Today the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that police must inform drunk driving suspects in their native language that they are legally required to take a breathalyzer test.

In 2007, German Marquez was involved in a two car accident.  The New Jersey police suspected him of driving under the influence and read him a statement that explained he had to take a breath test.  He didn't consent because he didn't speak English. 

He was convicted of driving while intoxicated and refusing to take a breath test.  He appealed the conviction on refusing to take the breath test arguing that the explanation about the law should have been given in Spanish.  He wanted the court to overturn his conviction and mandate translations of the breath test statement.

The court agreed 4-3.  The court overturned the conviction.  Until today, no state had required translation of the statement for non-English speakers.

Lower courts had ruled against Marquez, but did recommend New Jersey make translations of the consent statement available in other languages, which they did at their official website.

This ruling sets a bad precedent that many states may choose to follow.