General Orders of Division I
In the Matter of Sealed or Redacted Materials - 2012
COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
DIVISION I
| In the Matter of |
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GENERAL ORDER |
| Sealed or Redacted Materials |
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| ___________________________ |
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Whereas General Rule 15 provides that court files and records can be sealed or redacted only upon compliance with the requirements of General Rule 15 and that the court record or any portion of it that is sealed in the trial court shall be sealed from public access in the appellate court subject to further ruling or order of the appellate court. General Rule 22 also allows family law and guardianship source documents, personal health care records, or confidential reports to be filed under seal.
Whereas the procedures for sealed pleadings and documents on appeal warrant clarification, it is hereby
ORDERED that if a party to an appeal designates or otherwise provides this court with any clerk’s papers, exhibits, report of proceedings or other materials that have been sealed by order of the trial court, then that party shall also designate or otherwise provide this court with the trial court order sealing those items. It is further
ORDERED that if a party to an appeal seeks to have any clerk’s papers, exhibits, report of proceedings or other materials from the trial court proceedings sealed or otherwise redacted for purposes of appeal, such a request must be directed to the trial court. It is further
ORDERED that except as provided in General Rule 22, if a party to an appeal seeks to seal or redact any other documents filed with the Court of Appeals, including briefs, that party shall file a motion and note the motion for hearing before a commissioner of this court. The motion must comply with GR 15 and the Rules of Appellate Procedure, must particularly describe the item to be sealed and state the grounds for sealing as provided in court rules, statutes, or caselaw. A party who seeks to redact an item, must also either include a proposed redacted version or explain why another party should be ordered to supply a redacted version that can be substituted for the item already in the file. |
