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

CRITICAL

Confidential documents submitted with the Confidential Document Form are not accessible to the public, while the form itself is publicly accessible.

B. The Confidential Document Form shall be available in each filing office as well as on the court website at: www.waynecountypa.gov/court-of-common-pleas. Confidential documents submitted with the Confidential Document Form shall not be accessible to the public. The Confidential Document Form shall be accessible to the public.

CRITICAL

The listed confidential information must not be included in a filed document, subject to the stated exceptions, unless submitted on a Confidential Information Form filed contemporaneously with the document.

A. Pursuant to Section 7 of the Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: Case Records of the Appellate and Trial Courts, the following information is confidential and shall be not 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; 3. Driver's 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); and 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. 1931(a), except for victim's name.

WARNING

If confidential documents are submitted without the Confidential Document Form, the court may order them sealed on motion or on its own initiative, with or without a hearing, and may impose sanctions.

F. If confidential documents are not submitted with the Confidential Document Form, a court may, upon motion or its own initiative, with or without a hearing, order that any such documents be sealed. A court may also impose appropriate sanctions for failing to comply with this section.

WARNING

This section does not apply to cases sealed or exempted from public access under applicable authority, including juvenile cases and adoptions.

C. This section is not applicable to cases that are sealed or exempted from public access pursuant to applicable authority, such as juvenile cases or adoptions.

WARNING

The court or filing office need not review or redact filings for compliance, and a party’s or attorney’s noncompliance does not change access to records otherwise accessible.

E. The court or appropriate filing office is not required to review or redact any filed document for compliance with the Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: Case Records of the Appellate and Trial Courts. A party’s or attorney’s failure to comply with this rule shall not affect access to case records that are otherwise accessible.

WARNING

The court or filing office need not review or redact filings for compliance, and a party’s or attorney’s noncompliance does not change access to records otherwise accessible.

E. The court or appropriate filing office is not required to review or redact any filed document for compliance with the Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: Case Records of the Appellate and Trial Courts. A party’s or attorney’s failure to comply with this section shall not affect access to case records that are otherwise accessible.

WARNING

For a noncompliant filing, the court may, on motion or on its own initiative and with or without a hearing, order sealing, redaction, amendment, or a combination, and may impose sanctions.

F. If a filed document fails to comply with the requirements of this section, 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 also impose appropriate sanctions for failing to comply with this section.