KABC Channel 7 11 o'clock Eyewitness News, Los Angeles, January 30, 1997:

A Bakersfield, California, man is appealing a 26-year prison sentence for robbery, assault, and car-jacking on the basis of misunderstood testimony due to his use of Ebonics. When asked about his criminal record, Frederick Clayton had responded "I always be... a sneak thief type." to convey that he had never [up until then] been convicted of a violent crime. Clayton's attorney claims that if the judge had understood Ebonics, his client would be a free man.

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