UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
)
IN THE MATTER OF: ) No. 24-mc-00001
)
PROCEDURES FOR THE FILING, SERVICE, ) GENERAL ORDER /
AND MANAGEMENT OF HIGHLY ) ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY
SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS ) 2024-13
)
GENERAL ORDER
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana sets forth the following
procedures to uniformly protect Highly Sensitive Documents ("HSDs"), a narrow subset of sealed
documents that must, for their protection, be stored outside the court’s Case
Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) system.
The court finds that pursuant to Civil Rule 5(d)(3)(A) and Criminal Rule 49(b)(3)(A), good
cause exists to require all parties to file HSDs outside of the court's CM/ECF system.
Therefore, effective immediately and until further order of the court, parties are
ORDERED to file HSDs as provided in Attachment A. HSDs will be maintained by the clerk’s
office in a secure paper filing system.
This order supersedes all previous general orders regarding HSDs. To the extent this order
is inconsistent with provisions of any existing local rules, this Order supersedes those provisions
as well.
SO ORDERED.
For the Court,
Date: 5/10/2024
ATTACHMENT A
(Revised May 2024)
I. Documents and Materials Subject to this Order
(a) Definition: A Highly Sensitive Document ("HSD") is a document or other material that
contains sensitive, but unclassified, information that warrants exceptional handling and
storage procedures to prevent significant consequences that could result if such information
were obtained or disclosed in an unauthorized manner. Although frequently related to law
enforcement materials, especially sensitive information in a civil case could also qualify
for HSD treatment.
(1) Examples of HSDs: Examples include ex parte sealed filings relating to: national
security investigations, cyber investigations, and especially sensitive public
corruption investigations; and documents containing a highly exploitable trade
secret, financial information, or computer source code belonging to a private entity,
the disclosure of which could have significant national or international
repercussions.
(2) Exclusions: Most materials currently filed under seal do not meet the definition of
an HSD and do not merit the heightened protections afforded to HSDs. The form
or nature of the document, by itself, does not determine whether HSD treatment is
warranted. Instead, the focus is on the severity of the consequences for the parties
or the public should the document be accessed without authorization. Most
presentence reports, pretrial release reports, pleadings related to cooperation in
criminal cases, social security records, administrative immigration records,
applications for search warrants, interception of wire, oral, or electronic
communications under 18 U.S.C. § 2518, and applications for pen registers, trap,
and trace devices would not meet the HSD definition.
(b) Presumed Highly Sensitive Documents
(1) Documents in cases implicating national security, cyber investigations, and
especially sensitive public corruption investigations for which the United States of
America presents the document as an HSD; and
(2) Documents designated Highly Sensitive Documents by court order or applicable
law.
II. Filing Procedures
(a) Filing procedures for presumed Highly Sensitive Documents
(1) A party filing an HSD that is presumed highly sensitive must submit two (2) paper
copies of the HSD to the clerk's office, along with the certificate of service, and, if
applicable, a copy of the court order or other law authorizing the treatment of that
document as an HSD.
(2) The documents must be in a sealed envelope marked “HIGHLY SENSITIVE
DOCUMENT” and the HSD's caption page (with confidential information
redacted) must be affixed to the outside of the envelope.
(3) Unless permitted by court order to proceed otherwise, the filing party must serve
the HSD on the other parties as follows:
i. Civil cases - by any manner specified in Civil Rule 5(b)(2), except that
service under section (b)(2)(E) (via the court's electronic filing system or
other electronic means, including email), is not permitted.
ii. Criminal cases - by any manner specified in Criminal Rule 49(a)(4),
(4) The clerk's office will make a sealed informational docket entry in the court's
electronic filing system indicating that the HSD was filed with the court and will
maintain the HSD in a secure paper filing system.
(b) Filing procedures for documents not presumed Highly Sensitive Documents
(1) The party must file under seal a Motion to Treat Document as an HSD and a
proposed order under existing procedures (if the party is represented, the Motion
and proposed order may be filed electronically via CM/ECF; if the party is pro se,
the Motion and proposed order must be filed on paper, either in person or by mail,
or in any other manner authorized by the court). The motion must explain why the
proposed HSD should be subject to the heightened protection for HSDs.
(2) As soon as practicable after the motion is filed, the filing party must deliver to the
clerk's office two (2) paper copies of the proposed HSD along with a certificate of
service, packaged as specified above in section II(a)(2).
(3) The filing party must serve the proposed HSD on the other parties as specified
above in section II(a)(3).
(4) The court will issue an order on the motion. If the motion is granted, a sealed
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. If the motion is denied, the court will return the document to the
filing party and note the same on the case docket. The filing party may then elect
to file the document in the normal manner.
III. Order Granting HSD Designation
An order granting a motion seeking HSD designation, or directing the filing of a document as an
HSD on the court’s own motion, will ordinarily:
(a) State the identity of the persons who are to have access to the documents without further
order of court; and
(b) Set forth instructions for the duration of HSD treatment.
IV. Questions About HSD Filing Procedures
Questions about HSD classification and filing procedures should be directed to the clerk's office
at (317) 229-3700.
