Kirk v. County of Alameda et al

Filing 232

ORDER by Judge Lucy H. Koh granting 193 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal; granting 211 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal; granting 220 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal; granting 221 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal; granting 222 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal(Attachments: # 1 Certificate of Mailing) (lhklc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/31/2012)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

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BELINDA K.,

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Plaintiff,
v.
COUNTY OF ALAMEDA et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No.: 10-CV-05797-LHK
ORDER SEALING DOCUMENTS

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Pursuant to the Court’s January 10, 2012 Order, the parties were ordered to resubmit
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several documents that contained sensitive information regarding the minor, J.H. The parties
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complied with this request and filed administrative motions to seal as well as proposed redactions.
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See ECF No. 220-229.
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The Court GRANTS East Bay Children’s Law Offices’ motion to file under seal portions of
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its Memo in support of its Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 221; ECF No. 179-1); Defendant Crowell,
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et al.’s motion to file under seal portions of the Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 222; ECF No. 181);
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and Defendant Isaacson’s motion to file under seal portions of the Motion to Dismiss (ECF No.
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220; ECF No. 173). Defendants shall publicly file redacted versions of these documents in
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compliance with G.O. 62.
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Case No.: 10-CV-05797-LHK
ORDER REGARDING SEALING DOCUMENTS

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The Court also GRANTS Plaintiff’s request to seal portions of Plaintiff’s Motion for Stay

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of Proceedings (ECF No. 204; ECF No. 228); Plaintiff’s Declaration in support of the preliminary
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injunction (ECF No. 166; ECF No. 224); Plaintiff’s Motion to Invalidate ICWA (ECF No. 169;
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ECF No. 225); and Plaintiff’s Request for Judicial Notice in support of Reply to Opposition (ECF
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No. 201, ECF No. 227). As the Court held in its previous Order, these documents contain
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sensitive, personal information which must be submitted under seal to protect the interests of the
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minor J.H. Accordingly, the redacted versions of these documents at docket numbers 224, 225,
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and 227, and 228 are deemed filed with the Court.
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The Court notes, however, that two documents submitted by Plaintiff: (1) Plaintiff’s First
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Amended Complaint (ECF No. 158), and (2) Plaintiff’s Reply to Opposition to Preliminary
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Injunction (ECF No. 197, see also ECF No. 193 (motion to seal)), require further redactions and
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still publicly disclose highly sensitive information about the minor, J.H., the circumstances of his
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dependency court proceedings, or other medical information. Therefore the Court ORDERS
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documents 223 and 226 to be sealed. The Court has prepared appropriately redacted versions1 of

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these documents that redact the highly sensitive information related to J.H. described above. The
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Clerk shall e-file these appropriately redacted documents publicly.
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Finally, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion to file under seal portions of Plaintiff’s
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motion to remove guardian ad litem. See ECF No. 211. However, several of the supporting
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documents that Plaintiff lodged with the Court, including her declaration and exhibits, contain
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sensitive information regarding the medical history and placement of the minor J.H. Plaintiff’s
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Declaration contains an e-mail to her counsel that is privileged and should therefore be sealed.
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Exhibit A is a status review report that contains sensitive medical information regarding the minor
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and therefore should be sealed in its entirety. Exhibit B is a transcript of a conversation between
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the Plaintiff and the minor; portions of the transcript that contain the minor’s identifying
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information should be sealed. Finally, Exhibit C is a declaration that does not appear to contain
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Exhibits R-T, V-1, V-2, and W to Plaintiff’s Reply to Opposition to Preliminary Injunction
contain highly sensitive medical information of the minor and are ORDERED sealed in their
entirety.
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Case No.: 10-CV-05797-LHK
ORDER REGARDING SEALING DOCUMENTS

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sensitive information related to the minor and is therefore not sealable. The Court has prepared

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appropriately redacted versions of Plaintiff’s Declaration and Exhibit B that redact the highly
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sensitive information related to J.H. described above. The Court concludes that the e-mail attached
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to Plaintiff’s Declaration and Exhibit A shall be filed entirely under seal. The Clerk shall e-file the
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appropriately redacted documents publicly, i.e. the declaration and Exhibit B. The Clerk shall
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publicly file Exhibit C.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: January 31, 2012
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Case No.: 10-CV-05797-LHK
ORDER REGARDING SEALING DOCUMENTS

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LUCY H. KOH
United States District Judge