(a) Documents.
In compliance with the policy of the Judicial Conference of the United States, and
the E-Government Act of 2002 and its amendments, and in order to promote
electronic access to case files while also protecting personal privacy and other
legitimate interests, parties shall refrain from including, or shall partially redact
where inclusion is necessary, the following personal data identifiers from all
pleadings filed with the court, including exhibits thereto, whether filed,
electronically or in paper, unless otherwise ordered by the court.
(1) Social Security numbers. If an individual’s social security number must be
included in a pleading, only the last four digits of that number should be
used.
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(2) Names of minor children. If the involvement of a minor child must be
mentioned, only the initials of that child should be used.
(3) Dates of birth. If an individual’s date of birth must be included in a pleading,
only the year should be used.
(4) Financial account numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant, only
the last four digits of these numbers should be used.
In compliance with the E-Government Act of 2002, a party wishing to file a
document containing the personal data identifiers listed above may file an
unredacted document under seal or may file a reference list under seal. This
document shall be retained by the court as part of the record. The court will require
the party to file a redacted copy for the public file.
The responsibility for redacting these personal identifiers rests solely with counsel
and the parties. The Clerk will not review each pleading for compliance with this
rule.
(b) Transcripts of Hearings.
If information listed in Section (a) of this Rule is elicited during testimony or other
court proceedings, it will become available to the public when the official transcript
is filed at the courthouse unless, and until, it is redacted. The better practice is to
avoid introducing this information into the record in the first place. If a restricted
item is mentioned in court, any party or attorney may ask to have it stricken from
the record or partially redacted to conform to the privacy policy, or the court may
do so on its own motion.
