Opinion
20cr2914-LAB
07-20-2021
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. CYNTHA LEON MONTOYA, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING REQUEST TO REDACT [DKT. 71]
Hon. Larry Alan Burns United States District Judge.
Defendant Cynthia Leon Montoya was sentenced at a hearing in open court on May 17, 2021. She has moved the Court to redact from the public docket three lines of that hearing's transcript. (Dkt. 71.) Montoya states that these lines disclose “names allegedly referenced by [her] during a safety valve interview/debrief with the government.” (Id.)
The movant seeking a sealing order bears the burden of demonstrating “compelling reasons” resting on an “articula[ble] . . . factual basis.” Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178-79 (9th Cir. 2006). Montoya's unchallenged statements in the PSR regarding threats made against her children and herself establish that leaving the information in the docket would risk the safety of Ms. Montoya and her children. And although the names were disclosed orally in open court, such ephemeral mentions don't pose the same risk as permanent, publicly accessible online records. See United States v. Doe, 870 F.3d 991, 994 (9th Cir. 2017). The risk posed to Ms. Montoya and her children is a compelling reason to seal the information in question, and it outweighs the public's interest in disclosure.
The motion is GRANTED. The Clerk is directed to redact from the public docket lines 10-13 on page 25 of Docket Entry No. 68.
IT IS SO ORDERED.