Smith v. California State Prison Sacramento, et al

Filing 47

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 5/1/2015 DENYING plaintiff's 46 motion to seal the case. (Yin, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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BERNARD L. SMITH,

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No. 2:12-cv-00024 MCE AC P

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

CALIFORNIA STATE PRISON
SACRAMENTO, et al.,
Defendants.
Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action pursuant to 42

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U.S.C. § 1983. This action was initiated on November 28, 2011. ECF No. 1. On August 15,

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2014, the court issued an order dismissing the case and judgment was entered. ECF Nos. 43, 44.

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On March 18, 2015, plaintiff filed a motion requesting that his case be “unpublished.” ECF No.

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46. The court construes this motion as a motion to seal the case.

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Pursuant to common law and the First Amendment, the public normally has the right to

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inspect and copy documents filed with the court. See Nixon v. Warner Comm., Inc., 435 U.S.

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589, 597-98 (1978); Globe Newspaper v. Superior Court for Norfolk County, 457 U.S. 596, 603

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(1982); Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. General Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1212 (9th Cir.

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2002). However, public access may be denied where the court determines that court-filed

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documents may be used for improper purposes. Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598; Hagestad v. Tragesser,

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49 F.3d 1430, 1433-1434 (9th Cir. 1995). Courts should consider “the interests advanced by the
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parties in light of the public interest and the duty of the courts.” Id. at 1434 (quoting Nixon, 435

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U.S. at 602). The Supreme Court has acknowledged that the decision to seal documents is “one

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best left to the sound discretion of the trial court, a discretion to be exercised in light of the

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relevant facts and circumstances of the particular case.” Nixon, 435 U.S. at 599. “After taking

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all relevant factors into consideration, the district court must base its decision on a compelling

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reason and articulate the factual basis for its ruling, without relying on hypothesis or conjecture.”

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Hagestad, 49 F.3d at 1434 (citing Valley Broad. Co. v. United States Dist. Court., 798 F.2d 1289,

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1295 (9th Cir. 1986)). “Documents may be sealed only by written order of the Court, upon the

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showing required by applicable law.” Local Rule 141(a). Generally, the content of sealed

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documents is of a nature that requires the court maintain its confidentiality. For example, the

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contents may reveal information that may jeopardize the safety of particular individuals.

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The facts and allegations that make up this case, including plaintiff’s medical conditions,

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have been a matter of public record since the Clerk of the Court first entered the complaint on the

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docket on December 7, 2011.1 If the court considers the lawsuit that preceded the instant case,

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some of plaintiff’s issues have been a matter of public record since as early as April 1, 2010.2 See

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Smith v. California State Prison – Sacramento, 2:10-cv-00766 KJM DAD P, at ECF No. 1.

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Plaintiff now argues that the publishing of this case “has caused his medical confidentiality to be

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exposed to his daughter” and that it is causing the inmates at the prison where he is housed to

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“laugh and outcast the plaintiff.” ECF No. 46. He claims that he “is facing extreme inmate

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population retaliation due to the publishing of this case” and that it creates a danger to him. Id.

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Plaintiff put his medical conditions at issue and in public view by filing a lengthy complaint and

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first amended complaint outlining his medical issues (ECF Nos. 1, 14), and even though the facts

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associated with this case have been a matter of public record for at least three years, he has not

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articulated any specific harm he has suffered, other than some embarrassment. ECF No. 46.

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The complaint in this case was originally filed as a second amended complaint in Smith v.
California State Prison – Sacramento, 2:10-cv-00766 KJM DAD P, at ECF No. 59.
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Plaintiff’s original case was dismissed for failure to exhaust his administrative remedies and the
instant case was initiated after his administrative remedies were exhausted. Id., at ECF No. 60.
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The court is faced with cases similar to plaintiff’s on a daily basis, which are maintained

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on the public record. The general prevention of harassment or ill will, or some unspecified

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potential future harm, is not sufficient reason to deny public access, especially in light of how

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long this case has already been a part of the public record. The Ninth Circuit has held that there is

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a strong presumption of public access to judicial records. See Kamakana v. City & County of

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Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006); Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d

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1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003). A party seeking to file documents under seal bears the burden of

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overcoming that presumption. Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178. “The mere fact that the production

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of records may lead to a litigant’s embarrassment . . . will not, without more, compel the court to

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seal its records.” Id. at 1179 (citing Foltz, 331 F.3d at 1136). Plaintiff has not met his burden and

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his motion to seal the case will be denied.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion to seal the case (ECF No.

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46) is DENIED.

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DATED: May 1, 2015

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