IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
IN RE: AMENDED POLICY ON ) FILED
ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY ) G.O.24-4
OF TRANSCRIPTS ) JUL 1 6 202^1
JOAN KANE, CLERK
) U.S. DIST. COURT, WESTERN DIST OKLA
BY ,DEPUTY
GENERAL ORDER
Effective July 15, 2024, official transcripts of civil and criminal proceedings
before the District Judges and Magistrate Judges in the Western District of
Oklahoma shall be filed in accordance with the attached "Amended Policy on
Electronic Availability of Transcripts." As set forth therein, this Policy will govern
the redaction of personal data identifiers from official transcripts before the
electronic transcripts are made remotely available to the public.
IT IS SO ORDERED this day of July 2024.
TIMOTHY D.peGIUSTI
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
SCOTT L. PALK
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
CHARLES B. GOODWIN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
PATRICK R. WTRJCK
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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jfcfol W.DISHMAN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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BERNARD M.JONES ^
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
AMENDED POLICY ON ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY OF
TRANSCRIPTS
The United States for the Western District of Oklahoma establishes the following updated
policy regarding official transcripts of court proceedings:
Electronic Availability of Official Transcripts
1. Any official transcript prepared by a court reporter or transcriber will be
electronically available at the Clerk's Office, for review only, for a period of 90
days after the transcript is filed.
2. During the 90-day period, a copy of the transcript may be obtained only from
the court reporter or transcriber at the rate established by the Judicial
Conference. The transcript will be electronically available at the public terminal
at the Court Clerk's office, but may not be printed from this source. The
transcript will be remotely electronically available only to those attorneys of
record who have purchased a copy from the court reporter.
3. After the 90-day period has ended, the transcript will be available for printing in
the Clerk's office and for downloading through PACER.
Scope of Policy
This policy applies only to official transcripts of civil and criminal proceedings before the
Court. It does not apply to depositions taken outside of court or transcripts of proceedings
in state courts or other jurisdictions. The policy also does not apply to transcripts that are
sealed by order of the Court.
Responsibility for Redactions in Official Transcripts
The judges of this Court will not entertain motions for preemptive redaction. All requests
for redaction from an official transcript of court proceedings must follow this procedure.
Once an official transcript is filed with the Court Clerk pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 753, the
attorneys in the case and any self-represented parties are responsible for requesting
redactions of the personal data identifiers specified in Fed.R.Civ.P. 5.2 and Fed.R.Crim.P.
49.1. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the attorney for a party and each
self-represented party are responsible for redactions in the following portions of the
transcript:
(a) opening and closing statements made on that party’s behalf;
(b) statements of the party;
(c) the testimony of any witness called by the party; and
(d) sentencing proceedings.
The Court may also order an attorney or self-represented party to be responsible for
redactions in other portions of an official transcript.
The attorneys and self-represented parties are solely responsible for requesting
the redaction of personal data identifiers. Neither the Court Clerk nor the court reporter
or transcriber will review transcripts for compliance with the federal rules or this policy.
Redaction Request
If a redaction is needed, the attorney or self-represented party must file a Redaction
Request (using the form available on the Court's website) within 21 days of the filing of
the transcript, indicating where the personal data identifiers appear in the transcript by
page and line and how they are to be redacted.
Note: This procedure is limited to the redaction of the specific personal data identifiers
listed below:
● social security numbers and taxpayer-identification numbers: use only the last four
digits;
● financial account numbers: use only the last four digits;
● dates of birth: use only the year;
● a minor’s name: redact by black box method, removing the name of the minor
child; and
● in criminal cases, home addresses: use only the city and state.
Request for Additional Redactions
For any redactions to a transcript other than the personal data identifiers listed above,
separate Motion for Redaction must be filed within the same 21-day timeframe, unless
otherwise ordered by the Court. Until the Court has ruled on any such motion, the
transcript will not be remotely electronically available to the public, even if the 90-day
restriction period has ended.
Stand-by and CJA Panel Attorneys
An attorney appointed as "stand-by" counsel for a party is responsible for identifying and
requesting redactions of personal data identifiers in the transcript on behalf of that party.
If an attorney represents a party pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act (CJA), including
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serving as stand-by counsel, the attorney is entitled to compensation under the CJA for
fulfilling this obligation and for reimbursement of related reasonable expenses.
PACER Fees
PACER fees will apply both during and after the 90-day restriction period. Charges will
not be capped as they are for other court documents but will accrue for the entire
transcript. The user will incur charges each time the transcript is accessed through
PACER even though the user may have purchased the transcript from the court reporter
and obtained remote access through ECF. There is no "free look" for transcripts.
This Policy supersedes the Policy set forth in General Order 08-3.
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