State v. Samora: Non-English Speaking Jurors

The New Mexico Supreme Court in a recent ruling (State v. Samora) reaffirmed the fact that non-English speaking jurors have a right to serve on state juries.  New Mexico is one of the few states that allows non-English speaking individuals to sit as jurors.  In making its ruling, the New Mexico Supreme Court cited Article VII, Section 3 of the New Mexico Constitution which states that

“[t]he right of any citizen of the state to . . . sit upon juries, shall never be restricted, abridged or impaired on account of . . . [the] inability to speak, read or write the English or Spanish languages except as may be otherwise provided in this constitution."