IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
TRANSCRIPT REDACTION POLICY
This court follows the Judicial Conference policy on electronic availability of transcripts
of court proceedings. This policy applies to all transcripts of proceedings in this District. Please
review this policy carefully.
(1) A transcript provided to a court by a court reporter will be available at the clerk’s office
for inspection only, for a period of 90 days after it is delivered to the clerk.
(2) During the 90-day period, a copy of the transcript may be obtained from the court reporter
at the rate established by the Judicial Conference. The transcript will be available within
the court for internal use, and an attorney who orders the transcript from the court reporter
may obtain remote electronic access to the transcript through the court’s CM/ECF system
for purposes such as creating hyperlinks to the transcript in court filings.
(3) After the 90-day period has ended, the filed transcript will be available for inspection and
copying in the clerk’s office and for download from the court’s CM/ECF system through
the judiciary’s PACER system.
Provisions in the Federal Civil and Criminal Rules of Procedure protecting the privacy and
security of publicly available electronic filings apply to transcripts. Specifically, Civil Rule 5.2
and Criminal Rule 49.1 require that the following categories of personal identification information
be redacted from documents filed with the court – individuals’ Social Security numbers, names of
minor children, financial account numbers, dates of birth, and, in criminal cases, home addresses.
Any party needing to review the transcript for redaction purposes may purchase a copy
from the court reporter or view the transcript in the clerk’s office using the public terminal. If
an attorney on the case purchases the transcript from the court reporter, he or she will be given
remote access to the transcript via CM/ECF and PACER. Normal PACER fees apply when
accessing transcripts remotely.
IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING REDACTION PROCEDURE:
Once a transcript is delivered to the clerk’s office pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 753, the
attorneys in the case (and any self-represented parties) are responsible for reviewing it for
the personal data identifiers as to which the federal rules require redaction, and for
providing the court reporter with a statement of the necessary redactions to comply with
the rules. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the attorney must review the following
portions of the transcript:
(a) opening and closing statements made on the party’s behalf;
(b) statements of the party;
Rev 1/2025
(c) the testimony of any witnesses called by the party;
(d) sentencing proceedings; and
(e) any other portion of the transcript as ordered by the court.
Within twenty-one (21) calendar days of the filing of the official transcript in CM/ECF by
the court reporter, each party must inform the court, by filing a notice of redaction with the clerk,
of his or her intent to direct the redaction of personal data identifiers from the transcript of the
court proceeding, as required by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 49.1 and Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2. In CM/ECF, this event is called Notice of Intent to Request
Redaction. If no such notice is filed within the allotted time, the court will assume no redaction
of personal data identifiers is necessary, and the unredacted transcript will be made remotely
electronically available to the public after 90 calendar days.
An attorney serving as “standby” counsel appointed to assist a pro se defendant in his or
her defense in a criminal case must review the same portions of the transcript as if the pro se
defendant were his or her client. If the transcript relates to a panel attorney representation under
the Criminal Justice Act (CJA), including serving as standby counsel, the attorney conducting
the review is entitled to compensation under the CJA for functions reasonably performed to
fulfill the redaction obligation and for reimbursement for related reasonable expenses.
If redaction is requested, a party is to submit to the court reporter, within 21 calendar
days of the filing of the transcript in CM/ECF, or longer if a court so orders, a statement
indicating precisely where the personal data identifiers to be redacted appear in the transcript.
The requesting party must identify the requested redactions by page and line number. The
court reporter must redact the identifiers as directed by the party. For example, if a party wanted
to redact the Social Security number 123-45-6789 appearing on page 12, line 9 of the transcript
the statement would read: Social Security number 123-45-6789 on page 12, line 9 should be
redacted to read xxx-xx-6789.
The court reporter must, within 31 calendar days of the filing of the transcript in
CM/ECF, or longer if the court so orders, perform the requested redactions, and electronically
file a redacted version of the transcript. The original unredacted electronic transcript will be
maintained in CM/ECF as a restricted document.
These procedures apply solely to the redaction of the categories of personal data
identifiers enumerated in Criminal Rule 49.1 and Civil Rule 5.2. During the 21-day period
described above, or longer if the court so orders, a party may request additional redactions to the
transcript for information falling outside those specific categories. In that event, the party must
file a written motion to the court delineating the precise redactions sought and the grounds for
the request. The transcript shall not be made available on the Internet, and no such redactions
will be made by the court reporter, until the court has ruled upon any such motion.
Please direct all questions concerning this policy to:
Christopher L. Ekman, Clerk of Court
251-436-5254
[email protected]
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Policy Notes
This policy applies to transcripts made available remotely via CM/ECF and PACER. It
does not affect in any way the obligation of the court reporter, pursuant to statute, promptly to
deliver to the clerk of court the court reporter’s original records of a proceeding or the inclusion
of a transcript with the records of the court.
If a party desires to respond to a motion for additional redaction, the court may establish
a briefing schedule.
Nothing in this policy creates a private right of action.
Nothing in this policy changes any rules or policies with respect to sealing or redaction of
court records for any other purpose.
This policy does not affect or limit the right of any party (or any other person or entity) to
order production of a transcript on an expedited basis. This policy does not affect any court rules
or rulings requiring the sealing of materials or the protection of sealed materials.
An attorney appointed pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) is entitled to
compensation under the CJA for functions performed to fulfill the obligations under the policy,
including the following: (1) traveling to gain access to the transcript, if needed; (2) reviewing a
transcript to determine whether to file notice of intent to redact; (3) filing a notice of intent to
redact or a motion for an extension of time; (4) reviewing a transcript to determine the location
of information to be requested to be redacted or whether to file a motion for additional redaction;
(5) preparing and filing a redaction request or motion; and (6) other actions (including creating
pleadings, attending hearings or other follow-up). The attorney is also entitled to reimbursement
under the CJA for the costs of obtaining a transcript for purposes of review. If a case involving a
CJA representation has already been closed and the original attorney is no longer available, or if
standby counsel is no longer available, new counsel may be appointed under the CJA and
compensated as outlined above. In the event that the original appointed counsel is still available,
but has filed a final voucher for the underlying case, the attorney shall be permitted to file a
supplemental voucher for compensation.
Extensions of time to comply with the deadlines prescribed in this policy will not be
routinely granted, due to the potential for delay of appellate proceedings if redaction procedures
extend beyond 31 days.
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