PUBLIC ACCESS TO COURT FILES; REDACTED INFORMATION;
SEALED INFORMATION
Responsibilities of Counsel and Parties. Counsel should advise clients of the
provisions of this rule and FED. R. CIV. P. 5.2 so that an informed decision may be
made about the inclusion of protected information.
(a) Counsel and parties must consider that the E-Government Act of 2002 (as
amended) and the policies of the Judicial Conference of the United States require
federal courts eventually to make all pleadings, orders, judgments, and other filed
documents available in electronic formats accessible over the Internet and the
courts’ PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records] systems.
Consequently, personal and sensitive information and data that formerly were
available only by a review of the court’s physical case files will be available to the
world, openly, publicly, and near-instantaneously.
(b) If a redacted document is filed, it is the sole responsibility of counsel and the
parties to ensure that all pleadings conform to the redaction-related standards of
this rule.
(c) Neither the court nor the clerk will review pleadings or other documents for
compliance with this rule.
