071
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
POLICY AND PROCEDURE REGARDING
ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY OF TRANSCRIPTS
On December 1, 2007, amendments to the Federal Civil, Criminal and Appellate Rules of
Procedure took effect, implementing privacy requirements of the E-Government Act of 2002.
The amendments to Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2, Fed. R. Crim. P. 49.1, and Fed. R. App. P. 25(a)(5)
require that personal identification information be redacted from documents filed with the
court. This includes Social Security numbers, names of minor children, financial account
numbers, dates of birth, and in criminal cases, home addresses. In September 2007 and
March 2008, the Judicial Conference approved procedures for applying redaction
requirements to transcripts of court proceedings. In early 2008, an upgrade to the CM/ECF
software provided the ability to implement these procedures.
As used in this policy, the term
• “transcript” means the official record of federal courtroom
proceedings. This policy does not apply to other transcripts, such
as those of depositions or of proceedings of state courts or other
jurisdictions. Other transcripts are subject to the rules and redaction
requirements applicable to other filings by parties.
• “counsel of record” means an attorney who has appeared on behalf
of a client, including an attorney serving as “standby” counsel
appointed to assist a pro se defendant in the defense of a criminal
case.
I. FILING AND INITIAL ACCESS TO TRANSCRIPT
A. Filing of Transcript
Under 28 U.S.C. § 753(b), the court reporter or transcriber must deliver
promptly a certified copy of any transcript to the clerk of court for the records
of the court. The court reporter, contract court reporter, or transcriber will
electronically file the official transcript in CM/ECF. Notice of this filing will be
sent electronically to all registered counsel of record. The Notice of Electronic
Filing (NEF) informs parties and registered attorneys of the redaction
requirements, the 90-day restriction, and how to obtain the transcript during
the restriction period. This notice will be sent manually by the clerk to
unregistered attorneys and pro se parties.
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Policy and Procedure Regarding Electronic Availability of Transcripts
Page 2
B. Initial Access to Transcript
For a period of 90 days1 after filing, access to the transcript document will be
restricted to:
• court staff
• public terminal users
• counsel of record or parties who have purchased the transcript from
the court reporter/transcriber and who have requested remote
electronic access to same; and
• other persons as directed by the court, e.g. appellate attorneys
During this 90-day period, court staff may not copy or print the transcript for a
requester. All requests for the transcript during this time will be referred to the
court reporter or transcriber.
II. REDACTION REQUIREMENT
A. Responsibility to Review Transcript
1. The responsibility of reviewing transcripts and identifying items
for redaction rests solely with counsel of record2. Unless
otherwise ordered by the court, counsel of record must review
the following portions3 within 14 days of the filing of the
transcript:
• opening and closing statements made on the party's behalf;
• statements of the party;
• testimony of any witnesses called by the party;
• all voir dire; and
• any other portion of the transcript as ordered by the court
1
The 90-day period may be extended by the court.
2
The redaction responsibilities apply to counsel of record even if the requestor of
the transcript is a judge or a member of the public/media. The court reporter,
transcriber, and clerk's office staff have no obligation or responsibility in identifying
redaction items.
3
If only a portion of the transcript is ordered, counsel of record is only responsible
for reviewing those portions ordered.
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Policy and Procedure Regarding Electronic Availability of Transcripts
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2. Counsel of record must identify the following personal data
identifiers eligible for mandatory redaction:
• Social Security numbers
• names of minor children
• financial account numbers
• dates of birth
• in criminal cases, home addresses
B. Notice of Intent
Parties will have fourteen (14) days from the date of filing of the transcript
within which to file with the court a Notice of Intent to Request Redaction of the
transcript. The notice of intent must not contain any redaction information, but
shall only state a party's intent to redact. Any party needing to review the
transcript for redaction purposes may purchase a copy from the court
reporter/transcriber, or view the transcript at the courthouse using the public
terminal located in the lobby of the Clerk's office.
A hard copy of the notice of intent must be served upon the court reporter or
transcriber manually, and a proof of service must be filed electronically. If no
notice of intent is filed within the allotted time, the court will assume redaction
of personal data identifiers from the transcript is not necessary.
Filing a notice of intent does not in any way prevent a transcript from being
made public at the expiration of the 90 days. If a notice of intent to redact is
filed, and no subsequent request for redaction is filed, the transcript will be
available to the public at the expiration of the 90-day deadline.
C. Request for Redaction
1. Party Responsibility
Any party requesting redaction must file a request within 21 days4 of the
filing of the transcript. The request must specify all personal data
identifiers to be redacted and identify where each one appears in the
transcript, by page and line number. For example:
Redact the Social Security number 123-45-6789 appearing on
page 10, line 11 to read xxx-xx-6789.
Access to the redaction request in CM/ECF will be restricted to the case
participants. A hard copy of the redaction request must be served upon
4
The 21-day deadline may be extended by the court.
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Policy and Procedure Regarding Electronic Availability of Transcripts
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the court reporter or transcriber manually, and a proof of service must
be filed electronically.
2. Court Reporter/Transcriber Responsibility
When a request for redaction is served upon the court reporter or
transcriber, he or she must, within 31 days of the filing of the original
transcript, perform the requested redactions and electronically file a
redacted version of the transcript with the clerk of court. Unless
otherwise ordered, the court reporter/transcriber shall redact eligible
items identified by counsel of record in a request for redaction
document as follows:
• Social Security numbers to the last four digits;
• financial account numbers to the last four digits;
• dates of birth to the year;
• names of minor children to the initials; and
• home addresses to the city and state.
D. Extensions of Time
Extensions of time to comply with the deadlines set forth in this
procedure will not be routinely granted, especially when an extension
might delay of Court of Appeals proceedings.
III. AVAILABILITY OF TRANSCRIPT
A. Transcripts Not Requiring Redaction
At the expiration of the 90-day restriction period, if there are no redaction
requests or motions related to the transcript, the transcript will be made
available for remote electronic access via PACER. PACER charges will apply
as outlined in section (C)(2) below.
B. Transcripts Requiring Redaction
After making all requested redactions, the court reporter/transcriber will
electronically file a redacted transcript. The original transcript will remain
restricted and only the redacted transcript will be available for remote access
via PACER at the expiration of the 90-day restriction period.
C. Remote Electronic Access
1. During the 90-day restriction period, remote electronic access
will be limited as set forth in I(B). Case participants who
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Policy and Procedure Regarding Electronic Availability of Transcripts
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purchase the transcript and desire remote electronic access to
the document through CM/ECF must submit a written request to
the court reporter or transcriber in order to be provided such
access.
2. PACER charges will apply for the entire transcript; there is no
30-page cap. The user will incur PACER charges each time a
transcript is accessed, even though the user may have
previously purchased it from the court reporter and obtained
remote access through CM/ECF.
3. Members of the public, including the news media, who purchase
a transcript during the 90-day restriction period will not be
granted remote electronic access during the restriction period.
Remote electronic access will be available as set forth in III(A)
and III(B) of this policy.
IV. REPRESENTATION UNDER CJA
An attorney representing a criminal defendant under the Criminal Justice Act
(CJA), including an attorney serving as standby counsel, is entitled to
compensation under the CJA for functions reasonably performed to fulfill the
obligation to review and redact transcripts, and for reimbursement for related
reasonable expenses, including the following:
• traveling to gain access to the transcript, if needed;
• reviewing a transcript to determine whether to file notice of intent to
redact;
• filing a notice of intent to redact or a motion for an extension of time;
• reviewing a transcript to determine the location of information to be
redacted;
• preparing and filing a redaction request or motion; and
• other actions (including creating pleadings, attending hearings or
other follow-up).
The attorney is also entitled to reimbursement under the CJA for the costs of
obtaining a transcript for purposes of review. In a closed case involving CJA
representation in which the original attorney or standby counsel is no longer
available, new counsel may be appointed under the CJA and compensated as
outlined above. In the event that the original appointed counsel is still
available, but has filed a final voucher for the underlying case, the attorney
shall be permitted to file a supplemental voucher for compensation.
May 15, 2008
(Revised 12/1/09)
