Aguilar-Valencia v. United States of America

Filing 17

ORDER granting Government's 13 Motion to Seal Exhibit D and PSR. The Clerk is DIRECTED to maintain Document Numbers 14 -1 and 14 -2 under seal. Signed by U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour. (TH)

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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ENRIQUE AGUILAR-VALENCIA,

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Petitioner,

CASE NO. C18-0359-JCC
ORDER

v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

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Respondent.

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This matter comes before the Court on the Government’s motion to seal (Dkt. No. 13)

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two exhibits (Dkt. Nos. 14-1, 14-2) filed in support of its response (Dkt. No. 12) to Petitioner’s

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28 U.S.C. section 2255 petition (Dkt. No. 1). The Court hereby GRANTS the motion (Dkt. No.

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13) for the reasons explained herein.

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The Court starts from the position that “[t]here is a strong presumption of public access to

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[its] files.” W.D. Wash. Local Civ. R. 5(g). This presumption applies particularly to “dispositive

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pleadings.” Kamakana v. City and Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179 (9th Cir. 2006). To

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overcome this presumption, there must be a “compelling reason” for sealing that is “sufficient to

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outweigh the public’s interest in disclosure.” Id. The Government seeks to maintain two

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documents under seal: a declaration made by Petitioner’s trial counsel regarding their

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communications in the underlying criminal case, and Petitioner’s presentence investigation

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report (“PSR”). (Dkt. No. 13 at 2.) The Government states that both documents contain sensitive
ORDER
C18-0359-JCC
PAGE - 1

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information that should be withheld from the public. (Id.)
Petitioner’s counsel made the subject declaration after the Court ordered a limited waiver

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of the attorney client privilege in order to assess Petitioner’s claim for ineffective assistance of

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counsel. (Dkt. No.11.) The declaration provides a detailed account of attorney-client

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communications. (See Dkt. No. 14-1.) The confidentiality of those communications represents a

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compelling reason to maintain the declaration under seal, which outweighs the public’s right to

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access. Petitioner’s PSR should also be exempted from public disclosure. The PSR was filed

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under seal in the underlying criminal case and contains sensitive personal information about

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Petitioner. See United States of America v. Enrique Aguilar-Valencia, No. CR15-0202-JCC, Dkt.

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No. 304 (W.D. Wash. 2017). Therefore, the Government has demonstrated a compelling reason

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to seal the PSR that outweighs the public’s interest in its disclosure.

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For the foregoing reasons, the Government’s motion to seal (Dkt. No. 13) is
GRANTED. The Clerk is DIRECTED to maintain Document Numbers 14-1 and 14-2 under seal.
DATED this 6th day of August 2018.

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A

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John C. Coughenour
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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ORDER
C18-0359-JCC
PAGE - 2