origin.

At issue in the case is a class-action lawsuit brought by Alabama resident Martha Sandoval, who was forbidden from taking the state's driving exam in Spanish.

In 1996, Sandoval filed suit in federal court claiming the now-defunct policy discriminated against her under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Title VI of the law prohibits any federally funded agencies from discriminating on the basis of national origin.

Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said federal law does not give private citizens the right to sue the state on these grounds, and that only Congress can grant such power.

"Neither as originally enacted nor as later amended does [the law] display an intent to create a free-standing private right of action to enforce regulations" under another section of the law, Scalia wrote.

A Sharp Dissent

Joining Scalia were the high court's other conservatives - Chief Justice William Rehnquist and justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas.

For the minority, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the court issued "a decision unfounded in our precedent and hostile to decades of settled expectations."

The dissenting opinion agreed with Sandoval's attorney Eric Schnapper, who told the high court during oral argumments in January that allowing private lawsuits had become "an established part of the fabric of law."

Stevens accused the majority of making several errors, including the giving of a "muddled account" of the logic and scope of past decisions upholding such private lawsuits.

Joining Stevens in the dissent were justices David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer.

Suit Upheld in Lower Courts

In lower-court action, a federal district court ruled in Sandoval's favor in 1988, finding the state's justification for the tests meritless because the agency offered foreign-language tests before with no reports of problems.

For years, the state of Alabama - like most other states - allowed would-be drivers to take Class D license exams in an array of foreign languages, from Spanish to Farsi.

In the wake of the English-only amendment, ratified in July 1990, however, Alabama's license exam rules were changed to forbid the tests from being administered in any language other than English.

A panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower-court decision, finding "the English-only official policy constituted a disparate impact on the basis of national origin."

Until today, the Supreme Court had never clearly decided whether such a "private right of action" exists under the civil rights law.

The case is Alexander vs. Sandoval.

[Shrapnel]

In countries where English is the primary language, I've always found drivers tests in other languages under a lot of contention.
You could argue that the when you drive, the road signs are not in foreign languages and that you will most likely have to deal with other drivers in English.
But, you could argue that driving only requires mental competency and that situations on the road are more reactionary than language based therefore tests should be available in other languages.
In some places, mass transit is poorly developed and driving is necessary to get around the town/city.

But when you get into an accident, you're going to need to communicate in English to the police....

I think it depends on the nature of the test....

I can see why you can justify having driving tests in different languages but there's just something peculiar about it...
You want to test driving ability and not their English skills yet the person being tested will have to deal in an English enviroment.

[shorbe]

Shrapnel: I hear what you are saying, but allowing that will only serve to make society divisive, and non-operational.

Furthermore, think of the cost of running such a system. Sure, lots of people speak Spanish. If we allow them to take the test in a language other than English, then we have to let anyone and everyone do so.

Is each testing centre going to have one hundred different translators on site in case someone wants to take their test in Swahili, Urduk, or Estonian?

The reason for having an official language is so that everyone can communicate and understand each other, as well as for simplicity. It would be silly to get rid of that.

shorbe

[Freakapotimus]

I think they only way to have the test in different languages is if the country has more than one official language. English is the official language here, so driving tests, road signs, and others things will have to be read by the person taking the test.

In Canada, are the tests available in English and/or French?

[Vero993]

Furthermore, think of the cost of running such a system.

Well, as Louisiana is bilingual, as is the better part of Florida, i think the rest of this rich ass country would get along just fine. Not to mention Belgium, Switzerland, and just about every european country that deals just fine with multi-lingual peoples.

:Sure, lots of people speak Spanish. If we allow them to take the test in a language other than English, then we have to let anyone and everyone do so.

why not? even though i'm a french major, and my future partner is a spanish teacher, i dont necessary want to fill out my marriage certificate in another language.

Is each testing centre going to have one hundred different translators on site in case someone wants to take their test in Swahili, Urduk, or Estonian?

Why not? translated exams really are not all that expensive. Anyway in my state, you have to schedule to take these exams. there would be plenty of time to ensure the proper language exams are available.

The reason for having an official language is so that everyone can communicate and understand each other, as well as for simplicity. It would be silly to get rid of that.

The USA doesn't have an 'official' language, for the same reason there is no 'official' religion.
By having an official language, you are, in essence, saying that all other languages and manners of thought are inferior to a particular tongue.

english doesn't make any sense. it has too many irregular verbs, and for most complex grammatical structures, borrows from french, latin, german, italian, and spanish.

also, most traffic signs are non-textual. in the event that the sign does have text on it, they're all shaped differently. You needn't be able to read english in order to understand english or american traffic signs, and you don't need to be able to read english to be able to drive an american car . do you read japanese or german, for all of you driving foreign cars?

In other news, the fact that a private citizen can't sue the government is utter bullshit. do we, as americans, have any rights left?

alright, i need to stop ranting.

[Slizor]

Well I kinda skim read it because I'm a lazy arse but I would only like to make one point
If the test is in another language then the bit about roadsigns HAS to be in english.

[shorbe]

Vero: In having an official language, no one is saying that language is necessary the superior one, but the most convenient. I'll be the first to admit that English is an absurd language. I don't know how people learn it. Most don't actually, especially native speakers.

Many signs are in English though, and unlike stop signs, they don't have a particlar shape.

Furthermore, your point that exams can be prepared cheaply may be correct, but what if someone sitting the test wants to ask a question? That's what I meant. Then you would need a whole lot of linguists employed, even if bookings were made in advance.

Regarding European countries, firstly, they've had those languages in their society for hundreds of years (and have an entirely different history and social structure). Secondly, even a country such as Switzerland, where four languages are spoken, probably doesn't have tests in one hundred different languages. It may have them in those four, but not in one hundred.

Language should be a unifying thing. I certainly wouldn't hold Europe up as a model of people getting along. They're the people who have brought the world two world wars and countless other conflicts. Every other year someone, or some group, is kicking the crap out of someone else on racial, religious, or cultural grounds.

shorbe

[Pantomime-Horse]

I would have thought all parts of America had driving tests in almost every language.

The New South Wales Roads & Traffic Authority has liscense tests in the fallowing languages in no particular order:

*Hindu
*Singalese
*Punjabi
*Cantonese
*Mandorin
*Arabic
*Goeorgian
*Russian
*Polish
*Japanese
*Not entirely sure of the names of languages but every Asian language still used today is covered.
*Yugoslavian
*German
*French
*Greek
*Turkish
*Italian
*Dutch
*Swedish
*Swiss
*Afrikahn
*Zwahieli

There are heaps of languages I haven't written down.

[Pantomime-Horse]

You could argue that the when you drive, the road signs are not in foreign languages

Road signs are very limited in words, they are universal & almost the same in every country, the only barrier is that between the Metric System & the Af/Imperial System & America are now the only country not to use the metric system.

[Shrapnel]

At 4/27/01 12:54 PM, Freakapotimus wrote:

In Canada, are the tests available in English and/or French?

Yes- they are available in English and French.
Everything is required by law to be available in French.
The written portion of the driving test where I live is also available in Chinese or Punjabi.

On another note, many of the school notices handed out to parents are often translated into Chinese or Punjabi depending on its importance to make sure newly immigrated parents can keep in touch with major events
at their child's school.

[Shrapnel]

At 4/28/01 12:29 AM, Pantomime_Horse wrote:

Road signs are very limited in words, they are universal & almost the same in every country, the only barrier is that between the Metric System & the Af/Imperial System & America are now the only country not to use the metric system.

There are 2 other countries which do not know metric:
Myramar, and Liberia

It's a good trivia question. ^_^

[Slizor]

England uses both, and we can pull a good pint