Ruling: Interpreters must be provided in Justice Court

CARSON CITY -- Justice Court judges must provide interpreters for non-English speakers who have cases in their courts, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

In a 7-0 decision, the court reversed an Ely Justice Court decision to throw out a case brought by Hermes Caballero, an inmate in the Ely State Prison.

Caballero was transferred from an Arizona prison to the Ely prison in 2004. He lost personal property during the transfer and was told by prison employees that his possessions would be returned to him by mail.

But later, Caballero was told by Nevada prison employees that his possessions had been lost. With the assistance of a bilingual inmate-law clerk, Caballero sued the prison in small claims court.

While in court, Caballero requested an interpreter but he was told by the judge that because his was a small claims case, an interpreter did not have to be provided for him.

Later, District Judge Steve Dobrescu upheld that decision. He maintained state law requires an interpreter only in cases where because of a disability, such as being deaf, mute or having a speaking impairment, a person cannot communicate in the English language.

In the decision written by Justice James Hardesty, the court mentioned that Caballero said if his case had not been dismissed so abruptly, then the judge would have learned that the bilingual inmate-law clerk would have served as his interpreter.

Hardesty wrote that while Caballero might not have met the legal requirements for a court-appointed interpreter, the Justice Court "nevertheless had discretion, under both its inherent authority and express authority--in the form of a specific court rule--to appoint Caballero an interpreter."

In a footnote in the decision, Hardesty mentioned that 585,326 Nevada residents in 2006 were Hispanic. That is about one-quarter of the state population. The Hispanic population is expected to grow to 1,457,441 by 2026, according to the state demographer's office, the court also noted.

In addition, courts in Clark County in the first six months of this year received 32,779 requests for interpreters. That is nearly a 5,000-request increase from the same period in 2006.

In the decision, the Supreme Court said justice courts first should look for volunteer interpreters, but if they are not available, registered interpreters should be hired and paid.

The case was remanded back to the Ely Township Justice Court so an interpreter can be found to assist Caballero in his small claims case.