Rule 6.153 - Protected information; confidential materials and cases; briefs not confidential(1)Protected information.a. When a party files any document that contains protected information as defined in Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.422(1) or Iowa Rule of Electronic Procedure 16.602 or a reproduction, quotation, or extensive paraphrase of material that contains protected information, the party must omit or redact that information from the document in the manner provided by Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.422(1) or Iowa Rule of Electronic Procedure 16.605.b. When a party files any document that contains information that may be omitted or redacted under Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.422(2) or a reproduction, quotation, or extensive paraphrase of material that contains such information, the party may omit or redact that information from the document in the manner provided by Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.422(2).c. The omission or redaction of protected information is not required if the document is certified as confidential under rule 6.153(2).(2)Party certification of confidential and protected material or cases.a.Confidential and protected material. When a party files any document, except a brief, that contains material or a reproduction, quotation, or extensive paraphrase of material that is declared confidential by any statute or court rule or to which access is restricted by court order, the party must certify the document's confidential nature by including a certificate of confidentiality as the first page of the document. The certificate page should substantially comply with rule 6.1401 -Form 11: Certificate of Confidentiality, and include the caption of the case; certificate of confidentiality, which includes the applicable statute, rule, or court order; and signature of the party or counsel. When filing a document that contains a certificate of confidentiality, the filer must note that fact in the appropriate place on the electronic cover sheet. See Iowa R. Elec. P. 16.201(7).b.Confidential and protected cases. When a party files any document, except a brief, in a case declared confidential by statute or court rule or to which access is restricted by court order, the party need not certify the document's confidential nature. Briefs filed in a confidential or restricted-access case must comply with the personal privacy protection provisions in division VI of the Iowa Rules of Electronic Procedure. See Iowa R. Elec. P. 16.601(1).(3)Clerk to maintain confidentiality. Upon the clerk of the supreme court's receipt of a notice, motion, district court record, portion of district court record, or other document that has been certified by a party or the clerk of the district court as confidential, the clerk of the supreme court will maintain its confidentiality. If the confidential designation is not warranted, the appropriate appellate court will direct the clerk of the supreme court to file the document as a public record. Confidential documents may be inspected only by persons authorized by statute, rule, or court order to inspect such documents.(4)Responsibility of filer It is the responsibility of the filing party to ensure that confidential or protected information is properly redacted, omitted, or certified as confidential. For purposes of this rule, a pro se party is the filing party of a pro se document. It is not the responsibility of the clerk of the supreme court to review filings to determine whether appropriate redactions, omissions, or certifications have been made; to redact or remove confidential or protected information from court filings; or to certify or restrict access to confidential or protected information on the clerk's own initiative. Failure of the filing party to ensure that confidential or protected information is properly redacted, omitted, or certified as confidential may subject the filing party to sanctions by the court.(5)Briefs not confidential.a. Briefs filed with the clerk of the supreme court are not confidential. A brief may not contain a reproduction, quotation, or extensive paraphrase of material that is declared by any statute or rule of the supreme court to be confidential. Instead, a brief may include general statements of fact supported by references pursuant to rule 6.904(4) to pages or parts of the record that are confidential.b. Briefs in a case declared confidential by any statute or rule of the supreme court are not confidential and must refer to the parties in the caption and text by initials or other nonidentifying description. When a victim's name is deemed confidential by law, a brief must refer to the victim by initials or other nonidentifying description.Court Order October 31, 2008, effective 1/1/2009; March 5, 2013, effective 5/3/2013; Court Order November 18, 2016, effective 3/1/2017; effective 7/20/2017; Court Order September 29, 2023, effective 4/1/2024.