Caballero v. Seventh Judicial District Court

OPINION

By the Court, Hardesty, J.:

In this petition, we address an important issue regarding access to justice — we consider whether a non-English speaking litigant is entitled to have a volunteer interpreter appointed to assist him or her in a justice court small claims proceeding. And, when no volunteer interpreter is available, we consider whether the justice court has discretion to appoint a state-registered interpreter, at public expense for indigent litigants.

The underlying case arose after petitioner, an inmate, was allegedly deprived of certain personal property by Nevada state prison…