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Under seal

In United States federal and state courts, "under seal" refers to a judicial procedure whereby court records, documents, or proceedings are ordered to be kept confidential and inaccessible to the public, typically to safeguard sensitive information such as trade secrets, personal identifiers, national security details, or the privacy of minors and victims.^[1] This practice balances the common law and constitutional presumption of public access to judicial proceedings—rooted in the First and Sixth Amendments—with compelling interests that justify limited secrecy, ensuring that only essential portions are sealed and often requiring redacted public versions where feasible.^[1] Sealing is not automatic; it demands a formal motion or application demonstrating "good cause" or "compelling reasons," with the court conducting an independent review to ensure the order is narrowly tailored in duration and scope.^[1] Key applications of sealing include grand jury materials, which remain secret to protect investigations; civil cases under the False Claims Act, where complaints are initially sealed for at least 60 days to allow government review; and protective orders in family or criminal matters to shield vulnerable parties.^[1] Courts maintain sealed records through physical storage in restricted areas or electronic docket notations that limit viewing to authorized users, such as parties and counsel, with provisions for later unsealing once the confidentiality need expires.^[1] Challenges to sealing orders can arise from media or public advocates invoking access rights, underscoring ongoing debates about transparency in the judiciary.^[1]

Overview

Definition

Filing under seal refers to a judicial procedure in which court documents containing sensitive information are submitted and maintained in a manner that restricts public access, requiring explicit court approval to withhold them from the automatic inclusion in the public record. This mechanism ensures confidentiality by segregating such materials from routine docket entries, thereby protecting them from public inspection unless unsealed by order.^[1] The practice evolved from common law principles granting courts inherent discretion to control access to their records, a tradition tracing back to English courts where public oversight was balanced against confidentiality needs. In the United States, this common law right of access was affirmed by the Supreme Court in Nixon v. Warner Communications, Inc., 435 U.S. 589 (1978), which recognized a qualified public interest in judicial proceedings while allowing seals for compelling reasons. Modern codification appears in rules such as Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), which authorizes protective orders, including the sealing of documents, upon a showing of good cause to prevent annoyance, embarrassment, or undue burden.^[2] Key characteristics of filings under seal include the physical or electronic isolation of documents in secure locations, such as restricted court vaults or password-protected databases, accessible only to authorized personnel like judges and clerks. Where partial disclosure is permissible, courts may require the submission of redacted public versions alongside the sealed originals, ensuring that non-sensitive portions remain available while safeguarding confidential elements. This approach upholds the presumption of public access to court records unless overridden by specific justification.^[1]^[3] Under seal differs from redaction, as the former conceals entire documents or proceedings from public view, whereas redaction involves editing specific portions of a document to obscure sensitive details while filing the altered version publicly. Sealing thus provides broader protection for holistic confidentiality, often invoked for trade secrets or national security matters, in contrast to redaction's targeted application for personal identifiers or minor sensitive data.^[1]^[3]

Purposes

Under seal filings serve several primary purposes in judicial proceedings, primarily to protect sensitive information while maintaining the integrity of the legal process. One key rationale is to safeguard the privacy of individuals, particularly in cases involving victims of sensitive crimes such as sexual assault or minors, where public disclosure could cause further harm or stigma. Another purpose is to protect trade secrets and proprietary business information, preventing competitive disadvantage in commercial litigation.^[4] Filings may also be sealed to ensure national security by concealing classified details, such as in cases involving intelligence or military matters.^[4] Additionally, seals prevent harm from premature disclosure, such as in ongoing investigations where revealing information could tip off suspects or endanger witnesses. Courts justify under seal orders by balancing the public's qualified right of access to judicial records—rooted in common law and the First Amendment—against these specific harms, treating seals as a measure of last resort. In Nixon v. Warner Communications, Inc. (1978), the Supreme Court articulated that while there is a presumptive common law right to inspect judicial records, access may be denied for good cause, such as protecting privacy or preventing misuse of evidence.^[5] This rationale requires courts to conduct a particularized inquiry, ensuring that sealing is narrowly tailored to the compelling interest at stake rather than broadly applied.^[4] The benefits of under seal filings include enabling full disclosure of critical evidence to the court and parties for fair adjudication without subjecting sensitive details to public scrutiny, thereby promoting thorough and unbiased decision-making. Such seals also facilitate settlements in high-stakes litigation by encouraging parties to share confidential information under assured protection, as seen in numerous civil cases where confidentiality provisions lead to resolution without trial. Since the 2000s, standards for under seal filings have evolved with the widespread adoption of electronic filing systems, which have heightened public access and diminished the "practical obscurity" of paper records, prompting greater emphasis on narrow tailoring and redaction over blanket seals. For instance, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2, implemented in 2007, mandates privacy protections in electronic filings, reflecting increased judicial scrutiny to align confidentiality with enhanced transparency demands.^[6]

Legal Framework

United States Federal Courts

In United States federal courts, filings under seal are governed primarily by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), which balance public access to judicial records with protections for sensitive information. Rule 5.2 addresses privacy protections for filings containing personal data identifiers, such as social security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, birth dates of minors, financial account numbers, and home addresses of individuals.^[7] Under this rule, parties must file redacted versions of such documents for public access, limiting disclosure to the last four digits of relevant numbers, the year of birth, a minor's initials, and the city and state of a home address.^[7] Concurrently, an unredacted version may be submitted under seal upon court order, which the court retains as part of the official record and may later unseal or require redaction for public release.^[7] This dual-filing approach ensures that sensitive personal data remains confidential while maintaining transparency in proceedings. For broader sealing of discovery materials and other documents, FRCP 26(c) authorizes courts to issue protective orders upon a showing of good cause to prevent annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense.^[8] A motion for such an order must certify that the movant has conferred in good faith with affected parties to resolve the issue without court intervention.^[8] The rule permits measures including the sealing of depositions, restrictions on revealing trade secrets or confidential commercial information, and requirements that parties file specified documents in sealed envelopes to be opened only as directed by the court.^[8] These protections apply specifically to pretrial discovery, emphasizing the court's discretion to tailor orders narrowly to the circumstances. Circuit courts, such as the Ninth Circuit, have developed heightened standards for approving seals to uphold the presumption of public access to judicial records. In that circuit, the "compelling reasons" test governs requests to seal documents attached to dispositive motions or those influencing judicial decision-making, demanding more than mere embarrassment, reputational harm, or commercial disadvantage to justify overriding public interest. This standard, articulated in cases like Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, requires a particularized showing of harm that outweighs transparency, while a lower "good cause" threshold may apply to non-dispositive materials. Electronic filing in federal courts, mandated by the E-Government Act of 2002, integrates sealing procedures through the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system.^[9] This act requires privacy safeguards for electronic records, including restrictions on public access to sealed documents, which are flagged in CM/ECF as restricted and viewable only by authorized parties or upon court order.^[9] The system facilitates secure submission of sealed filings while enforcing the redaction rules under FRCP 5.2. The Supreme Court has provided key oversight on sealing discovery materials, as in Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart (1984), where it upheld protective orders limiting the dissemination of information obtained through pretrial discovery.^[10] The Court ruled that such orders, issued for good cause under rules akin to FRCP 26(c), do not violate the First Amendment, as discovery is a conditional privilege rather than an inherent public right, and restrictions prevent abuse while safeguarding privacy interests.^[10] This precedent reinforces federal courts' authority to seal materials not traditionally accessible to the public.

State and International Variations

In U.S. state courts, practices for filing documents under seal vary but generally require demonstrations of necessity to overcome presumptions of public access, differing from federal standards in procedural specifics. For instance, in California, Rule of Court 2.551 mandates that a motion to seal include a memorandum and declaration providing facts and evidence of an overriding interest that outweighs the right of public access, with records lodged conditionally under seal pending court approval.^[11] In New York, under 22 NYCRR § 216.1, courts may seal civil records only upon a written finding of good cause, balancing the interests of the public and parties, with a strong presumption favoring public access unless sealing is justified to prevent harm.^[12] Internationally, under-seal mechanisms reflect jurisdictional priorities, often prioritizing national security or data protection over broad disclosure. In the United Kingdom, the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) Part 82 establish a closed material procedure (CMP) for cases involving national security-sensitive material, allowing the government to disclose information to the court and special advocates without revealing it to other parties, as implemented under the Justice and Security Act 2013.^[13] Within the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) influences sealing in cross-border judicial proceedings by treating court-ordered production of personal data as processing activity, requiring measures like redaction or sealing to ensure compliance with data protection principles and prevent unlawful disclosure. In Australia, the Federal Court Rules 2011 permit sealing orders under rule 2.24 to restrict access to sensitive documents and non-publication orders under rule 7.33 to protect privacy or prevent prejudice, always subject to the overriding principle of open justice that limits such restrictions to exceptional circumstances. In France, sealing integrates into broader secrecy frameworks under the Code of Civil Procedure, where Decree No. 2018-1126 enables provisional sequestration of confidential documents, such as trade secrets during infringement seizures, with courts adapting hearings or rulings to maintain confidentiality. Comparatively, common law jurisdictions like those in the U.S. states, UK, and Australia mirror each other by emphasizing open justice principles while permitting seals for compelling reasons such as privacy or security, often requiring explicit justification and narrow tailoring. In contrast, civil law systems like France embed sealing within comprehensive secrecy laws, focusing on professional obligations and trade secret protections rather than a default public access presumption. These differences highlight varying balances between transparency and confidentiality, with common law approaches generally imposing stricter evidentiary thresholds for closure. Trends toward harmonization are evident through international instruments, such as the 1970 Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, which facilitates cross-border evidence gathering while allowing states to impose confidentiality measures to protect business secrets or public policy interests, promoting consistent practices in transnational cases. Variances persist in appeal processes, with some jurisdictions offering expedited reviews for seal denials to uphold access rights, though global pressures for data privacy continue to encourage alignment.

Filing Procedures

Document Preparation and Submission

In U.S. federal courts, litigants seeking to file documents under seal must meticulously prepare materials to distinguish sealed content from public records, ensuring compliance with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 5.2 and applicable local rules. Typically, the first page of any proposed sealed document must be prominently marked "SEALED," "FILED UNDER SEAL," or a similar designation to alert court personnel to its restricted status, while all pages may require consistent labeling in certain districts to prevent inadvertent disclosure. For physical filings, sealed documents are placed in separate envelopes or folders labeled "FILED UNDER SEAL," often using secure containers like manila envelopes sized between 8.5" x 11" and 10" x 15" for standard volumes, with larger sets compiled in multiple envelopes to maintain segregation from unsealed materials. This separation ensures that public and sealed components are handled distinctly during submission, as required by local procedures in districts like the Northern District of Texas.^[14]^[15]^[16] Submission requires accompanying the proposed sealed document with a dedicated motion for leave to file under seal, including a supporting memorandum that outlines the legal basis—such as protecting trade secrets or privacy interests under FRCP 26(c)—and a proposed sealing order specifying the duration and scope. If only portions of the document warrant sealing, litigants must provide an unredacted version with proposed redactions highlighted, alongside a redacted public version for the docket to balance transparency with confidentiality. In electronic filings via the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system, parties select "Proposed Sealed Document" or equivalent categories to restrict access. As of September 2025, access to sealed electronic documents in CM/ECF is limited to authorized court personnel only, with parties and counsel required to serve copies conventionally (e.g., mail or agreed non-CM/ECF methods) on opposing counsel; the notice of electronic filing (NEF) provides notice to registered users but does not grant access.^[17]^[18]^[19] Court clerks receive explicit guidance on handling sealed submissions to safeguard their integrity, such as storing physical files in secure vaults separate from public records or applying password protection and restricted viewing levels to electronic versions, preventing access via Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER). In districts like the Middle District of Florida, sealed materials are accessible electronically only to authorized court personnel, with parties served conventionally and no public terminal viewing permitted. Compliance with local rules often includes confidentiality undertakings, where parties must certify the need for sealing and agree to non-disclosure; for instance, the District of North Dakota requires counsel to confer on confidentiality prior to filing and include undertakings in protective orders or motions. The Middle District of North Carolina's Local Rule 5.4 similarly mandates a checklist affirming that parties have redacted by agreement where possible and undertaken to protect sensitive information.^[20]^[21]

Court Review and Approval

Upon receipt of a motion to seal submitted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) or local rules, the court conducts a review to determine whether sealing is warranted. Federal courts apply a balancing test, weighing the party's asserted need for confidentiality against the qualified public right of access to judicial records. Under the common law right of access, sealing requires a showing of "good cause," such as protecting trade secrets or privacy interests that outweigh public benefits.^[4] Where a First Amendment qualified right of access applies—typically to documents central to the exercise of Article III adjudicative functions—the standard is higher, demanding an "overriding" or "compelling" interest in secrecy that is narrowly tailored and no broader than necessary.^[22] This framework stems from Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court, 478 U.S. 1 (1986), which held that closure of judicial proceedings or records demands specific findings demonstrating that alternatives to sealing are inadequate.^[23] To evaluate the motion, courts often perform an in camera review of the proposed sealed materials, allowing the judge to assess sensitivity without public disclosure.^[24] This process ensures the court can verify claims of harm, such as risks to national security or personal safety, while maintaining judicial independence. Provisional or temporary sealing orders may be issued pending a full merits determination, particularly in urgent cases involving ongoing investigations or imminent threats, to preserve the status quo during review.^[4] If the motion is denied, the documents are typically filed publicly, though courts may allow a brief notice period for the movant to withdraw or redact before release. Hearings on sealing motions are generally held after notice to non-movants and interested parties, including the public and media, to permit opposition and ensure transparency. Initial ex parte consideration may occur for preliminary assessments, but permanent seals require adversarial input where feasible, aligning with the presumption of openness.^[4] Denials or partial approvals can be appealed via interlocutory appeal, writ of mandamus, or under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 8 for stays pending review, with appellate courts scrutinizing First Amendment claims de novo and common law decisions for abuse of discretion.^[25]^[4] Approved sealing orders must articulate specific findings of fact justifying the decision, including the nature of the overriding interest, why less restrictive measures (e.g., redaction) are insufficient, and the precise scope of materials affected. These findings facilitate appellate review and prevent overbroad secrecy.^[4] Courts emphasize that seals are disfavored and temporary, with orders often including sunset provisions or mechanisms for later unsealing once the need dissipates.^[22]

Duration and Challenges

Seal Duration and Unsealing

In United States federal courts, most seals on court records are temporary and provisional, typically lasting only until the resolution of the underlying case or the expiration of the specific need for confidentiality, such as during ongoing investigations or to prevent prejudice in proceedings.^[4] Permanent seals are rare and require a compelling justification that outweighs the presumption of public access, such as protecting national security information or the identities of juveniles in delinquency proceedings.^[26] For instance, federal juvenile records may be eligible for lifelong sealing to safeguard rehabilitation and privacy interests, though this is not automatic and depends on judicial discretion under statutes like 18 U.S.C. § 5038.^[27] Unsealing of sealed records can be initiated by any party to the case, including litigants, or by third parties such as media organizations, typically through a motion for relief from the sealing order.^[28] In federal civil proceedings, such motions are often filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), which allows courts to relieve a party from a final judgment or order, including sealing orders, upon a showing of changed circumstances or mistake, provided the motion is made within a reasonable time.^[29] Courts evaluating these motions apply a modified version of the "experience and logic" test derived from Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court, assessing whether the records have historically been open to the public and whether public access plays a significant role in the judicial process's functioning.^[30] Local court rules may also govern the procedure, often requiring public notice and an opportunity for response before unsealing.^[4] Certain jurisdictions incorporate automatic expiration or review mechanisms for sealed records to balance ongoing secrecy with public access rights. For example, some federal local rules mandate unsealing after a fixed period, such as upon case closure, unless the court orders otherwise.^[4] In state courts, rules vary; Connecticut automatically seals certain lower-level felony records ten years after sentence completion if no further convictions occur.^[31] Sealed federal court records of historical value are transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in accordance with records disposition schedules, but access remains restricted under statutory limitations.^[32] Specifically, 44 U.S.C. § 2108 assigns the Archivist of the United States responsibility for the custody, use, and withdrawal of such transferred records, ensuring that permissive and restrictive provisions from the originating statutes continue to apply, thereby maintaining seals even in archival storage.^[33]

Access Rights and Controversies

Public access to judicial proceedings and records under seal is grounded in longstanding common law principles favoring openness, reinforced by the First Amendment right to access information about government functions. In Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court (1982), the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a presumptive public and press right to attend criminal trials, holding that closures must be justified by specific, overriding interests such as protecting a minor victim, rather than blanket rules.^[34] This presumption of openness extends to civil proceedings and court documents, requiring courts to articulate compelling reasons for sealing while considering less restrictive alternatives like redaction.^[2] Critics contend that the frequent use of sealing orders fosters "secret justice," concealing evidence of corporate wrongdoing, public health hazards, and abuses by influential parties, thereby undermining accountability and democratic oversight. A 2019 Reuters investigation analyzing federal court data revealed that judges permitted sealing of materials in at least 65% of product-liability actions—cases often involving consumer safety—allowing potentially harmful information to remain hidden from regulators and the public.^[35] Studies of Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system data from the 2010s, including a Federal Judicial Center report on over 288,000 cases, identified thousands of sealed dockets and filings annually, with rates as high as 0.4% for entire civil cases containing sealed settlements, highlighting systemic overuse that shields misconduct without adequate justification.^[36] Such practices have drawn condemnation for enabling "parallel construction" in criminal cases, where evidence origins are obscured to protect investigative methods at the expense of transparency.^[37] Reform efforts seek to curb excessive secrecy through measures like mandatory annual transparency reports from federal courts detailing sealing rationales and outcomes, as advocated by organizations such as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Proposals also include sunset clauses, which would automatically terminate seals after a defined period—such as two years—unless courts renew them with renewed justification, aiming to prevent perpetual secrecy. The digital era has intensified these issues, as electronic case management systems facilitate rapid, widespread sealing of documents without proportional public notice or review, leading to a proliferation of hidden records that outpaces traditional paper-based oversight.^[38]^[39] Ethical dilemmas arise for attorneys navigating under-seal filings, where the imperative to protect client confidences under American Bar Association Model Rule 1.6—prohibiting disclosure of information relating to representation without informed consent—conflicts with broader obligations to promote a transparent justice system. Rule 1.6 permits limited exceptions for preventing substantial harm but offers no explicit guidance on advocating for overly broad seals that may impede public interest, prompting debates in legal ethics scholarship about whether such motions undermine attorneys' roles as officers of the court. This tension is particularly acute in cases involving public safety, where confidentiality duties may inadvertently perpetuate harm by blocking access to vital information.^[40]

Applications

Common Scenarios

Under seal filings are frequently invoked in privacy-sensitive civil cases, such as those involving family law matters like adoptions, child abuse allegations, or custody disputes, where courts seal records to safeguard personal and familial information from public disclosure.^[41]^[42] In medical malpractice litigation, particularly in federal diversity jurisdiction cases, health records and expert affidavits are commonly filed under seal to protect patient confidentiality and comply with privacy laws like HIPAA.^[26]^[43] In qui tam actions under the False Claims Act (FCA), complaints are filed under seal for an initial period of at least 60 days to allow the government to investigate allegations of fraud against federal programs and decide whether to intervene, with extensions possible up to several years if justified.^[44] In commercial disputes, under seal procedures are routinely applied in patent litigation to shield trade secrets and proprietary technical details from competitors, allowing parties to litigate without risking intellectual property exposure.^[45]^[46] Similarly, in cases involving mergers and acquisitions, confidential financial statements, valuation data, and negotiation terms are sealed to prevent market disruptions or competitive harm, especially in antitrust or securities-related federal actions.^[47] Criminal contexts often necessitate under seal protections for grand jury materials, governed by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e), which mandates secrecy to preserve the integrity of investigations and prevent witness intimidation.^[48]^[49] Informant identities in federal criminal proceedings are also commonly sealed to ensure safety and encourage cooperation in sensitive prosecutions, such as those involving organized crime or national security.^[50] Regarding prevalence, a 2009 Federal Judicial Center study found that entire civil cases in federal district courts are sealed in only about 0.2% of instances, though sealing of individual documents occurs more frequently across civil, criminal, and miscellaneous filings to address specific confidentiality needs.^[51]^[26]

Notable Examples

In the Enron scandal of 2001, the company's bankruptcy proceedings involved extensive sealing of court documents to protect sensitive corporate and executive information, including financial records and transaction details related to off-balance-sheet entities. Thousands of boxes of documents were produced and stored in a court-ordered depository in Houston, with many initially kept under seal amid investigations into fraud and self-dealing. Public outcry over transparency, fueled by the scandal's massive impact on investors and the economy, led to subsequent unsealing efforts, including through media and regulatory access, revealing manipulations that overstated Enron's profitability.^[52] The Jeffrey Epstein case, particularly the 2015 defamation lawsuit Virginia Giuffre v. Ghislaine Maxwell tied to Epstein's sex-trafficking network, saw key court filings placed under seal to shield identities and details of alleged associates. Following Epstein's 2019 arrest and death, media organizations like the Miami Herald filed motions to unseal records, resulting in partial releases in 2019 and further batches ordered unsealed in December 2023 by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska, with documents made public in early 2024. These unsealed materials, totaling over 4,000 pages, disclosed names and network connections previously redacted, highlighting the tension between privacy protections and public interest in accountability for high-profile abuse allegations.^[53]^[54] In the 2023 federal prosecution of former President Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, portions of the case filings and evidence involving national security materials were initially placed under seal to protect sensitive information. Court records related to the investigation were partially unsealed in May 2024, providing insights into search warrants and communications, amid ongoing debates about executive privilege and public access in high-profile security cases. The case, dismissed in July 2024 but appealed, exemplified the use of sealing in criminal proceedings with national security implications.^[55] In the 2012 patent infringement lawsuit Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the court granted motions to seal technical specifications, source code, and licensing agreement details to safeguard trade secrets during the high-stakes dispute over smartphone designs and features. This sealing sparked controversy, as critics argued it hindered public scrutiny of innovation claims and potentially stifled competition analysis, with a federal appeals court in 2013 questioning the breadth of secrecy while ultimately upholding much of it. The case exemplified how under-seal protections enable parties to litigate sensitive proprietary information without broader disclosure.^[56]^[57] These notable cases illustrate the critical role of under-seal orders in facilitating private resolutions, particularly in complex litigation like class actions, where settlements often remain confidential to preserve business interests and privacy; studies indicate that over 95% of civil cases, including many class actions, settle without trial, frequently under protective seals.^[58]

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Sep 15, 2016 · The judge can order the entire record of the family law proceedings, or just portions of them, to be filed under seal and will typically only do ...
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U.S. Supreme Court to Consider Whether State Affidavit of Merit ...
Aug 18, 2025 · 18 Del. C. § 6853(a). The Affidavit is filed under seal with the complaint. It must contain a sworn statement of a qualified medical expert that ...
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Preserving Trade Secrets at District Court Hearings and Trials
Mar 11, 2021 · Trade secrets identified in pleadings and other documents filed with the court may be protected by sealing these filings.
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Defend Trade Secrets Act Supports Sealing Information on Appeal
Jan 7, 2021 · Addressing whether purported trade secret information ought to remain under seal on appeal, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled ...
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Signed, Sealed, Delivered? Fifth Circuit Finds Sealing of Sensitive ...
May 9, 2022 · Among other things, the APO authorized the sealing—in perpetuity—of any documents the parties marked confidential in discovery. “Confidential” ...
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Rule 6. The Grand Jury | Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
A grand jury must have 16 to 23 members, and the court must order that enough legally qualified persons be summoned to meet this requirement.
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Federal Grand Jury Secrecy: Legal Principles and Implications for ...
Jan 10, 2019 · The long-established rule of grand jury secrecy is enshrined in Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e), which provides that government ...
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C. Grand jury proceedings and records Archives
Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure prohibits the disclosure of grand jury material by certain people (e.g., the grand jurors and government ...
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Sealed Cases in Federal Courts
Oct 23, 2009 · 0.2% of civil cases, 1.6% of criminal cases, 16% of magistrate judge cases, 34% of miscellaneous cases, and 0.1% of appeals were sealed approximately two years ...Missing: 2010s | Show results with:2010s
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Document log may help media uncover Enron demise
Not only do these documents detail one of the country's largest bankruptcies, they are the same documents Enron produced to government agencies investigating ...Missing: sealed unsealed outcry credible
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What we know about unsealed Jeffrey Epstein documents | AP News
Jan 5, 2024 · Giuffre's lawsuit against Maxwell was settled in 2017, but the Miami Herald went to court to access court papers initially filed under seal, ...
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Jeffrey Epstein Court Docs: Associates' Names Unsealed
Jan 3, 2024 · The court documents include unredacted names of the disgraced financier and sex-offender's associates, most of which had been widely ...
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Exclusive: Apple versus Samsung ruling divulges secret details
Dec 5, 2011 · Judges have wide latitude in granting company sealing requests, and Koh has granted all of Apple and Samsung's requests to keep documents secret ...Missing: controversy | Show results with:controversy
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Apple-Samsung Case Challenges Sealing of Trade Secrets
Mar 28, 2013 · U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California had allowed Apple and Samsung to keep source code and details of patent licensing deals ...Missing: v controversy
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What Is the Percentage of Cases That Settle Before Trial
Jun 12, 2025 · 95-96% of civil cases settle before trial. This means that only about 4-5% of civil lawsuits ultimately reach the trial phase.