Rutherford County Circuit Court, Tennessee Sealing & Redaction Procedures

CRITICAL

Records submitted or filed with the Juvenile Court are confidential and may not be disclosed or re-released outside the current proceedings without authorization from the Judge.

All records submitted or filed with the Rutherford County Juvenile Court shall be confidential records (which includes, but is not limited to, medical records or evaluations, mental health records or evaluations, substance abuse assessment/treatment records, drug screen results, reports from the Tennessee Department of Children's Services or other agencies, CASA reports and probation reports) and shall not be disclosed or re-released to anyone for any purpose other than the proceedings currently before this Court without further authorization from the Judge of the Rutherford County Juvenile Court.

CRITICAL

If a document must include a Social Security number, it may show only the last four digits.

Social Security Number. If a social security number must be included in a document, only the last four digits of that number must be used.

CRITICAL

If a document must include an individual's date of birth, it may state only the year.

- (b) Dates of Birth. If an individual's date of birth must be included in a document, only the year must be used.

CRITICAL

E-Filers must omit or redact personal identifiers in publicly filed documents and exhibits unless a statute or Court order requires their inclusion.

Authorized Users must be sensitive to confidential and personal information filed publicly, not under seal. E-Filers shall refrain from including, or shall redact as follows where inclusion is necessary, the following personal identifiers from all documents filed publicly with the Clerk, including exhibits thereto, unless required by statute or otherwise ordered by the Court.

CRITICAL

The Clerk will not redact electronic evidence containing personally identifiable, confidential, or proprietary information; the filer is responsible for redacting it or limiting access to it.

The Clerk of the Court will not remove or redact any electronic evidence containing personally identifiable information, confidential information, or proprietary information. The filer submitting electronic evidence is responsible for redaction of such, information, or limiting access to such information.

CRITICAL

To protect a minor's information from the public, the Authorized User should use a pseudonym in documents and file the actual names in a sealed document.

- (d) Names of Minors. If a case includes a minor this information needs to be protected from the public, the Authorized User should use a pseudo name in the documents and then file a sealed document with the actual names.

CRITICAL

If financial account numbers are relevant, documents may include only their last four digits.

- (c) Financial Account Numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant, only the last four digits of these numbers must be used.

CRITICAL

Authorized Users must redact e-filed documents and, when a document contains sensitive data otherwise subject to redaction, file both an original and a redacted version; the redacted version is stored for public access.

It is the responsibility of the Authorized User to redact all documents that are E-Filed to the Court. When a document required to E-Filed includes sensitive data that otherwise would be redacted, the Authorized User must file an original and a redacted version. The redacted version will be stored for public access:

CRITICAL

E-Filers are responsible for ensuring documents comply with personal-identifier redaction rules; the Clerk will not review each document for redaction.

It is the responsibility of E-Filers to be sure that all documents comply with the rules of the Court requiring redaction of personal identifiers. The Clerk will not review each document for redaction.

WARNING

Filers are advised to exercise caution when filing documents containing personal identifying numbers, medical information, employment history, individual financial information, or proprietary or trade-secret information.

In addition, exercise caution when filing documents that contain the following: - (1) Personal identifying number, such as a driver's license number. - (2) Medical Records, treatment and diagnosis. - (3) Employment History. - (4) Individual Financial Information. - (5) Proprietary or Trade Secret Information.