Opinion
22 Mag. 6717
11-23-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. RUSSELL DWAYNE LEWIS, a/k/a "Clifford Ari Getz," a/k/a "Clifford Ari Getz Cohen," a/k/a "Ari Getz," a/k/a "Aryeh Getz," Defendant
DAMIAN WILLIAMS United States Attorney Southern District of New York Alex Rossmiller Assistant United States Attorney Julie Rendelman, Esq. Counsel for Russell Dwayne Lewis
DAMIAN WILLIAMS United States Attorney Southern District of New York
Alex Rossmiller Assistant United States Attorney
Julie Rendelman, Esq. Counsel for Russell Dwayne Lewis
PROTECTIVE ORDER
WHEREAS the Government intends to produce to RUSSELL DWAYNE LEWIS, a/k/a "Clifford Ari Getz," a/k/a "Clifford Ari Getz Cohen," a/k/a "Ari Getz," a/k/a "Aryeh Getz," the defendant, certain documents that affect the privacy and confidentiality of individuals, and that are not authorized to be disclosed to the public or disclosed beyond that which is necessary for the defense of this action, and other materials pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16 ("Rule 16") and pursuant to any other disclosure obligations (collectively, the "Discovery"), which contain sensitive, confidential, or personal identifying information;
WHEREAS, the Government seeks to protect sensitive, confidential, or personal identifying information contained in the materials it produces consistent with Rule 16 or other disclosure obligations;
WHEREAS the defendant, through his counsel, consents to the entry of this Order;
IT HEREBY IS ORDERED:
1. The Discovery disclosed to the defendant ("Defendant") and/or to the defendant's attorneys ("Defense Counsel") during the course of proceedings in this action may include personal identifying information and personal communications of non-party individuals, including victims and/or witnesses, including information relating to the names of such individuals; bank, brokerage, and other financial records and information; social security number, driver's license number, and other government-issued identifying information; and personal communications such as emails, voicemails and voice recordings, and text messages and other messaging application communications (collectively, "Personal Identifying Information");
2. The Discovery disclosed to the Defendant and/or Defense Counsel during the course of proceedings in this action:
a) Shall be used by the defendant or his counsel solely for purposes of the defense of this action;
b) Shall not be copied or otherwise recorded or transmitted by the defendant himself;
c) Shall not be disclosed or distributed in any form by the defendant or his counsel except as set forth in paragraph 2(d) below;
d) May be disclosed only by Defense Counsel and only to the following persons ("Designated Persons"):
i. investigative, secretarial, clerical, or paralegal personnel employed full-time or part-time by the defendant's counsel ("Defense Staff");
ii. any expert, advisor, or any other individual retained or employed by the Defendant and Defense Counsel for the purpose of assisting in the defense of this case ("Defense Experts/Advisors");
iii. such other persons as hereafter may be authorized by Order of the Court ("Other Authorized Persons");
e) May be shown to, but not disseminated to or provided copies of to, prospective witnesses and their counsel (collectively, "Potential Witnesses"), to the extent deemed necessary by defense counsel, for trial preparation.
3. To the extent the Discovery is disclosed to Defense Staff, Defense Experts/Advisors, Other Authorized Persons, or Potential Witnesses, Defense Counsel shall instruct such individual(s) of the terms of this Order and that such individual(s) are bound by this Order. To the extent that Discovery is disseminated to Defense Staff, Defense Experts/Advisors, or Other Authorized Persons, Defense Counsel shall encrypt and/or password protect the Discovery. The provisions of this paragraph do not apply to communications exclusively between and among Defense Counsel.
4. The Defendant, Defense Counsel, Defense Staff, Defense Experts/Advisors, Potential Witnesses, and Other Authorized Persons are prohibited from filing publicly as an attachment to a filing or excerpted within a filing any of the Discovery or information contained in the Discovery that includes Personal Identifying Information unless authorized by the Government in writing or by Order of the Court. Nothing in this Order precludes Defense Counsel from using the Discovery in judicial proceedings in this case.
5. Copies of Discovery or other materials produced by the Government in this action bearing "confidential" stamps or otherwise designated as "confidential" and/or electronic Discovery materials designated as "confidential" by the Government, including such materials marked as "confidential" either on the documents or materials themselves, or designated as "confidential" in a cover letter, index, folder title, or other identifying designation, are deemed "Confidential Information." Confidential Information constitutes materials that contain Personal Identifying Information as defined above. The Government's designation of material as Confidential Information will be controlling absent contrary order of the Court.
6. Confidential Information disclosed to the defendant, or Defense Counsel, respectively, during the course of proceedings in this action:
a) Shall be used by the defendant or his counsel only for purposes of the defense of this action;
b) Shall be maintained in a safe and secure manner solely by Defense Counsel;
c) Shall be reviewed by the Defendant solely in the presence of Defense Counsel;
d) Shall not be possessed outside the presence of Defense Counsel, or maintained, by the Defendant;
e) May be disclosed only by Defense Counsel and only to Designated Persons;
f) May be shown to, but not disseminated to or provided copies of to, Potential Witnesses, to the extent deemed necessary by defense counsel, for trial preparation, and after defense counsel and/or Defense Staff instructs such individual(s) of the terms of this Order and that such individual(s) are bound by this Order.
7. Except for Discovery that has been made part of the record of this case, Defense Counsel shall return to the Government or securely destroy or delete all Discovery, including but not limited to Confidential Information, within 60 days of the expiration of the period for direct appeal from any verdict in the above-captioned case; the period of direct appeal from any order dismissing any of the charges in the abovecaptioned case; the expiration of the period for a petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255; or the granting of any motion made on behalf of the Government dismissing any charges in the abovecaptioned case, whichever date is later.
8. The foregoing provisions shall remain in effect unless and until either (a) the Government and Defense Counsel mutually agree otherwise, or (b) this Order is modified by further order of the Court.
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9. Nothing in this Order shall preclude defense counsel at any time from entering into an agreement with the Government, and/or seeking an order from this Court, excluding certain specified discovery materials from the scope of this Order.
SO ORDERED: