United States v. Goodwin

Full title: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. JAMES CLIFFORD GOODWIN III…

Court: United States District Court, District of Idaho

Date published: Jan 24, 2022

4:06-cr-00259-BLW (D. Idaho Jan. 24, 2022)

Opinion

4:06-cr-00259-BLW

01-24-2022

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. JAMES CLIFFORD GOODWIN III, Defendant.

Lynn Winmill U.S. District Court Judge

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

Lynn Winmill U.S. District Court Judge

BACKGROUND

Mr. Goodwin pled guilty to possession of child pornography in 2007 and was sentenced to 120 months incarceration, followed by 20 years of supervised release. Dkt. 27. He completed that term of incarceration, but on October 6, 2017 a petition was filed alleging that he had violated the terms of his supervised release. Dkt. 43.

On February 27, 2018, Mr. Goodwin was indicted for possession of sexually explicit images of a minor in Case No. 4:18-cr-72-DCN. He pled guilty to that charge on January 16, 2019. Case No. 4:18-cr-72-DCN, Dkt. 32.

On September 30, 2019, the Court sentenced petitioner to 120 months incarceration in Case No. 4:18-cr-72-DCN and 10 months incarceration for violation of his supervised release in this case. Dkt. 77.

Mr. Goodwin now asks the Court to seal the present case. Dkt. 86.

DISCUSSION

The common law protects the public's right of access to criminal trials, including judicial records and documents. United States v. Carpenter, 923 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2019). “This right, however, does not apply to documents that have traditionally been kept secret for important public policy reasons, ” such as grand jury transcripts and warrants. Id. at 1179 (internal citations and quotations omitted); see also Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9^th Cir. 2006). Therefore, a party that asks to seal a judicial record must show a “compelling reason” why material should be sealed. United States v. Sleugh, 896 F.3d 1007, 1014 (9th Cir. 2018).

Mr. Goodwin can prevail only by showing a compelling reason to seal his case. Unfortunately, he gives the Court no reasons to consider. Rather, Mr. Goodwin's motion to seal consists of only one sentence: “COMES NOW, James Clifford Goodwin III, Petitioner, pro se(1), and moves this Court to seal and/or alter the language of this case and all cases, filings, papers, and matters pertaining to it.” Without any reason to seal Mr. Goodwin's case, the Court will deny the motion.

ORDER

IT IS ORDERED that:

1. Defendant's Motion to Seal (Dkt. 86) is DENIED.