volume 16, number 1 - UDC Law Review

\\jciprod01\productn\D\DCR\16-1\DCR104.txt unknown Seq: 22 29-JAN-13 10:2638 UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA LAW REVIEWthe survey available in Spanish because, “There were a few times when I thinkpeople were unable to fill out the survey because of language barriers. One manbegan to fill out the survey but then told us he did not have time. I think the realreason he did not complete the survey was because he felt uncomfortable speakingand reading English.” 107 Although our study was not longitudinal, it is fair toassert that with the projected growth of the Hispanic population in the Washingtonmetropolitan region, there might be a greater need in the near future foradministrative hearings to accommodate this segment of the population. 108TABLE 2. LEVEL OF PREPARATION BEFORE THE HEARING. All numbers in thetable represent percentages, and all percentages are rounded.Strongly Agree Disagree StronglyAgreeDisagreeUnderstood the purpose of the hearing 61 21 11 0Knew enough about how the hearing would 29 22 36 11be conductedUsed documents to prove case 25 29 25 7Prepared questions for cross-examination 11 18 43 18While more than eighty percent of the participants thought that they understoodthe purpose of the hearing, only slightly more than half felt they knewenough about how the hearing would be conducted, and less than a third preparedquestions beforehand for cross-examination. Only about half agreed orstrongly agreed that they used documents to prove their cases. These data suggestthat participants showed a low level of preparation before the hearing, eventhough they understood its purpose.TABLE 3. THE USE OF A LAWYER BEFORE THE HEARING. All numbers in thetable represent percentages, and all percentages are rounded.Strongly Agree Disagree StronglyAgreeDisagreeI would use a free lawyer if I could have one 57 14 11 4When asked whether they would have used the services of a free lawyer, themajority (seventy-one percent) of participants agreed and only a small number(fifteen percent) disagreed. This finding supports our initial hypothesis about theparticipants’ desire for legal representation.107 Memorandum from Erin Hughes, Law Student, Columbus School of Law, to authors (Dec.2, 2009) (on file with authors).108 See Jeffrey S. Passel, D’Vera Cohn & Mark Hugo Lopez, Hispanics Account for More thanHalf of Nation’s Growth in Past Decade, PEW HISPANIC CENTER (Mar. 24, 2011), http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=140.