(a) Policy. It is the policy of this Court that sealed documents, confidentiality agreements, and
protective orders are disfavored. Sealed documents and confidentiality agreements may be
approved by the Court only upon showing that a legally protected interest of a party, non-
party, or witness outweighs the compelling public interest in disclosure of records. All
protective orders dealing with confidentiality must be approved by a magistrate judge and
filed of record but shall not qualify as an order to seal documents for purposes of this rule.
The Court strongly urges attorneys to present all arguments and all documents in unsealed
pleadings. Where possible, attorneys should generically refer to matters covered by a
protective order to avoid revealing confidential information. Agreement of the parties that
a document or other material should be filed under seal or the designation of a document
or other material as confidential during discovery is not, by itself, sufficient justification
for allowing a document or other material to be filed under seal.
(b) Sealed Documents in Public Cases. Anyone seeking to file a document or other material
under seal in a public case must make a good faith effort to redact or seal only as much as
necessary to protect legitimate interests. Blanket sealing of entire briefs, documents, or
other papers is rarely appropriate. To obtain an order allowing a document or other material
to be filed under seal in whole or in part, the filing party must file: (1) a motion to seal; (2)
a redacted version of the document to be sealed, if applicable, filed separately as a public
document; and (3) an unredacted version of the document to be sealed, which must be filed
separately under seal. The relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific
interest sought to be protected. A proposed order shall be submitted in compliance with the
Procedure for Submitting Proposed Documents to the Court, available on the Court’s
website. If the motion to seal is denied, the Court will direct that the document either be
stricken or be unsealed.
(c) Caption of Sealed Documents. Underneath the case number, in the style of any document
sought to be sealed, the document must be marked in all caps, “SEALED.”
