Doe v. Gipson
Filing
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ORDER DENYING PETITIONER'S MOTION TO FILE ACTION UNDER SEAL. Signed by Judge Richard Seeborg on 6/12/12. (Attachments: # 1 Appendix Certificate of Service)(cl, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/12/2012)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
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JOHN DOE,
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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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No. C 12-0716 RS (PR)
Petitioner,
ORDER DENYING PETITIONER’S
MOTION TO FILE ACTION UNDER
SEAL
v.
C. GIPSON, Warden,
Respondent.
/
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This is a federal habeas corpus action filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 by a pro se
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state prisoner. Petitioner “seeks to remain anonymous in prosecuting this [w]rit [p]etition in
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order to protect his safety and security in prison and beyond if this case is published.”
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(Docket No. 1.) The Court construes this motion as a request to have the proceedings sealed.
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So construed, the motion is DENIED without prejudice.
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A party seeking to seal a judicial record bears the burden of overcoming “a strong
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presumption in favor of [public] access” to judicial proceedings and records. Foltz v. State
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Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003) (citations omitted). The
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presumption can be overcome only by articulating compelling reasons “that outweigh the
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No. C 12-0716 RS (PR)
ORDER DENYING MOT. TO FILE UNDER SEAL
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general history of access and the public policies favoring disclosure.” Id. at 1135. The
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Court, then, must “conscientiously balance[ ] the competing interests” of the public and the
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moving party.” Id. If the Court decides to seal the records, such decision must be based on
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“a compelling reason and articulate the factual basis for [the Court’s] ruling, without relying
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on hypothesis or conjecture.” Hagestad v. Tragesser, 49 F.3d 1430, 1434 (9th Cir. 1995).
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Petitioner’s vague and undetailed reasons, cited above, are in no way sufficient to
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meet this very high standard. Petitioner may file a renewed motion to proceed under seal
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within 30 days from the date of this order. If petitioner fails to file such a motion by such
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time, the Court will replace the current JOHN DOE in the above caption with petitioner’s
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name, and the proceedings will continue as if no request to place the case under seal had
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been made. Petitioner is reminded that he must cite compelling reasons, and not simply
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articulate general concerns. The Clerk shall address the envelope with petitioner’s actual
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name in order to ensure proper delivery of this order.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: June 12, 2012
RICHARD SEEBORG
United States District Judge
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No. C 12-0716 RS (PR)
ORDER DENYING MOT. TO FILE UNDER SEAL
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