Rule 7 Redactions

(a) The responsibility for redacting personal data identifiers rests solely with counsel and the persons filing the documents with the court.

(b) For all documents filed, unless otherwise ordered by the court, the parties shall make redactions to personal data identifiers as follows:

(1) Social Security Numbers. – If an individual’s social security is relevant and may not be fully redacted, redact all but the last 4 digits of that number;

(2) Names of Minor Children. – If the role of a minor child must be included, only use the initials of that child. This does not include cases where the minor is a party to the case, unless the statutes otherwise require;

(3) Dates of Birth. – If an individual’s date of birth must be included, redact all but the year of birth;

(4) Financial Account Numbers. – If a financial account number is relevant and may not be fully redacted, redact all but the last 4 digits of such numbers;

(5) Victim Addresses. – In criminal cases, redact the address of the victim except for the victim’s county and state of residence; and

(6) Other identifiers. – The filer shall redact all additional information as required by the Access Security Matrix.

(c) The above redaction requirements do not apply to the following:

(1) Documents already made confidential by statute, administrative rule, or court rule;

(2) The record of an administrative agency or court proceeding if that record was not subject to the redaction requirement when originally made;

(3) Citations; and

(4) Audio digital recordings.

(d) The court may order a document to be filed under seal without redaction. The court may later order that the document be unsealed or that a redacted version of the document be filed as a public record.

(e) Each circuit court in the State of Wyoming shall enter an order establishing policies and procedures governing redaction and access to court files and proceedings in cases that involve felony charges brought under Wyoming Statutes Title 6, Chapter 2, Article 3. The order adopted by each court shall be in the form of the order attached hereto as Appendix A.

(f) A party filing a redacted filing shall also file an unredacted copy under seal in those cases where the entire personal data identifier listed in Rule 7(a) is required (e.g., charging documents). The unredacted copy filed under seal shall be part of the confidential file. If the redacted and non-redacted documents are not offered for filing contemporaneously, the missing document must be eFiled, filed, or postmarked within one Business Day of the date of original filing. When eFiling an unredacted document, the Filing Party must designate the unredacted filing as restricted by typing in the document title field of the electronic filing system, “Restricted – Unredacted.” The Filing Party must also indicate in the “Note to Clerk” field in the electronic filing system, that the unredacted filing is restricted from public view by typing a note to the clerk, i.e., “Restricted.”

(1) In civil cases including divorce proceedings, custody proceedings and other matters necessarily involving information subject to redaction, a party is not required to file nonredacted duplicate pleadings so long as the unredacted identifying information is part of some other confidential file.

(g) In those cases made confidential by statute, administrative rule, or court rule, it is not necessary to file redacted transcripts. In other cases, the responsibility for preparing a redacted copy of the official court transcripts rests solely with the parties and their counsel. The court, clerk, and court reporter/transcriber shall not review the transcript for compliance with these rules. Counsel and parties shall review and, if necessary, file redacted transcripts in accordance with the following procedures and requirements.1

(1) Once a transcript prepared pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 5-3-401 to 412 is delivered to the clerk’s office for filing, and the court reporter/ transcriber has given written notice by email, the electronic filing system, or traditional means to the parties that the transcript is completed, the attorneys in the case (or, where there is a self-represented party, the party) are responsible for reviewing it for all personal data identifiers required by law and these rules to be redacted. Each party or counsel shall give prompt written notice of changes of address, telephone number or email address, if any, to the court reporter and other parties.

(2) Within 11 calendar days of the delivery by the court reporter/transcriber of the official transcript to the clerk’s office, or longer if the court orders, each party must inform the court reporter, by filing a Notice of Intent to Redact with the clerk, of his or her intent to direct the redaction of personal identifiers from the transcript of the court proceeding. A party is only allowed to request redaction of the personal data identifiers specified in Rule 7(a) herein without further order of the court. If no such notice is filed within the allotted time, the clerk shall assume redaction of the personal data identifiers from the transcript is not necessary, and the record completion process shall proceed without further delay.

(3) Within 21 calendar days of the transcript’s filing with the clerk, or longer if the court orders, an attorney of record or self-represented party, who has previously filed a Notice of Intent to Redact, must file a Confidential Redaction Request. (See Appendix B to these rules). A copy of this request must also be submitted simultaneously to the court reporter/transcriber. The request shall include the title of the transcript, the date it was filed, the case number and the items to be redacted, referencing them by page and line number and how they are to be redacted. For example, if a party wanted to redact the Social Security Number 123-45-6789 appearing on page 12, line 9 of the transcript, the Confidential Redaction Request would read: page 12, line 9: Social Security Number 123-45-6789 should be redacted to read xxx-xx-6789.

(4) When a Confidential Redaction Request is filed, the court reporter/ transcriber must within 31 calendar days from the filing of the transcript with the clerk of court, or longer if the court orders, perform the requested redactions and file a redacted version of the transcript with the clerk of court. The original unredacted transcript shall be retained by the clerk of court in the confidential file. The redacted transcript may be viewed on the public access terminal within a courthouse. Anyone viewing a transcript at the public access terminal within a courthouse shall not copy, photograph, or save any transcript to any external device. Pro se parties and appellate counsel may obtain a copy of district court transcripts by paying the required fee specified by U.R.D.C. 908(IV)(c) to the court reporter. The unredacted transcript shall also be available for transmission to the appellate court.

(5) For all civil transcripts and for all criminal trial transcripts when the case is appealed, court reporters of the district courts and chancery court are required to provide either a key-word index or a PDF electronic file for all parties to assist in redaction efforts. Upon request, court reporters of the district courts shall provide either a key-word index or a PDF electronic file for other criminal transcripts. In providing notice under this rule, the clerk may use the model forms in Appendix I of the Suggested Best Practices for Wyoming Official Court Reporters, available on the Wyoming Professional Court Reporter Association website.

(6) In criminal cases, the prosecutor shall notify the court reporter of any information subject to redaction when that information becomes available. Counsel and the parties have a continuing obligation to inform the court reporter of information subject to redaction throughout the pendency of the case.

(7) Court reporters shall redact information using the black-out method or other method that retains the same line and page numbers as the unredacted transcript.

(8) In criminal cases, the prosecutor shall be responsible for ensuring redactions are requested for all mandatory transcripts.