A
Fort Smith illegal-immigration opponent has filed suit against the
Arkansas State Police because it gives driver’s license instructions
and examinations in Spanish, the complainant’s attorney confirmed
Monday.

“We feel the lawsuit has merit because it violates the
English-as-official-language statute,” said Sam “Chip” Sexton III, who
represents Joe McCutchen.

Sexton said providing the
Spanish-language materials also violates a code requiring driver’s
license applicants to demonstrate their ability to read and understand
the state’s highway and traffic laws.

According
to the complaint, filed in Sebastian County Circuit Court, the
publication of Spanish-language materials and tests “offends the
explicit provisions” as well as the spirit of several Arkansas
statutes. In addition to the codes declaring English as the state’s
official language and requiring an understanding of road rules, the
complaint invokes a state law that prohibits issuing a driver’s license
to any person making an initial application who is not lawfully in the
United States.

Assistant Attorney General Colin Jorgensen,
representing the state, filed a motion to dismiss the suit April 11,
and McCutchen’s reply is due May 12.

Sexton said he had not read the motion Monday and could not comment on it.

In
the motion to dismiss, Jorgensen quoted the Arkansas code that declares
English as the state’s official language — and the sole subsequent
sentence, which states the section should not prohibit public schools
from their duty to provide equal educational opportunities to all
children.

The statute does not refer to other state entities or require the exclusive use of English in state publications.

If
it did, Jorgensen argues, it might be struck down as unconstitutional,
as happened in a 1999 Alabama case. The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of
Appeals found that state’s English-only driver’s license exams to be a
violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the equal-protection
clause of the 14th Amendment.

Jorgensen cites another case in
which the Alaska Supreme Court struck down one sentence in an
official-language statute that stated English was “the language” to be
used by all public agencies because the word “the” indicated
exclusivity and had a “prohibitory function.” The same court let stand
another sentence that said the English language “shall be used” in all
official public documents because it had a “permissive aspect” that
allowed for documents to be published in other languages common in the
state, such as Yup’ik, Tagalog and Spanish.