Jan. 19, 2006
Supreme Court Closed Captioning Will Enable Searchable Transcripts of Oral Arguments
Deaf and hard-of-hearing citizens now will have greater access to Supreme Court proceedings, as the Court has become only the second state court in the country to closed-caption all oral argument broadcasts, it was announced today. The advancement also means that for the first time an unofficial transcript of all oral arguments will be available. Later this year the Court will make these transcripts available in a searchable online database.
“This is part of our ongoing effort to use the latest information technology to bring the Court to the people,” Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer said. “Including the closed-captioning option on our broadcasts means that many more Ohioans will now be able to experience the Supreme Court in action.”
The next opportunity to view oral arguments of the Supreme Court is Tuesday, Jan. 24, and Wednesday, Jan. 25, beginning at 9 a.m.
A broadcast facility run by Ohio Government Telecommunications (OGT) is housed in the Ohio Judicial Center, and the Supreme Court is one of the only courts in the country to provide both live and archived video coverage of all oral arguments. Video of all cases argued since March 2004 is available at the Court's Web site, www.supremecourt.ohio.gov.
At the direction of the Court, OGT recently started working with Visual Audio Captioning, Inc. of Fairfax, Va. to provide closed captions to accompany the coverage. The operation went into effect Tuesday at the start of the Court's first oral argument session in 2006.
The closed-captioning feature also means that the Court will soon be able to offer written transcripts of Supreme Court proceedings. Later this year, the Court will add a page to its Web site where viewers can go to search unofficial transcripts of all Court cases from January 2006 on.
Supreme Court oral arguments can be viewed live on the Internet (www.supremecourt.ohio.gov); on digital broadcast television on public broadcasting stations in Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo and on cable television in Athens, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo. A complete listing of stations that carry OGT broadcasts is available at www.ohiochannel.org 
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DVD and VHS tapes of oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court of Ohio are available for sale. Please visit www.ohiochannel.org for more details.
Other recent initiatives at the Court designed to increase public access and understanding include placing the case docket online, creating an online database of all Ohio attorneys and opening the Supreme Court of Ohio Visitor Education Center, which has interactive displays and exhibits to teach citizens about the role and function of the judiciary and the history of the Supreme Court. More information about the center is available at: www.ohiojudicialcenter.gov .
Contact: Shannon Libby or Chris Davey at 614.387.9250.