O'Brien v. State of CT Dept of Labor et al

Filing 100

ORDER granting 99 Joint Motion for Protective Order. See attached ruling. Signed by Judge Donna F. Martinez on 11/18/09. (Constantine, A.)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT VERA O'BRIEN, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF CONNECTICUT, et al., Defendants. : : : : : : : : :

Civil No. 3:08CV1466(RNC)

RULING ON JOINT MOTION FOR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER The joint motion for stipulated protective order (doc. #99) is granted with the following clarifications. In order to have any

part(s) of a document filed under seal, a party must (1) file a public version of the document that does not contain the part(s) in question and (2) make a motion in accordance with District of Connecticut Local Civil Rule 5(e) that specifies the part(s) to be kept under seal and, with respect to each part, makes a

particularized showing of good cause for departing from the strong presumption against sealing. See Hartford Courant Co. v.

Pellegrino, 380 F.3d 83, 95-96 (2d Cir. 2004) (judicial records may be sealed only when and to the extent necessary to preserve high values). This requires a careful review of each part of a document

a party wishes to file under seal to ensure that the requested sealing order is no broader than necessary. See United States v. Agreement of the

Amodeo, 71 F.3d 1044, 1050-51 (2d Cir. 1995).

parties to a proposed sealing order is not a sufficient basis for granting such an order. Moreover, the court's assent to the

parties' request for a protective order to govern the disclosure and use of assertedly confidential information does not mean that courtroom proceedings will be closed to members of the public. Courtroom proceedings are presumptively open to the public, and no closure order will be entered in this case except on a specific written request of a party supported by a showing of sufficient cause. SO ORDERED at Hartford, Connecticut this 18th day of November, 2009. _________/s/__________________ Donna F. Martinez United States Magistrate Judge

2