PRIVACY CONCERNS AND REDACTION
(a) Privacy In General. Except as set forth below, pursuant to the Judicial
Conference Policy on Privacy and Electronic Access to Case Files, and the E-
Government Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-347, effective April 16, 2003, when filing
documents, counsel and the Court shall omit or, where reference is necessary, partially
redact the following personal data identifiers from all pleadings, documents, and exhibits,
whether filed electronically or on paper, unless the Court orders otherwise:
(i) Minors' names: In criminal actions, use the minors' initials; in civil actions
use initials when federal or state law require the use of initials, or when the
specific identity of the minor is not necessary to the action or individual
document;
(ii) Financial account numbers: Identify the name or type of account and the
financial institution where maintained, but use only the last four numbers of
the account number;
(iii) Social Security numbers: Use only the last four numbers;
(iv) Dates of birth: Use only the year;
(v) Home addresses in criminal actions only; use only the city and state; and
(vi) All other circumstances: Redact when federal law requires redaction.
(b) Order Required for Other Redactions. No other redactions are permitted
unless the Court has authorized the redaction. Counsel has the responsibility to be
cognizant of federal privacy law and, when appropriate, state privacy law. Moreover,
counsel should recognize proprietary or trade secret information that is protected from
dissemination by law. When counsel seeks to submit protected information, a protective
order or order authorizing redaction should be sought. A party that makes a redacted filing
may also file an unredacted copy under seal if the Court so orders. The unredacted copy
will be retained by the Court under seal as part of the record.
(c) Reference List for Redacted Documents. If the Court so orders, a filing
that contains redacted information may be filed together with a reference list that identifies
each item of redacted information and specifies an appropriate identifier that uniquely
corresponds to each item of redacted information listed. The reference list must be filed
under seal and may be amended as of right. All references in the action to the identifiers
included in the reference list will be construed to refer to the corresponding items of
information.
(d) Submission of Unredacted Documents. Pursuant to the terms of a
protective order or applicable law, counsel may seek to submit an unredacted document
containing protected information for review by the Court. In such an event, counsel is
required to file a motion to file the document under seal. See L.R. 141. If the Court grants
the motion, counsel shall then submit the unredacted paper document to the Clerk for
review by the Court. The paper document must have a cover page with the caption and
number of the action and a prominent designation stating the following: "Document filed
under seal."
(e) No Sua Sponte Sealing or Redaction. Neither the Clerk nor the Court will
review filed documents for compliance with privacy or other protective law, nor will the
Court as a matter of course seal on its own motion documents containing personal data
identifiers, or redact documents, whether filed electronically or on paper. No procedure
set forth herein will excuse a violation of privacy or other law by counsel or party.
(f) Redaction Exceptions. Filings of administrative transcripts, see L.R.
138(b), need not be redacted to comply with this Rule. Filings of official records of a state
court proceeding in an action removed to federal court need not be redacted. In a civil or
criminal forfeiture proceeding, financial account numbers that identify the property alleged
to be subject to forfeiture need not be redacted. See L.R. 570.
