Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Sealing & Redaction Procedures

CRITICAL

The listed personal and financial information must not appear in court-filed documents except on a Confidential Information Form filed at the same time; specified exceptions apply to active account numbers, minors charged as criminal defendants, and an abuse victim's name.

The following information is confidential and shall not be included in any document filed with a court or custodian, except on a Confidential Information Form filed contemporaneously with the document: - 1. Social Security Numbers - 2. Financial Account Numbers, except an active financial account number may be identified by the last four digits when the financial account is the subject of the case and cannot otherwise be identified. "Financial Account Numbers" include financial institution account numbers, debit and credit card numbers, and methods of authentication used to secure accounts such as personal identification numbers, user names and passwords. - 3. Driver License Numbers - 4. State Identification (SID) Numbers - 5. Minors' names and dates of birth except when a minor is charged as a defendant in a criminal matter (see 42 Pa.C.S. § 6355). "Minor" is a person under the age of eighteen. - 6. Abuse victim's address and other contact information, including employer's name, address and work schedule, in family court actions as defined by Pa.R.C.P. No. 1931(a), except for victim's name. "Abuse Victim" is a person for whom a protection order has been granted by a court pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. No. 1901 et seq. and 23 Pa.C.S. § 6101 et seq. or Pa.R.C.P. No. 1951 et seq. and 42 Pa.C.S § 62A01 et seq. If necessary, this information must be provided on the separate Abuse Victim Addendum. Please note there are separate instructions for the completion of the Addendum located on the form.

CRITICAL

The form is public, but attached documents are not publicly accessible unless a court orders otherwise; they are available to the parties, counsel of record, the court, and the custodian.

This form shall be accessible to the public, however the documents attached will not be publicly accessible, except as ordered by a court. The documents attached will be available to the parties, counsel of record, the court, and the custodian.

CRITICAL

Parties and the attorney of record may access the Confidential Information Form, and its information must remain confidential.

NOTE: Parties and attorney of record in a case will have access to this Confidential Information Form. Confidentiality of this information must be maintained.

CRITICAL

Provide the Abuse Victim Addendum and any additional pages only to the court; they must remain confidential.

This addendum, and any additional pages, shall only be provided to the court and shall remain confidential.

CRITICAL

Counsel and unrepresented parties must adhere to the Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania and refrain from including confidential information in legal papers filed with the Clerk of Courts or the Court whether filed electronically or in paper format.

Counsel and unrepresented parties must adhere to the Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania and refrain from including confidential information in legal papers filed with the Clerk of Courts or the Court whether filed electronically or in paper format.

CRITICAL

Do not include confidential information in any other document filed under the docket.

Do not include confidential information in any other document filed with the court under this docket.

CRITICAL

The Confidential Information Form and any additional pages must remain confidential, but are available to the parties, counsel of record, the court, and the custodian.

This form, and any additional pages, shall remain confidential, except that it shall be available to the parties, counsel of record, the court, and the custodian.

WARNING

THIS FORM IS CONFIDENTIAL

THIS FORM IS CONFIDENTIAL

WARNING

For a document that fails to comply with the policy, the court may on motion or on its own initiative, with or without a hearing, order sealing, redaction, amendment, or a combination, and may impose sanctions including compliance-preparation costs.

If a filed document fails to comply with the requirements of the above referenced policy, a court may, upon motion or its own initiative, with or without a hearing, order the filed document sealed, redacted, amended or any combination thereof. A court may impose sanctions, including costs necessary to prepare a compliant document for filing in accordance with applicable authority.

WARNING

The instructions recommend not providing confidential information to the court and limit provision to information required by law, ordered by the court, or otherwise necessary to resolve the matter.

The best way to protect confidential information is not to provide it to the court. Therefore, only provide confidential information to the court when it is required by law, ordered by the court or is otherwise necessary to effect the disposition of a matter.

WARNING

If a filed document does not comply with the policy, the court may, on motion or on its own initiative and with or without a hearing, order it sealed, redacted, amended, or subject to a combination of those remedies.

If a filed document fails to comply with the above referenced policy, a court may, upon motion or its own initiative, with or without a hearing, order the filed document sealed, redacted, amended or any combination thereof.