UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 : t 9-
n
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN . .-..
29[5 -3 P i: 50
Re: Privacy Protection for Criminal Filings Administrative Order
Made with the Court - Compliance
with E-Government Act No. 05-AO- ('3b
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
In compliance with the privacy policy of the Judicial Conference of the United States and
the E-Government Act, this administrative order supersedes Administrative Order No. 04-
AO-050 in re: Filing of Papers in Civil and Criminal Cases - Compliance with E-
Government Act of 2002, as it applies to criminal cases. Privacy protection for civil filings
made with the Court will be addressed in a separate administrative order.
(a) Redacting Filings. Ur~lessotherwise ordered by 'the Court, an electronic or paper
filing made with the Court that includes a social security number or an individual's tax
identification number, a name of a person known to be a minor, a person's birth date, a
driver's license number or a state-issued personal ider~tificationcard number, a financial
account number or the home address of a person may include 01-lly:
(1) the last four digits of the social security number and tax identification number;
(2) the minor's initials;
(3) the year of birth;
(4) the last four digits of the driver's license number or state-issued personal
identification card number:
(5) the last four digits of the financial account number; and
(6) the city and state of the home address.
(b) Exemptions from Redaction Requirement. The redaction requirement referenced
in (a) of this order does not apply to the following:
(1) in a forfeiture proceeding, a financial account number or real property
address that identifies the property alleged to be subject to forfeiture;
(2) the record of an administrative or agency proceeding;
(3) the official record of a state court proceeding;
Privacy Protection for Criminal Filings Made with the Court -
Compliance with E-Government Act Page 2
(4) the record of a court or tribunal whose decision is being reviewed, if that
record was not subject to (a) of this order when originally filed;
(5) a filing covered by (c) of this order;
(6) a filing made in an action brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 or 2255;
(7) a filing made in an action brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 that does not
relate to the petitioner's immigration rights;
(8) a filing in any court in relation to a criminal matter or investigation that is
prepared before the filing of a criminal charge or that is not filed as part of any docketed
criminal case:
(9) an arrest or search warrant; and
(10) a charging docunient and an affidavit filed in support of any charging
document.
(c) Filings Made Under Seal. The Court may order that a filing be made under seal
without redaction. The Court may later unseal the filing or order the person who made the
filing to file a redacted version for the public record.
(d) Protective Orders. If necessary to protect private or sensitive information' that is
not otherwise protected under (a) of this order, the court may by order in a case:
(1) require redaction of additional information; or
(2) limit or prohibit remote electronic access by a non-party to a document filed
with the court.
(e) Option for Additional Unredacted Filing Under Seal. A party making a redacted
filing under (a) of this order may also file an unredacted copy under seal. The court must
retain the unredacted copy as part of the record.
"Private or sensitive information" may include, but not be limited to medical records,
treatment and diagnosis; employment history; individual financial information; proprietary
or trade secret information; information regarding an individual's cooperation with the
government; information regarding the victim of any criminal activity; national security
information; and sensitive security information as described in 49 U.S.C. 9 114(s).
Privacy Protection for Criminal Filings Made with the Court -
Compliance with E-Government Act Page 3
(f) Option for Filing a Reference List. A filing that contains information redacted
under (a) of this order 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. Any reference in the case to an identifier in the reference list
will be construed to refer to the corresponding item of information.
(g) Waiver of Protection of Identifiers. A party waives the protection of (a) of this
order as to the party's own information to the extent that the party files such information
not under seal and without redaction. Parties are advised that the Clerk's Office will not
review documents filed with the court for compliance with this order. The responsibility to
redact filings rests with counsel and the parties.
Pursuant to the E-Government Act, the Judicial Conference is drafting rules of procedure
through the judiciary's formal rules process regarding privacy and PI-~blic access to case
documents. This administrative order, which closely follows proposed Fed. R. Crim. P.
49.1, is effective in- mediately and will serve as the Privacy Policy for the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Micl-~iganin crirl-~inalcases until such time as the
federal rule is approved and takes effect.
IT IS ORDERED.
AR
TF COURT:
u h i e f Judge
