By Miriam Meek
Compared to the state''s official cooking pot, the dutch oven, Utah''s English-only law was upheld as constitutional and deemed largely symbolic in Third District Court Monday, March 5.
'The designation of English as the official language of Utah ... is clearly symbolic and of no constitutional consequence,' said Judge Ronald E. Nehring. 'I conclude that the act does not discriminate against those who seek to communicate with government officials and employees.'
The law passed as an initiative on Nov. 7, with the support of 74 percent of Utah''s voters. However, after the ACLU filed suit against the state for the act, the court blocked its implementation with an injunction.
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, Sen. Pete Suazo, D-Salt Lake City, the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Muliticultural Legal Center were also plaintiffs on the case.
The law declares English as the language of state and local government business, but does not prohibit officials or employees from communicating in other languages, Nehring said.
Although Stephen Clark, legal director for the ACLU, was pleased that the court emphasized the symbolic nature of the law, he said the judge''s decision to not clarify the terms 'official' and 'unofficial' government documents troubled him.
The English-only law mandates that all 'official' documents and publications representing the state and its political subdivisions must be in English, unless they meet exemptions.
Those include health and safety needs, economic development, court proceedings, tourism and the Olympics.
However, any document that is 'unofficial' can be in another language.
'That''s a caveat from our perspective because that means that the law does have some legal affect,' Clark said.
'It''s unclear, but a possibility exists that there will be no legal obligation to look at anything that''s in another language, and then it will just be thrown in the garbage.'
The law also gives the state the right to withdraw funds for translation services.
The ACLU has not decided if it will appeal the ruling to Utah''s Supreme Court, or wait to file a separate lawsuit if criteria for government documents prove problematic.
'Ninety-nine percent of it is symbolic, but one little sliver isn''t and that''s what gives us pause,' he said.