Circuit Rule 47.1: Matters Under Seal

(a) Case with Record Under Seal. Any portion of the record that was placed under seal in the district court or before an agency remains under seal in this court unless otherwise ordered. Parties and their counsel are responsible for assuring that materials under seal remain under seal and are not publicly disclosed.

(b) Agreement to Unseal. In any case in which the record in the district court or before an agency is under seal in whole or in part and a notice of appeal or petition for review has been filed, each party must promptly review the record to determine whether any portions of the record under seal need to remain under seal on appeal. If a party determines that some portion should be unsealed, that party must seek an agreement on the unsealing. Such agreement must be presented promptly to the district court or agency for its consideration and issuance of an appropriate order.

(c) Motion to Unseal. A party or any other interested person may move at any time to unseal any portion of the record in this court, including confidential briefs or appendices filed under this rule. On appeals from the district court, the motion will ordinarily be referred to the district court, and, if necessary, the record remanded for that purpose, but the court may, when the interests of justice require, decide that motion, and, if unsealing is ordered, remand the record for unsealing. Unless otherwise ordered, the pendency of a motion under this rule will not delay the filing of any brief under any scheduling order.

(d) Briefs Containing Material Under Seal.

(1) Two Sets of Briefs. If a party deems it necessary to refer in a brief to material under seal, 2 sets of briefs must be filed which are identical except for references to sealed materials. One set of briefs must bear the legend "Under Seal" on the cover, and each page containing sealed material must bear the legend "Under Seal" at the top of the page. The second set of briefs must bear the legend "Public Copy—Sealed Material Deleted" on the cover, and each page from which material under seal has been deleted must bear a legend stating "Material Under Seal Deleted" at the top of the page. The party must file the original and 6 copies of the sealed brief and the original and 8 copies of the public brief. Both sets of briefs must comply with the remainder of these rules, including Circuit Rule 32(e) on length of briefs.

(2) Service. Each party must be served with 2 copies of the public brief and 2 copies of the brief under seal, if the party is entitled to receive the material under seal. See, e.g., Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e).

(3) Non-availability to the Public. Briefs filed with the court under seal are available only to authorized court personnel and will not be made available to the public.

(e) Appendices Containing Matters Under Seal.

(1) Sealed Supplement to the Appendix; Number of Copies. If a party deems it necessary to include material under seal in an appendix, the appendix must be filed in 2 segments. One segment must contain all sealed material and bear the legend "Supplement—Under Seal" on the cover, and each page of that supplement containing sealed material must bear the legend "Under Seal" at the top of the page. The second appendix segment must bear the legend "Public Appendix—Sealed Material in Separate Supplement" on the cover; each page from which material under seal has been deleted must bear the legend "Material Under Seal Deleted" at the top of the page. The party must file 7 copies of the sealed supplement and 7 copies of the public appendix.

(2) Service; Number of Copies. Each party must be served with one copy of the public appendix and one copy of the sealed supplement, if the party is entitled to receive the material under seal. See, e.g., Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e).

(3) Non-availability to the Public. Supplements to appendices filed with the court under seal are available only to authorized court personnel and will not be made available to the public.

(f) Disposal of Sealed Records.

(1) In any case in which all or part of the record of this court (including briefs and appendices) has been maintained under seal, the clerk will, in conjunction with the issuance of the mandate (or the entry of the final order, in a case in which no mandate will issue), order the parties to show cause why the record (or sealed portions) should not be unsealed. If the parties agree to unsealing, the record will be unsealed by order of the court, issued by the clerk. No order to show cause will be issued in cases where the nature of the materials themselves (e.g., grand jury materials) makes it clear that unsealing would be impermissible. If the parties do not agree to unsealing, the order to show cause, and any responses thereto, will be referred to the court for disposition.

(2) Any record material not unsealed pursuant to this rule will be designated "Temporary Sealed Records," and transferred to the Federal Records Center under applicable regulations. The records will be returned to the court for reconsideration of unsealing after a period of 20 years.

(3) The court may, on its own motion, issue an order to show cause and consider the unsealing of any records in the court's custody, at any time.

(4) Counsel to an appeal involving sealed records must promptly notify the court when it is no longer necessary to maintain the record or portions of the record under seal.