In a dimly lit interview room, Murray Stubbs sat across from an Aboriginal boy no older than 13, maybe 14.

Speaking through a small grill in the window dividing them, Mr Stubbs asked the boy a series of pointed questions.

"Do you know what you've done? When was your last court date? Why did you breach bail conditions? When did you last live with your mum?"

The boy sat slumped with his eyes to the floor. With each answer, Mr Stubbs had to strain his ears to hear.

But it was clear the boy had done this before.

This has been his routine with countless other young men — and it is mainly young men — some of whom may be too young to know what bail even means.

A former mine worker and labourer, Mr Stubbs has no formal legal training and often does not bill for his services.

But for more than 30 years, he has acted as a guide for Aboriginal people trying to navigate Western Australia's daunting criminal justice system.

"My role is to make sure that Aboriginal people have an advocate to speak on their behalf and help them in court," he said.

"Sadly when it comes to court, if you're not familiar, it's a very frightening place, and people do not understand what's actually happening."

'They may not realise they've got a defence'

Murray Stubbs, a court officer with the Aboriginal Legal Service, has no formal legal training. ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

Mr Stubbs's formal title is court officer, but his job is far broader than it suggests.

He is also an interpreter, advisor, negotiator and fixer.

A Wongatha man, he works for the Aboriginal Legal Service in Kalgoorlie, a Legal Aid organisation based in Perth and 14 regional towns around the state.

From a windowless, cramped office he shares with his co-worker, Elvis, he fills paperwork and prepares notes.

Of the 20 or so names that land on his desk each week, he is already familiar with about half.

The rest are fresh faces, but he knows he will see them again soon — WA has the highest rate of Indigenous incarceration in the country.

"I used to represent some of the young fellas in the Children's Court. Every now and again I keep coming across those people, they're young men now," he said.

"Once you're in the system, sadly it's very hard to get out. There needs to be more done to try and keep the person out."

Kalgoorlie magistrate Sandra De Maio can hear up to 100 cases in a day. ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

In his day-to-day work, one of the most significant barriers he sees is the lack of understanding among Aboriginal people of how the court system works.

One morning in the police lockup, Mr Stubbs patiently explains to offenders whose cases he has taken on, sometimes in the Wongatha language, what will happen next.

Soon after his interview, the 13-year-old Aboriginal boy from the lockup is taken through a rear door to appear in the court dock before a magistrate.

Mr Stubbs will be there to help the boy understand what is happening, but he wants to see a full-time Aboriginal interpreter employed by the courts to be on hand when he is not.

"If they're not represented, they may not realise they've got a defence to a charge and they plead guilty to a charge not knowing there may be a legal defence," he said.

It is something Aboriginal interpreter Grant Cooley, who offers his services for free in remote communities around Australia, has seen before.

"They could be in a situation where they're scared of what's happening to them and they could say yes to anything," Mr Cooley said.

"They could plead guilty and he's not even guilty. He will get thrown into prison and he could be doing somebody else's time."

Aboriginal court interpreter Clayton Jackson travels remote communities providing his services for free. ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

The perils of self representation

For those without the means to afford a lawyer, and who might find court a daunting experience, it is left to a defendant to represent themselves in court.

"That I think is one of the biggest issues we have," said Ashley Watson, a defence lawyer who provides services for Legal Aid in Kalgoorlie, an organisation that provides free legal counsel to low-income earners.

Matters in the district or supreme courts, rather than magistrate's court, tend to receive the greatest proportion of Legal Aid's limited resources.

"The stakes are higher. It's more complicated. You do need a lawyer," Mr Watson said.

Access to the criminal justice system can be particularly hard for those in remote communities such as Warburton, WA. ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

As a result, he has seen many self-represented defendants charged with crimes in the magistrate's court plead guilty for no reason other than to avoid the matter progressing to trial.

The pressure of speaking before the court during trial, often in a foreign language, can be overwhelming for Aboriginal defendants, especially those from remote communities.

In Kalgoorlie's courthouse, one of its two full-time magistrates, Sandra De Maio, can hear up to 100 cases in a day.

"It's very much almost like a factory some days," Ms De Maio said.

"[But] even if I only give you 30 seconds, you will get 30 seconds of my undivided attention."

In Kalgoorlie, where crime, law and order have become regular political talking points, Mr Stubbs has his work cut out for him.

But it does occasionally take a personal toll, particularly when it involves young people.

Mr Stubbs recently represented a young man who was a serial re-offender.

In response to why he did it, the boy said he had no other choice.

"He said 'I don't get no money'. He's about 16, I think, and he's doing a burglary again. Well, that's very sad," Mr Stubbs said.

Aboriginal interpreters working to increase training and numbers

Aboriginal Interpreting WA said it did translate for some defendants in court including a recent homicide trial in Kalgoorlie Boulder.

However, chief executive officer Deanne Lightfoot said there was a need to ensure more interpreters were sufficiently trained and accredited.

She said her organisation was continuing to work with the State Government on a project to roll out more interpreter training and boost numbers.

"Indigenous Interpreters Project we will be facilitating training for the Goldfields region for interpreters in the upcoming months to ensure people are trained in the profession, engaged, supported and renumerated for their crucial role in ensuring two way understanding," Ms Lightfoot told the ABC.