Perry et al v. Schwarzenegger et al

Filing 397

Letter from Charles J. Cooper. (Cooper, Charles) (Filed on 1/11/2010)

Perry et al v. Schwarzenegger et al

Doc. 397

Case3:09-cv-02292-VRW Document397

Filed01/11/10 Page1 of 1

Cooper & Kirk
Lawyers
Charles J. Cooper [e-mail]

1523 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 January 11, 2010

A Professional Limited Liability Company

[phone] Fax [phone]

The Honorable Vaughn R. Walker Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California 450 Golden Gate Ave. San Francisco, CA 94102 Re: Perry v. Schwarzenegger, et al., N.D. Cal. Case No. C-09-2292 VRW

Dear Chief Judge Walker: I write to raise a technical concern about the Court's order permitting recording and public broadcast of the trial in this case. When the Court first raised the issue of publicly broadcasting the trial, it explained that the video image "would be counsel, the witness, and the judge on a split screen." Hr'g of Sept. 25, 2009, Tr. at 71. At the hearing of January 6, 2010, the parties were first shown an example of what this would mean in practice. See Hr'g of Jan. 6, 2010, Tr. at 4. The test video shown at that hearing is available at http://www.youtube.com/usdccand. It appears from the test video that the camera angle showing counsel at the podium also captures a full image of Defendants' counsel table. In other words, it appears that all of the activity occurring at Defendants' counsel table will be made a part of the recording and public broadcast in this case. As the Court is no doubt aware, during the course of a trial, much occurs at counsel table that is not a part of the public record in a case, including and especially privileged conversations among and between lawyers and clients. Defendant-Intervenors believe that capturing and broadcasting images of Defendants' counsel table would place undue and unequal burdens solely on Defendant-Intervenors' counsel to ensure that privileged conferences are hidden from view. Respectfully, we object to this procedure and request that the Court alter the camera angle to exclude the image of Defendants' counsel table. Thank you very much for your attention to this matter. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Charles J. Cooper Charles J. Cooper Counsel for Defendant-Intervenors Cc: Counsel of Record

Dockets.Justia.com