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Audio Description Issues
ADA Twentieth Anniversary Rule Making from Department of Justice
Breaking News Update! The U.S. Department of Justice has published Advanced Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on four issues of importance to the disability community.
Earlier News Update! The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that on July 26 it will issue Advanced Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on four issues of importance to the disability community. The Notices will address web accessibility for entities covered by the ADA, movie captioning and video description, accessibility of next generation 9-1-1, and accessibility of equipment and furniture in covered entities.
Federal Appeals Court Victory for Blind Movie Goers
We disagree with Harkins that captioning and descriptive narration fall outside the ADA as a matter of law. As stated previously Plaintiffs are seeking an auxiliary aid, which is specifically mandated by the ADA to prevent discrimination of the disabled.— Ninth Circuit Opinion in State of Arizona v. Harkins
Great news for visually impaired movie goers! On April 30, 2010 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that audio description is “clearly” an “auxiliary aid and service” under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This ruling revives an Arizona lawsuit against the Harkins movie theater chain that had been thrown out of court in 2008.
The plaintiffs can now continue their case against the Harkins chain for the company’s failure to provide audio description at its theaters. The case can also go forward on claims brought by deaf and hearing impaired theater-goers for captioning.
Court Hears Argument about Audio Description and Captioning
On January 13, 2010, Court Room 2 of the federal court of appeals in San Francisco was packed with people with visual and hearing impairments. The public was there to listen to oral argument about whether a lawsuit can be filed against a movie theater that refuses to provide captioning or audio description for movie-goers with disabilities. The three appellate judges hearing the case demonstrated a keen interest in the issue and grilled the lawyer for the Harkins movie chain about why his company didn’t just “do the right thing”
Advocacy Groups, DOJ, Screen Actors Guild Support Audio Description in Movie Theaters
On January 13, 2010, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco will hear oral argument in an important case regarding the rights of movie-goers with visual and hearing impairments. The appeal challenges a 2008 District Court decision out of Arizona holding that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not require theaters to install descriptive video equipment. The Law Office of Lainey Feingold and co-counsel Linda Dardarian filed an Amicus Brief explaining that the court’s decision should be reversed.