Local Rule Rule 79.2: Sealed Documents

Rule 79.2 Sealed Documents

(a) Filing Sealed Documents.

No cases or documents may be sealed without an order from the court. A person desiring to file a document under seal must first file a motion seeking leave in accordance with Section V.G of the CM/ECF Policy Manual. All sealed and proposed documents shall be maintained electronically in CM/ECF unless otherwise ordered by the court. First-time filers are strongly encouraged to call the CM/ECF Help Desk at 866-855-8894.

(b) Proposed Sealed Documents.

(1) Unless otherwise permitted by Section V.G of the CM/ECF Policy Manual or order of the court, all proposed sealed documents must be accompanied by a motion to seal. The motion to seal shall be a public document and noted with a docket entry that gives the public notice of the request to seal. The docket entry for the proposed sealed document shall identify it as a "proposed" sealed document and describe the type of document it is (e.g., affidavit, record) and the substantive motion or other specific proceedings in the case to which it relates (e.g., in support of defendant's motion to compel at D.E. ____). The proposed sealed document is deemed to be provisionally sealed until the court rules on the motion to seal.

(2) If the motion to seal is granted, the clerk will remove the word "proposed" from the docket entry.

(3) If the motion to seal is denied, the document will remain sealed and the word "proposed" will remain in the docket entry for the document in order to preserve the record. The document will not be considered by the court, except as provided herein or as otherwise ordered by the court. A person desiring to remove a proposed sealed document or docket entry therefor from the docket sheet must file a motion to strike in accordance with Local Civil Rule 7.1. A person whose motion to seal is denied but that desires the court to consider a proposed sealed document as a publicly filed document shall file the document as a public document within 3 days after entry of the order denying the motion to seal or within such other period as the court directs.

(c) Return of Sealed Documents.

(1) For those sealed documents not scanned into CM/ECF, upon 14 days' notice to all parties, the clerk may destroy or dispose of the sealed documents, unless the person who filed them retrieves them from the clerk. This notice may occur no earlier than 30 days after final disposition.

(2) If, during the 14-day period after the clerk has given notice of intent to dispose of the sealed documents, any person files an objection to such disposition, the presiding judge in the case shall resolve the dispute over the proposed disposition.

(d) Procedures for Manual Filers.

For those persons who are required to manually file all court documents (i.e., unrepresented persons), proposed sealed documents shall be delivered to the clerk's office in paper form in a sealed envelope. The proposed sealed documents must be accompanied by a motion to seal in accordance with Section V.G of the CM/ECF Policy Manual. Both the documents and the envelope shall be prominently labeled "UNDER SEAL." The envelope must also have written on it the case caption; the case number; the title of the document or, if the title contains proposed sealed information, the title omitting the proposed sealed information; and the following notice, in all capital letters and prominently displayed:

PROPOSED SEALED DOCUMENTS: SUBMITTED PURSUANT TO MOTION TO SEAL.