IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
FILING OF HIGHLY DISTRICT COURT GENERAL ORDER
SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS 2022-5
This order supersedes General Order 2021-1.
WHEREAS, in response to recent disclosures of widespread breaches of both private
sector and government computer systems, federal courts are adding new security procedures to
protect highly sensitive documents filed with the courts;
WHEREAS, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d)(3)(A) and Fed. R. Crim. P. 49(b)(3)(A),
good cause exists to require all parties to file certain highly sensitive documents outside of the
court’s electronic filing system; it is hereby
ORDERED that, effective as of the date of this General Order and until such time as the
Court orders otherwise, the filing of certain highly sensitive documents shall be subject to the
procedures and requirements set forth below. This General Order supersedes all inconsistent
provisions in existing local rules or other general orders of this Court.
1. Documents Subject to this Order:
a. The filing procedures set forth below apply only to documents that contain highly
sensitive information or which the filing party believes to contain highly sensitive
information. Highly sensitive documents (“HSDs”) are documents that contain
highly sensitive information that is likely to be of interest to the intelligence
service of a hostile foreign government and whose use or disclosure by a hostile
foreign government would likely cause significant harm. Very few documents
filed under seal in federal court are HSDs.
b. The Court anticipates that HSDs may involve the following:
i. National security;
ii. Foreign sovereign interests;
iii. Cybersecurity;
iv. Ongoing law-enforcement investigations of foreign intelligence-gathering
operations;
v. Information whose disclosure would risk the safety of public officials or
the integrity of governmental operations;
vi. Non-public intellectual property, including trade secrets whose disclosure
would benefit a hostile foreign government;
vii. The reputational interests of the United States; or
viii. Applications for search warrants or wiretaps in cases involving highly
sensitive information.
c. The following types of documents are generally not considered HSDs:
i. Presentence reports, pretrial release reports, and documents related to such
reports;
ii. Pleadings related to cooperation in criminal cases;
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iii. Social Security records;
iv. Administrative immigration records; and
v. Most sealed filings in civil cases.
d. Any dispute as to whether a document is an HSD shall be resolved by the
presiding judge or, when no presiding judge is assigned, the criminal duty judge.
2. Filing of Motions to Treat a Document as an HSD
a. If a case has not been opened, proceed as follows:
i. Counsel for the filing party shall prepare a motion to treat a document
as an HSD and a proposed order in the same manner as a motion to
restrict under D.C.COLO.LCrR 47.1(c) and D.C.COLO.LCivR 7.2(c).
The motion shall explain why the proposed document constitutes an
HSD under the criteria set out in paragraph 1 above or why it should
otherwise be subject to filing protection as an HSD.
ii. Counsel for the filing party shall deliver to the criminal duty
magistrate judge two paper copies of the motion, proposed order, and
HSD. These documents shall be submitted in a sealed envelope
marked “HIGHLY SENSITIVE DOCUMENT” along with counsel for
the filing party’s name, telephone number, and e-mail address.
iii. The Court shall issue an order on the motion. If granted, counsel for
the filing party shall then deliver the paperwork to the Clerk’s Office,
which shall then assign the matter a case number. The Clerk’s Office
shall maintain the HSD in a secure paper filing system or a secure
standalone computer that is not connected to any network.
b. If a case has been opened, proceed as follows:
i. Represented parties
1. A represented party shall file electronically a motion to treat a
document as an HSD and a proposed order in the same fashion
as a motion to restrict under D.C.COLO.LCrR 47.1(c) and
D.C.COLO.LCivR 7.2(c), except that a copy of the proposed
HSD shall not be filed electronically. The motion shall explain
why the proposed document constitutes an HSD under the
criteria set out in paragraph 1 above or why it should otherwise
be subject to the filing protection for HSDs. If the motion
cannot be filed without revealing the highly sensitivity
information contained within the HSD, then the motion should
be filed in paper along with the HSD in accordance with
paragraph a.ii below.
2. As soon as practicable after the motion is filed, the filing party
shall deliver to the Clerk’s Office (or the Court’s drop box if
the front counter is closed) two paper copies of the HSD along
with a certificate of service. These documents shall be
submitted in a sealed envelope marked “HIGHLY SENSITIVE
DOCUMENT” and marked with the applicable case number,
attorney’s name, telephone number, and e-mail address.
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3. The filing party shall serve the proposed HSD on the other
parties as follows:
4. Criminal cases – by any manner specified in Fed. R. Crim. P.
49(a)(3)(B) or (a)(4); or
5. Civil cases – by any manner specified in Fed. R. Civ. P.
5(b)(2), other than service via the Court’s electronic filing
system.
6. The Court will issue an order on the motion and, if granted, an
informational entry will be made on the case docket indicating
that the HSD has been filed with the Court. The Clerk’s Office
will maintain the HSD in a secure paper filing system or a
secure standalone computer system that is not connected to any
network.
ii. Pro se parties
1. Pro se parties authorized to file electronically shall follow the
procedures for represented parties outlined above.
2. Pro se parties not authorized to file electronically shall submit
to the Clerk’s Office (or the Court’s drop box if the front
counter is closed) two paper copies of a motion to treat a
document as an HSD, the HSD sought to be filed, and a
certificate of service. These documents shall be submitted in a
sealed envelope marked “HIGHLY SENSITIVE
DOCUMENT” and marked with the applicable case number,
party’s name, and telephone number.
3. The filing party shall serve the proposed HSD on the other
parties as specified in paragraph 2.a.
4. The Court will issue an order on the motion and, if granted, an
informational entry will be made on the case docket indicating
that the HSD has been filed with the Court. The Clerk’s Office
will maintain the HSD in a secure paper filing system or a
secure standalone computer system that is not connected to any
network.
3. Service of Highly Sensitive Court Orders
If the Court determines that a court order contains highly sensitive information, the
Clerk’s office will file and maintain the order to that effect in a secure paper filing system
or a secure standalone computer system that is not connected to any network and will
serve paper copies of the order on the parties via mail.
4. Removal of Existing HSDs or Highly Sensitive Cases from the Court’s Electronic
Filing System
a. Upon motion of a party or upon its own motion, the Court may determine that a
document or case that has been filed electronically is highly sensitive and direct
that the HSD or case be removed from the Court’s electronic filing system and
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maintained by the Clerk’s Office in a secure paper filing system or a secure
standalone computer system that is not connected to any network.
b. A party’s motion to remove an HSD or highly sensitive case from the Court’s
electronic filing system shall explain why such document or case is highly
sensitive under the criteria set out in paragraph 1 above or why it should
otherwise be subject to the filing protection for HSDs.
5. Questions about HSD Filing Procedures
Any questions about how an HSD should be filed with the Court pursuant to this General
Order should be directed to the Clerk’s Office at 303-844-3433.
Dated at Denver, Colorado this 11th day of April, 2022.
BY THE COURT
PHILIP A. BRIMMER
Chief United States District Judge
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