Improving Language Access and Language Justice: All-Spanish Administrative Hearings in Washington State

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Volume 43, Issue 2 (Spring 2025)

By Donald N. Dowie,* Marek E. Falk** & Domingo G. Alvarez***

Individuals with limited English proficiency need accommodations to have access to justice in legal proceedings. Interpreters can sometimes bridge the gap in understanding. However, interpretation often has drawbacks, particularly with Spanish. These drawbacks can result in a less accurate record and create mistrust of the system among participants. For these reasons, the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings holds certain hearings entirely in Spanish, without interpreters.

This Feature discusses why this program is important and details its progression from the pilot phase to operational status. Also discussed are the essential elements that made the program a success and policy considerations relevant to establishing such a program. The authors hope this information will help other jurisdictions initiate similar programs, to provide increased access to justice through an equitable hearing process with fewer barriers.

*Donald N. Dowie joined the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings (“OAH”) in 2019 and serves as a lead administrative law judge there. He held the first all-Spanish hearings on the agency’s unemployment insurance and public assistance caseloads, and alongside his fellow co-authors, continues to do so. He received his J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1993 and a B.A. from Central Washington University in 1988. He previously worked for the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a civil litigator. He learned Spanish while living in Chile for three years, and from his wife, Evelyn, who is Chilean.

**Marek E. Falk has served as an OAH administrative law judge since 2021. He was the agency’s second judge to hold Spanish hearings, beginning in late 2022. He previously practiced criminal defense for nine years, primarily as a trial and appellate public defender, representing many Spanish speakers. He holds a J.D. from the University of Washington (2012) and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin (2000). He speaks Spanish as a second language, which he learned as a young adult through travel, work, and friendship.

***Domingo G. Alvarez is a 1981 graduate of Emory University School of Law and an active member of both the Washington and Florida Bars. Before becoming an administrative law judge at OAH, he spent most of his career in private practice and has extensive litigation experience in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, and criminal defense. A native Spanish speaker, he was born in Cuba and came to the United States at age ten. Throughout his years in law, he has communicated with many Spanish-speaking clients in their native language. 

The authors thank the Editors of the Yale Law & Policy Review for their work on this Feature. The authors also thank Natalie Angers, Tony Griego, Diane Jennings, Cristina Labra, Lorraine Lee, Laura Sanchez, Joshua Sundt, and Brendon Tukey for their valuable contributions to this Feature.