My Focus
Angel Echavarria

Set Free After 21 Years in Prison

Angel Echavarria was sent to prison for a murder he did not commit. The Honorable David Lowy credited my testimony in making his dramatic ruling and freeing Angel Echavarria after spending over two decades behind bars.

Providing Assistance for Limited English Speakers

Globalization has brought many newcomers to our legal system. Today, many attorneys are faced with the growing challenge of defending recent immigrants to the U.S. who have limited understanding of the English language and may be unaware of the basic concepts of American law. Contact Dr. Michael O'Laughlin for expert consultation and legal testimony.

Many cases today involve difficulty with languages, meaning, or understanding. When one's rights are waived, statements are made or police confrontations occur, a person who does not speak English perfectly is at a serious disadvantage. Any police encounter in which a language other than English is spoken by a potential defendant can pose a problem.

My Cases Have Often Focused On:

  • Limited English proficiency testing
  • The Miranda Warning
  • Equal protection and due process questions
  • Literacy testing
  • Foreign cultures and languages
  • Non-English word studies
  • Gang language
  • Immigrant acculturation patterns
  • Interpreter qualifications and ethics
  • Translation verification
  • Dialects

Expert Assistance on Cases From OUI to Murder

I was one of the first court interpreters hired anywhere in the country and have lived my life abroad or among immigrants here. If you have a case in which the evidence is not in English, or your client has limited or no English and was not understood or could not understand, please contact me.
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