Opinion
Civil Action No. 1:04-cv-00798 (PLF)
09-29-2015
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. ALL ASSETS HELD AT BANK JULIUS, Baer & Company, Ltd., Guernsey Branch, account number 121128, in the Name of Pavlo Lazarenko et al., Defendants In Rem.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on the United States' Motion For Leave to File Under Seal [Dkt. 458]. The Court will grant the Motion subject to the conditions discussed below.
Sealed court proceedings are inconsistent with "this country's strong tradition of access to judicial proceedings." United States v. Hubbard, 650 F.2d 293, 317 n. 89 (D.C. Cir. 1980). As a general rule, the courts are not intended to be, nor should they be, secretive places for the resolution of secret disputes. See, e.g., Nixon v. Warner Communications, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978) ("It is clear that the courts of this country recognize a general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents."). Given the policy in favor of public access, and the ease with which confidential and potentially confidential information may be redacted from documents before they are filed publicly, the Court concludes that this case can and should be open to the public to the greatest extent possible. For that reason:
1. All documents of any nature, including motions and briefs, that contain confidential material a parly proposes to keep under seal shall be filed with the Court under seal in an envelope or other container marked with the title of the action, the title of the court filing which contains the confidential material, and the statement ''FILED UNDER SEAL" below the Court.
2. Within five business days, a party filing such a document with the Court shall also file on the public record a copy of the motion, brief, or other document in which the confidential material is redacted.
3. Redactions to public copies of documents shall be made solely to the extent necessary to preserve the confidentiality of the relevant information and in accordance with the principles set forth in this Memorandum Opinion and Order.
4. Alternatively, if—and only if—the redactions are so extensive as to render a particular document useless to the reader, the party shall Hie on the public record a notice of the filing of the document under seal in its entirety.
Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED that the United States' Motion For Leave to File Under Seal [Dkt. 4581 is GRANTED; it is
FURTHER ORDERED that the United States' Motion For a Second Extension of Time to Respond to Claimant Pavel Lazarenko's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [Dkt. 458, Ex. A] may be filed under seal and the Clerk of the Court is directed to docket it; and it is
FURTHER ORDERED thai within five business days the United States shall file on the public record a copy of its Motion For a Second Extension of Time to Respond to Claimant Pavel Lazarenko's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment in which the confidential material is redacted.
SO ORDERED.
/s/_________
PAUL L. FRIEDMAN
United States District Court
DATE: 9/29/15