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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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"Times New Roman";color:windowtext'>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 color=black face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:windowtext;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font
size=2 color=black face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
color:windowtext'> leadership-bounces@acb.org
[mailto:leadership-bounces@acb.org] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf
Of </span></b>Joel Snyder<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Thursday, January 14, 2010
8:19 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> 'ACB audio description
discussion list'; acb-l@acb.org; leadership@acb.org<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Cc:</span></b> LF@LFLegal.com;
LDardarian@gdblegal.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [leadership] A
"banner day" in court!<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Importance:</span></b> High</span></font><font
size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Hi all,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>As many of you know, yesterday in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San
Francisco</st1:place></st1:City> there was an oral argument in the 9th
Circuit Court of Appeal in a case concerning captioning and audio description
in movie theaters.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Jeff Thom of the California Council of the Blind, along with top access
advocates/attorneys, provided an amicus brief in the case on behalf of ACB,
AFB, the AAPD, the Screen Actors' Guild, and others as well as individual blind
movie-goers. The case was argued by a lawyer in the Arizona Attorney
General's office who filed the case against the movie theater chain that
refused to provide captions or audio description. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>You’ll enjoy reading the blog post by John Waldo appended at the
bottom of this message. (The actual blog post can be accessed on
the web at: <a
href="http://www.hearinglosslaw.com/2010/01/articles/washcap-1/public-facilities/banner-day-in-court-for-people-with-hearing-loss/">http://www.hearinglosslaw.com/2010/01/articles/washcap-1/public-facilities/banner-day-in-court-for-people-with-hearing-loss/</a>
)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>I think we’ve all taken a major step forward in support of access
at the movies!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>All best,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Joel<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>JOEL SNYDER<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>President, Audio Description Associates, LLC<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>"The Visual Made Verbal" tm<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>6502 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><a href="mailto:jsnyder@audiodescribe.com"><font color=black><span
style='color:black'>jsnyder@audiodescribe.com</span></font></a> -- 301 920-0218<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Cell: 301 452-1898 -- Fax: 408 445-0079<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>For more information about audio description, please visit:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><a href="http://www.audiodescribe.com/"><font color=black><span
style='color:black'>www.audiodescribe.com</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Director, Audio Description Project<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>American Council of the Blind<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><a href="mailto:jsnyder@acb.org"><font color=black><span
style='color:black'>jsnyder@acb.org</span></font></a> -- 202 467-5083<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><a href="http://www.adinternational.org/"><font color=black><span
style='color:black'>www.adinternational.org</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Posted on January 14, 2010 by <a
href="http://www.hearinglosslaw.com/promo/about/">John Waldo</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-weight:bold'><a
href="http://www.hearinglosslaw.com/2010/01/articles/washcap-1/public-facilities/banner-day-in-court-for-people-with-hearing-loss/">Banner
Day in Court for People with Hearing Loss</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>A federal appeals court in San Francisco heard oral arguments on Jan.
13 about whether movie theaters must offer services like captioning or audio
descriptions so that those of us with sensory losses can enjoy the movies. And
the arguments of one theater chain that all it needs to do is open the doors
and let us in was, to put it mildly, poorly received.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Those of us who have spent a lot of time in appellate courts are
usually pretty cautious about trying to predict a case's outcome based on the
questions the judges ask. But there are sometimes a few clues, or
"tells" that can indicate that, just maybe, things aren't going your
way.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>1) When the judges start making the other side's argument for them,
that's a pretty good "tell."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>2) When the judges say your clients are "being jerks," that's
a pretty good "tell."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>3) When the judges suggest that "someday," people will be
laughing at your argument, then when you don't back off, proceed to do so,
that's a pretty good "tell."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Well, I'm pleased to report that all of those things happened to the
attorneys for the Harkins theater chain when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
heard arguments about whether the Americans with Disabilities Act requires
movie theaters to show captioned (and audio-described) movies.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>As you may know, the Arizona Attorney General's Office sued the Harkins
theater chain, claiming that the business violated both ADA and Arizona state
law by failing to show captioned and described movies. The AG was not
suggesting that the theaters themselves had to provide the captions or
descriptions, but only that they need to install the equipment necessary to
show the captions and descriptions provided by the studios.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>The theaters took the position that ADA does not regulate the contents
of their products or services, and that they offer non-captioned movies.
"We have the right to choose what services we provide, and that is our
choice," said the attorney for the theaters. "We let everyone come
into our theaters and see our (non-captioned) movies, and that is what ADA
requires us to do."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>The AG's office, on the other hand, said that captions are the kind of
"auxiliary aid and service" that the ADA requires to enable people
with hearing and vision losses to gain the "full enjoyment" of the
businesses' offerings.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>The judges basically said flat-out that they thought the theater
argument is preposterous. Alex Kozinski, the chief judge, said, "What if
we took the position that this building is a building with steps, and if
someone in a wheelchair wants to come in, they can find somebody to carry
them?"<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Kozinksi went on, "Actually, that case happened, and some lawyer
argued that being able to crawl up the steps was good enough. Today, people are
laughing at that argument, and I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years,
people are laughing at your argument."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>The attorney didn't back down. And the judges started laughing.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>"Captions just let them enjoy the same movie that everybody else
sees," Kozinski said. "I don't know why you don't want to do
this."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Kozinski went on to say that at best, it's only a matter of time before
movie theaters have to comply. "You are going to lose," he said.
"You might not even lose this case, but you will lose someday. Why don't
you get out ahead and do the right thing instead of being jerks?"<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Nor were the judges impressed with any argument about cost. I asked for
CART for the hearing, which was provided. "That wasn't in our
budget," Kozinski said, "but we pulled it together in a day. With
what theaters are doing with 3D, the cost of this (providing equipment to show
captions) is just a drop in the bucket."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Now I don't want to suggest that we're going to see every movie
captioned at any time in the future. The judges seemed pretty clear in their
view that open-captioning can change the moviegoing experience for hearing
patrons, and that the interests of those patrons must be balanced against the
benefit to those of us who need captions. I think it's quite clear that
those theaters that offer open captions, visible to everyone in the audience,
would not be required to caption every movie.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>The judges also recognized that the pending change-over to digital
display may mean that some things that can't be done now can be done in the
future, and that today's captioning equipment may become obsolete. But the
judges said issues of that nature should be worked out by the parties
themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>In fact, that's just what the judges suggested. "You've got your
general counsel here," Kozinski told the Harkins attorney, "and the
AG's office is here. Why don't you just go down to the cafeteria and work out a
schedule today?"<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>I would anticipate a "quick" decision from the court, but
"quick" from an appellate court probably still means four to six
months.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Meanwhile, the attorneys representing the movie theaters in our
Washington case were in the audience. They asked me afterwards whether we could
just put our case on ice for awhile, until the court rules on Harkins. They
noted that we're "going to spend a lot of money" making motions in
our case.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>I said I wasn't interested in a stay. What I suggested instead is that
they basically just throw in the towel on any argument that they don't have to
do anything, and sit down and negotiate what and when they have to do things.
Their response: "we'll report to our clients about what happened today,
and get back to you."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>The bottom line -- circle today's date on your calendar. This was the
day that the movie theaters' arguments that "we don't have to do
anything" crumbled.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext'><br>
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