Santana v. New York City Transit Authority

OPINION OF THE COURT

David B. Saxe, J.

The outcome of a trial often rests upon the ability of a party or witness to express himself to a jury. Words often trigger *778powerful visual images and consequently, they act to persuade a court or jury. And, since words are the basic components of communication, the manner in which they are spoken and understood is basic to a fair trial.

Where the language spoken by a party or witness is not English but a foreign language, a court has the power and authority to appoint an interpreter (Wise v Short, 181 NC 320, 107 SE 134 [Sup Ct 1921]). This is so because…