State of Missouri v. Harry J. William

Mr. Harry J, William appeals his conviction in Clay County Circuit Court following a jury trial for first-degree statutory rape, § 566.032, 1 for which he waé sentenced to eighteen years in the Department of Corrections. He argues that the circuit court abused its discretion in denying his request for an interpreter and in denying his motion to dismiss when an interpreter could not be found due to the rarity of his native language. Comparing the lack of an interpreter to other structural trial defects, such as the absence of counsel or a biased court, he claims that his constitutional rights…