Broadwater County District Court, Montana Sealing & Redaction Procedures

CRITICAL

Access to CONFIDENTIAL materials is limited to the listed attorneys, necessary expert witnesses and case personnel, and the defendant.

Access to materials marked CONFIDENTIAL is limited to: (A) attorneys representing the defendant or the State; (B) expert witnesses whose review of the material is necessary for the presentation of the party’s case; (C) law clerks, investigative agents, paralegals, and assistants employed by defendant or the State, whose review of the material is required for the preparation and presentation of the party’s case; and (D) the defendant.

CRITICAL

Attorneys must expressly advise every authorized reviewer that the documents may be used only for the pending court matter.

Attorneys shall expressly advise every authorized person who reviews the documents as to this limitation on lawful use.

CRITICAL

SW, IS, DF, DA, DD, DI, and DN matters must be filed under seal; named parties and court personnel may access them without specific authorization, while all other access requires Court authorization.

All SW, IS, DF, DA, DD, DI, and DN matters shall be filed under seal. The respondent, the respondent’s attorney, the county attorney, and all court personnel are allowed access to these files without specific authorization from the Court. Any other access to these files will only be made with specific authorization from the Court.

CRITICAL

Attorneys of record must use reasonable measures consistent with the rule to control duplication, access, and distribution of CONFIDENTIAL documents.

It shall be the responsibility of the attorneys of record in the action to employ, consistent with this rule, reasonable measures to control duplication of, access to, and distribution of the documents.

CRITICAL

Counsel must advise each listed recipient that any further dissemination of the discovery is strictly prohibited.

Counsel for the parties shall advise any above-listed person receiving the discovery that further dissemination, in its broadest sense, is strictly prohibited.

CRITICAL

A party that disseminates CCJI must advise each recipient of the obligation to keep it confidential under the MCJIA.

Any party in receipt of CCJI shall advise any person to whom it is disseminated under this rule of their obligation to keep CCJI confidential under the MCJIA.

CRITICAL

Counsel may not disseminate Department discovery or materials prepared from the recordings without prior court approval, except to the listed recipients.

Counsel for each party will not disseminate without prior Court approval the discovery obtained from the Department or any excerpt, exhibit, or transcript prepared from these recordings to any person other than the following: i. any attorney of record for the mother, father or youth; ii. CASA/GAL assigned to the case; iii. investigators and support staff for the counsel of each party; iv. any expert retained to review the recordings; and v. any person retained for the purpose of preparing an excerpt, exhibit, or transcript from the recordings.

CRITICAL

CONFIDENTIAL documents may not be left with the defendant unless defense counsel is present.

Documents shall not be left in the defendant’s possession without defense counsel present.

CRITICAL

Other cases may be sealed only upon motion, leave of Court, and a showing of good cause.

No other cases will be sealed except upon motion and leave of the Court for good cause shown.

CRITICAL

If counsel provides a copy of discovery to a parent client, counsel must redact confidential information.

If counsel chooses to provide a copy to their parent client, it is counsel’s obligation to redact confidential information.

CRITICAL

CONFIDENTIAL documents may be used only in connection with a matter pending before the court.

Documents shall be used in connection with a matter pending before this court and for no other purpose.

WARNING

Noncompliance with the confidential-materials rule may constitute contempt and subjects the offending person to sanctions to the extent permitted by law and the court’s authority.

Failure to comply with the terms of this rule may constitute contempt of court and will subject the offending person to sanction to the full extent permitted by these rules, Montana law, and the Court’s inherent authority.

WARNING

A party may conspicuously designate as CONFIDENTIAL disclosed materials containing a child’s personally identifying information or implicating a non-party’s privacy interests.

Whenever a party discloses information that is sensitive because it contains personally identifying information regarding a child or that implicates the privacy interests of a non-party to the case—for example, social security numbers and financial or medical information—the disclosing party may designate those materials as CONFIDENTIAL by conspicuously marking or designating them as such.

WARNING

A recipient of CCJI may disseminate it to specified case participants only as necessary to prepare or investigate the case, and may not otherwise disseminate it without complying with the MCJIA.

A party in receipt of material through discovery that constitutes confidential criminal justice information (CCJI) within the meaning of the Montana Criminal Justice Information Act (MCJIA) may further disseminate such materials to their counsel, employees, agents, investigators, and experts to the extent necessary to assist in the preparation or investigation of the case but may not otherwise disseminate the information without complying with the MCJIA.

WARNING

Attorneys of record must take reasonable measures to control duplication, access, and distribution of discovery, while parties may use it at hearings to the extent otherwise permitted by law.

It shall be the responsibility of the attorneys of record in an action to employ, consistent with this local rule, reasonable measures to control the duplication of the access to, and the distribution of discovery. The parties will not be prohibited from using the discovery, at the hearings of this matter, to the extent otherwise permitted by law.

WARNING

Counsel may show discovery to a party only while that party’s counsel or a paralegal is present.

Counsel for each party may show the discovery to the parties, but at all times counsel for the party or a paralegal shall be present.