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

Parties must understand legal standard before filing sealing motions

Section B contains specific sealing procedures supplementing Local Rule 5(a)(7)

Sealing order applies only to civil cases before Judge Jordan

Judicial records belong to the public and must be accessible

Courts must be ungenerous with discretion to seal judicial records

Parties must show compelling interests to overcome presumption of public access

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

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

Three-document filing requirement for seal motions

Motion to seal must include document-by-document balancing and list each proposed redaction

Must file sealed, unredacted version of document(s) at time of seal motion filing

Must file public, redacted copy at time of seal motion filing with redactions corresponding to seal motion

Exception for sealing entire document - no public redacted copy required

Order supersedes local rule for sealed documents; non-compliance results in denial and striking

Prisoner civil rights cases in Sherman Division are randomly assigned to magistrate judges at filing.

Magistrate judge can conduct all proceedings if all parties consent.

Non-consenting cases are reassigned to district judge but referred to magistrate for non-dispositive matters.

Order only applies to cases filed on or after February 1, 2025.

Pretrial motions in criminal cases are referred to magistrate judges, except for specific motions.