Eastern District of Texas Sealing & Redaction Procedures

Standing order governs sealing of documents in civil cases before Judge Jordan

Source text: This Order is intended to ensure that the Court complies with governing law on the presumption of public access to judicial proceedings and records, and the requirements for permitting any document submitted to the Court to be filed or kept under seal.

Judicial records belong to the public and must be accessible

Source text: “Providing public access to judicial records is the duty and responsibility of the Judicial Branch.” Binh Hoa Le v. Exeter Fin. Corp., 990 F.3d 410, 417 (5th Cir. 2021) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Such records “belong to the American people; they are public, not private, documents.” Id.

Courts must be ungenerous with discretion to seal judicial records

Source text: With these principles in mind, the Fifth Circuit has instructed courts to be “ungenerous with their discretion to seal judicial records.” Id. at 418; see also June Med. Servs., L.L.C. v. Phillips, 22 F.4th 512, 519–20 (5th Cir. 2022) (explaining that the Fifth Circuit “heavily disfavor[s] sealing information placed in the judicial record”).

Parties must show compelling interests to overcome presumption of public access

Source text: When seeking to seal judicial records, parties must overcome the presumption of public access by showing that compelling countervailing interests favor nondisclosure.

Courts must balance public access rights against nondisclosure interests line-by-line

Source text: Thus, courts must “undertake a case-by-case, document-by-document, line-by-line balancing of the public’s common law right of access against the interests favoring nondisclosure.” Id. at 419 (cleaned up); see also DePuy Synthes Prods., Inc. v. Veterinary Orthopedic Implants, Inc., 990 F.3d 1364, 1369 (Fed. Cir. 2021) (“[The Federal Circuit] appl[ies] regional circuit law in determining the applicable [sealing] standard,” which is “substantially the same across circuits: the parties seeking confidentiality must present a strong justification to overcome the presumption of public access.”).

Courts must consider redaction as less drastic alternative to sealing entire documents

Source text: This balancing should include a “consideration of less drastic alternatives” to sealing entire documents. Binh Hoa Le, 990 F.3d at 420. For example, where the movant’s interests can be protected by redacting portions of a document, rather than sealing the entire document, courts generally favor redaction as a less drastic alternative.

Sealed attachments alone do not justify sealing the entire filing.

Source text: The attachment of a single document or multiple documents that need to be filed under seal does not provide a basis to seal the entire filing.

Requests to seal the courtroom or record during hearings or trial must be made before public disclosure.

Source text: Requests to seal the courtroom and/or the record during a hearing or trial MUST be made before the public disclosure of the information.

Transcript redactions must follow Local Rule CV-5.2 timing requirements.

Source text: Parties seeking redaction of a transcript must comply with the timing requirements set forth in Local Rule CV-5.2.

Sealed filings must include certificate of service identifying motion to seal or specific court order authorizing sealing by docket number and provisions.

Source text: Any party who wishes to file a sealed document must comply with the requirements of Local Rule CV-5(a)(7). Pursuant to L.R. CV-5(a)(7)(B), the sealed filing must include a certificate of service by counsel that clearly identifies either (1) a corresponding motion to file under seal; or, (2) if no motion to seal has been filed, the specific order of the Court that provides the authorization to file under seal. Simply stating that a motion is being filed under seal pursuant to the Court’s Protective Order is insufficient. Parties must specifically identify the order granting authority to file under seal by Docket Number and point to the specific provisions (page or paragraph numbers) that provide for the sealing of the document in question.

Attachments requiring sealing must be filed separately with proper certificate of service; entire filing cannot be sealed based on attachments.

Source text: The attachment of a single document or multiple documents that need to be filed under seal does not provide a basis to seal the entire filing. A party seeking to attach a document or documents that contain proprietary information to be sealed must separately file those documents and include a certificate of service that complies with L.R. CV-5(a)(7).

Requests to seal courtroom/record must be made before public disclosure and demonstrate sensitive nature and good faith meet-and-confer.

Source text: Requests to seal the courtroom and/or the record during a hearing or trial MUST be made before the public disclosure of the information. In making a request to seal, the requesting party must demonstrate: (1) that the information sought to be protected is of such a sensitive nature that its disclosure creates a risk of harm that outweighs the strong presumption in favor of public access to judicial proceedings; and (2) that the parties have met and conferred in good faith concerning the manner in which the sensitive information will be presented at the hearing or at trial, with the goal of minimizing the need to seal the record and/or the courtroom.

Documents designated as 'Confidential' by producing party are Protected Documents entitled to confidential treatment.

Source text: Documents or discovery responses containing Confidential Information disclosed or produced by any party in this litigation are referred to as “Protected Documents.” Except as otherwise indicated below, all documents or discovery responses designated by the producing party as “Confidential” and which are disclosed or produced to the attorney’s for the other parties to this litigation are Protected Documents and are entitled to confidential treatment as described below.

Challenging confidential designation requires written notice and certification, with 10-day deadline to file motion.

Source text: At any time after the delivery of Protected Documents, counsel for the party or parties receiving the Protected Documents may challenge the Confidential designation of all or any portion thereof by providing written notice thereof to counsel for the party disclosing or producing the Protected Documents. If the parties are unable to agree as to whether the confidential designation of discovery material is appropriate, the party or parties receiving the Protected Documents shall certify to the Court that the parties cannot reach an agreement as to the confidential nature of all or a portion of the Protected Documents. Thereafter, the party or parties disclosing or producing the Protected Documents shall have ten (10) days from the date of certification to file a motion for protective order with regard to any Protected Documents in dispute.

Limit personal information in filings: last 4 digits of account numbers, initials for minors, year for birth dates, city/state for addresses.

Source text: for financial account numbers, use only the last four digits; for names of minor children, use only their initials; for dates of birth, use only the year; and (in criminal cases) for home addresses, use only the city and state.

Post-disclosure sealing/redaction requests require good cause for not filing in advance and must comply with Local Rule CV-5.2 timing.

Source text: Except for requests to redact information referenced in Fed.R.Civ.P. 5.2(a), requests to seal, redact, or otherwise protect information after its public disclosure at a hearing or trial must, in addition to the previous requirements, show good cause as to why the motion was not made in advance of the disclosure. Parties seeking redaction of a transcript must comply with the timing requirements set forth in Local Rule CV-5.2.

Exemptions from Protected Document status include published materials and government submissions.

Source text: Protected Documents shall not include (a) advertising materials, (b) materials that on their face show that they have been published to the general public, or (c) documents that have submitted to any governmental entity without request for confidential treatment.

Sealing order applies only to civil cases before Judge Jordan

Source text: This Order applies only to the filing of documents under seal in civil cases before Judge Sean D. Jordan.