Seawright v. Arizona, State of et al

Filing 85

ORDER granting 79 Motion to Seal. The Clerk of the Court shall file under seal the attachments to exhibits lodged at (Doc. 81). Signed by Senior Judge James A Teilborg on 3/1/13.(MAP)

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WO

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Kini M. Seawright; et al.,
No. CV 11-1304-PHX-JAT

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Plaintiff,
ORDER

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v.

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State of Arizona; et al.,

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Defendants.

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Under consideration is Defendants’ Motion to Seal Documents (Doc. 79).
Defendants would like the Court to seal seven attachments to Exhibits to Defendants’
Separate Statement of Facts in support of their motion for summary judgment.

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Historically, the public has a right to inspect judicial documents and records.

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Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978). However, such a right is

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not absolute. Nevertheless, there is a strong presumption in favor of access to judicial

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records. A party seeking to seal a judicial record bears the burden of overcoming this

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presumption by either meeting the “compelling reasons” standard if the filing is a

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dispositive pleading, or the “good cause” standard if the filing is a non-dispositive

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pleading. Kamakana v. City & Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 2006).

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Defendants seek to file these attachments under seal for security and safety

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reasons. “In general, ‘compelling reasons’ sufficient to outweigh the public’s interest in

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disclosure and justify sealing court records exist when such ‘court files might have

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become a vehicle for improper purposes,’. . . .” Id. at 1179 (quoting Nixon, 435 U.S. at

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598).

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The Court finds that the protection of the information in Defendants’ Exhibits
constitutes compelling reasons such that the Court will grant Defendants’ motion.
Based on the foregoing,
IT IS ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion to Seal Documents (Doc. 79) is
granted. The Clerk of the Court shall file under seal the attachments to exhibits lodged
at (Doc. 81).
Dated this 1st day of March, 2013.

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