Criminal Procedure
Interpreter Delay Spurs Dismissal
Posted Jul 24, 2007, 11:03 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Prosecutors are appealing a Maryland judge’s decision to dismiss rape charges against a Liberian immigrant because of delays in finding an interpreter.
Judge Katherine Savage of Rockville dismissed the case against Mahamu Kanneh last week, the Washington Post reports. He had been accused of raping a 7-year-old girl who was a relative.
Kanneh’s lawyers had contended the delay violated his right to a speedy trial. He was arrested in August 2004 and was free on bail. He speaks Vai, the language of about 100,000 people in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
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