Opinion
Civil Action 2:24-00149
07-24-2024
JOHN PAUL MONTGOMERY, Plaintiff, v. LINDA REED, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
Omar J. Aboulhosn United States Magistrate Judge
On May 17, 2024, and May 30, 2024, Plaintiff, acting pro se, filed Exhibits in Support of his Second Amended Complaint. (Document Nos. 21 and 22.) As Exhibits, Plaintiff filed the following: (1) A copy of Plaintiff's “Notification of Sex Offender Responsibility and Registration Certificate” (Document No. 21); (2) A copy of a Disciplinary Hearing Report against Plaintiff for improperly attempting to contact his children (Document No. 22, p. 1); (3) A copy of an Order from the Circuit Court of Wood County regarding Juvenile Neglect in Case No. 94-J-60 (Id., p. 2); (4) A copy of the victim's medical records from St. Joesph's Hospital (Id., pp. 3 - 4); and (5) A copy of a newspaper article entitled “Man convicted on one count of sexual abuse” (Id., pp. 5 -6). First, the undersigned notes that the “Notification of Sex Offender Responsibility and Registration Certificate” contains Plaintiff's date of birth and social security number. (Document No. 21.) Second, the Court finds that the victim's medical and juvenile records contain confidential or sensitive information that is not intended for public disclosure. (Document No. 22, pp. 2 - 4.)
Rule 5.2(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a “paper filing with the court that contains an individual's social-security number . . . or birth day . . . may include only: (1) the last four digits of the social-security number . . . [and] (2) the year of the individual's birth.” According to Local Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2.1(a), “[t]he responsibility for redacting these personal identifiers rests solely with counsel and the parties.” Rule 5.2(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, however, authorizes the filing of documents under seal without redaction. The undersigned notes that the foregoing identified documents (Document No. 21 and Document No. 22, pp. 2 - 4) contain a date of birth, social security number, or are confidential or sensitive information not intended for public disclosure. Therefore, the undersigned finds it appropriate to place under seal the above identified documents. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the Clerk file the following documents under SEAL: (1) The copy of Plaintiff's “Notification of Sex Offender Responsibility and Registration Certificate” (Document No. 21); (2) The copy of the Order from the Circuit Court of Wood County regarding Juvenile Neglect in Case No. 94-J-60 (Document No. 22, p. 2); and (3) The copy of the victim's medical records from St. Joesph's Hospital (Id., pp. 3 - 4).
The Clerk is requested to mail a copy of this Order to Plaintiff, who is acting pro se.