D.C. federal court orders White House to provide interpreters for Covid-19 briefings starting October 1
NAD CEO Howard Rosenblum announced two days ago in a vlog that a federal court in D.C. has ordered the White House to provide an ASL interpreter for its coronavirus briefings beginning on October 1, 2020.
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg ordered that the interpreter should be either physically next to the speaker (whoever the speaker is) or in a PIP format.
The interpreter must be visible on the White House’s video streaming of coronavirus briefings that is on its website. The White House is required to share this feed with TV networks. The networks are not required to broadcast the interpreters. Rosenbaum said he hopes the networks will show the ASL interpreter and that the NAD would actively encourage them to do so. If they don’t, at least there’s the White House interpreter.
Rosenblum said this is amazing news and a historic case because it is the first time that the White House has been ordered to comply with (Section 504) of the Rehabilitation Act. It’s the first for the White House.
No U.S. president has ever provided an ASL interpreter during White House briefings, so Donald Trump would be the first president with an ASL interpreter.
Rosenblum said the NAD would continue to advocate for the White House to provide ASL access for all press briefings in the future.
The NAD in the lawsuit worked with a legal firm named Arnold & Porter and represented five deaf plaintiffs: Carlton Strail, Graham Forsey, Debra Fleetwood, John Rivera Jr, and Corey Axelrod.
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In May, a federal judge ordered New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to provide in-frame ASL interpreters for its broadcasts of coronavirus briefings based on the ADA and Section 504. This helped to set a precedent for government leaders to provide in-frame interpreters, and it strengthened the NAD lawsuit.
So, it’s a successful lawsuit and we will see the impact on October 1st and forward. For more information, check out the NAD’s vlog and press release.