(A) Filing Under Seal
(1) Sealed Cases
All documents in sealed cases must be submitted conventionally to the Clerk
for filing.
(2) Sealed Documents
The Court does not approve of filing of documents under seal as a general
matter. A party who has a legal basis for filing a document under seal
without prior Court order must electronically file a motion for leave to file
under seal. The motion must include an explanation of how the document
meets the legal standards for filing sealed documents. The document in
question may not be attached to the motion as an attachment but rather must
be electronically filed contemporaneously using the separate docket event
“Sealed Document.” In the rare event that the motion itself must be filed
under seal, the motion must be electronically filed using the docket event
“Sealed Motion.”
(3) Service
Parties must not use the Court’s electronic notice facilities to serve
documents in sealed cases or individually sealed documents. A publicly
viewable Notice of Electronic Filing will be generated for a sealed
document, but the document itself will not be viewable electronically.
Service must be made in accordance with the Federal Rules of Criminal
Procedure and the Local Rules of this Court. A certificate of service must
be attached to the filed document or filed within a reasonable time after
service.
(4) Denial of Requests to Seal
In the event that a motion for leave to file under seal is denied, the document
tendered will remain under seal, and it will not be considered by the
presiding judge for any purpose. If the filer wishes to have the document
considered by the Court, it must be re-filed in the normal fashion as an
unsealed document. The Court may, in its discretion, order a sealed
document to be made public if (1) the document is filed in disregard of legal
standards, or (2) the document is so intricately connected with a pending
matter that the interests of justice are best served by doing so.
(B) Documents Submitted for In Camera Review
The Rules applicable to Sealed Documents also apply to documents submitted for
in camera review.
(C) Ex Parte Submissions
A party who has a legal basis to file a submission without giving notice to other
parties should file the submission electronically as either an “Ex Parte Document”
or an “Ex Parte Motion.”
Revised 11/2021
