Opinion
CR16-80 RSM
02-02-2023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. GURPREET SINGH SANDHU, Defendant.
PROTECTIVE ORDER
RICARDO S. MARTINEZ, DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter, having come to the Court's attention on the Unopposed Motion for Protective Order Regarding Certain Discovery Items submitted by the United States of America, and the Court, having considered the motion, and being fully advised in this matter, hereby enters the following PROTECTIVE ORDER:
1. When the government provides discovery to the defense team, it will designate as “protected” any material that it believes may tend to identify the CW, including but not limited to recordings of telephone calls between the CW and anyone else.
As used herein, the “defense team” includes counsels of record, their employees (such as any associate counsel, paralegals, legal assistants, and interns), and their contractors (such as investigators and experts).
2. The defense team will not make copies of any kind of any part of the designated items without prior written permission of the Government, except that the 1 materials may be downloaded from USAfx and placed on a server or other appropriate storage medium under the secure control of the defense team.
3. The defense team will not share any of the material designated as protected with anyone except for the defendant himself (subject to restrictions described below) and others who are part of the same defense team without prior written permission of the Government. In this context, “share” includes show, provide copies of, or describe- whether in writing or orally-in a manner that will tend to reveal the identity of the CW. The defense team may discuss the general nature of the protected material with others, provided that that discussion does not tend to reveal the identity of the CW, even to other defense teams.
4. The defense team may review all of the discovery, including protected material, with the defendant it represents. The defense team may not, however, leave any protected material in the possession of the defendant or permit it to be copied.
5. If the defense team wishes to file any protected material with the Court, or to make reference to its contents, including reference to the identity of the CW, the filing must be sealed, absent prior written permission of the Government to file an unsealed version.
6. The provisions of the protective order shall apply to all members of the defense team, including but not limited to other attorneys, contract attorneys, investigators, legal assistants, interns, experts, and paralegals. It is the responsibility of defense counsel to ensure that all members of the defense team understand the restrictions of the protective order and understand that they are required to abide by those restrictions.
7. In the event that current defense counsel is replaced by new defense counsel, defense counsel shall not turn over any discovery to new counsel without prior written permission of the Government. The Government will only grant permission when it is satisfied that new counsel has reviewed the terms of the Protective Order and has acknowledged that he/she is bound by them. 2
8. This order can only be modified by written agreement of the Government, or by order of this Court. 3