JACOBS v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Filing 26

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON MOTION TO SEAL, the Clerk shall maintain under seal complete and unredacted copies of Exhibits 1-13. Signed by Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 7/25/16. (js)

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
CAMDEN VICINAGE

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BRYAN JACOBS,
Petitioner,
v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Respondent.

Civil Action No. 15-3661(RMB)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
ON MOTION TO SEAL

This matter comes before the Court upon the Government’s
letter request to seal records (ECF No. 24) in this proceeding
under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. On June 1, 2015, Petitioner filed a
Petition

for

challenging
receipt
denied

of

Writ
his

Habeas

federal

child

without

of

Corpus

court

pornography.

prejudice

28

conviction
(Pet.,

the

Under

ECF

and
No.

Government’s

U.S.C.

§

sentence

2255,
for

1.)

The

Court

motion

to

seal,

pursuant to Local Rule 5.3(c)(2), because the Government failed
to

explain

why

the

less

restrictive

means

of

redacting

identifying information of the child victim from the records in
this matter was insufficient to protect the privacy interest at
issue. (Order, ECF No. 23.)

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Local Rule 5.3(a)(3) states, “[t]his rule shall not apply
to

any materials or judicial proceedings which must be sealed

pursuant to statute or other law.” The Government contends Local
Rule 5.3(c)(2), requiring a party to provide reasons for sealing
materials from public disclosure, is preempted by 18 U.S.C. §
3509(d)(2).
18 U.S.C. § 3509(d)(2) provides:
(2) Filing under seal.--All papers to be
filed in court that disclose the name of or
any other information concerning a child
shall be filed under seal without necessity
of obtaining a court order. The person who
makes the filing shall submit to the clerk
of the court-(A) the complete paper to be kept under
seal; and
(B) the paper with the portions of it
that disclose the name of or other
information
concerning
a
child
redacted, to be placed in the public
record.
This Court agrees that filing under seal, when the filing
is in compliance with 18 U.S.C. § 3509(d)(2)(A) and (B), is not
subject to the requirements of Local Rule 5.3(c)(2). However, if
a party seeks to file materials under seal without submitting
the redacted records described in § 3509(d)(2)(B) for public
filing, Local Rule 5.3(c)(3) applies and requires the party to
explain, among other things, why the requested action is the

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least restrictive means to protect the important interest at
stake.
The

Government

acknowledges

that

18

U.S.C.

§

3509(d)(2)

does not require sealing all exhibits in this matter and has
submitted

only

certain

exhibits

or

portions

of

exhibits

for

filing under seal. The Government has submitted materials in
accordance with 18 U.S.C. § 3509(d)(2), and has satisfied the
requirements of the statute and the Local Rule.
IT IS therefore on this 25th day of July 2016,
ORDERED that Respondent’s letter request to seal is GRANTED
(ECF No. 24); and it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk shall maintain under seal complete
and unredacted copies of Exhibits 1-13; and it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall serve this Memorandum
and Order on Petitioner by regular mail.

s/RENÉE MARIE BUMB
RENÉE MARIE BUMB
United States District Judge

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