Jara v. Municipal Court

I dissent.

Appellant Aurelio Jara has been sued in municipal court for damages arising out of an automobile accident. He attests that he is indigent and that he can neither speak nor understand the English language. In California, all courtroom proceedings are conducted in English. (Code Civ. Proc., § 185.) Consequently, Jara requested that the court appoint an interpreter at county expense in order to translate the proceedings for *187him at trial. The court, concluding that it lacked both inherent and statutory power to appoint an interpreter for this purpose, denied his motion.

As I shall…