Barnes v. Brown County et al

Filing 9

ORDER signed by Judge Rudolph T. Randa on 6/18/2013. Portions of Plaintiff's Complaint, Amended Complaint, and Exhibits to be SEALED. Redacted versions of those documents to be filed in the public record. See Order for details. (cc: via US mail to Lamon Lamar Barnes at Oshkosh Correctional Institution)(cb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

LAMON LAMAR BARNES,
Plaintiff,
-vs-

Case No.

13-CV-607

BROWN COUNTY, et al.,
Defendants.

ORDER

The plaintiff, a pro se prisoner incarcerated at Oshkosh Correctional Institution,
has filed a complaint (Docket 1) and an amended complaint (Docket 7) along with Exhibits
1 - 26. Upon review of these filings, the court finds good cause for sealing portions of them
based on the confidential informant’s privilege. See generally Roviaro v. United States, 353
U.S. 53 (1957); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). The purpose of the informant’s privilege
is to protect the public interest in effective enforcement of the law; it is premised on the
notion that persons who assist a government investigation may later be targeted for reprisal
by those who were under investigation or their compatriots. See, e.g., Dole v. Local 1942,
IBEW, 870 F.2d 368, 372 (7th Cir. 1989). The privilege is applicable in civil as well as
criminal cases. Id. at 372.
The informer’s privilege covers both the identity of the informant and the
contents of his communications with the government, if those communications would tend

to reveal his identity. Roviaro, 353 U.S. at 59-60. “With the threat of reprisal real and
unprotected against, well-intentioned citizens may hesitate or decline to assist the
government in tracking down wrongdoers. . . . The most effective means of protection, and
by derivation the most effective means of fostering citizen cooperation, is bestowing
anonymity on the informant, thus maintaining the status of the informant’s strategic position
and also encouraging others similarly situated who have not yet offered their assistance.”
Dole, 870 F.2d at 372.
The complaint, amended complaint, and exhibits reference a criminal
investigation that involved a confidential informant. Both the alleged confidential informant
and target of the investigation are named as defendants in this action. The information is
privileged and there is good cause for maintaining the confidentiality of the below referenced
portions of the pleadings and exhibits. The court will therefore redact portions of the
complaint, amended complaint, and exhibits. The redacted versions may be filed in the
public record. The unredacted versions of the same may remain under seal. See, e.g.,
Methodist Hosps., Inc. v. Sullivan, 91 F.3d 1026, 1031-32 (7th Cir. 1996) (“Judicial
proceedings are presumptively open, but particular information may be withheld”). Either
party and any interested member of the public can challenge the redactions. See Citizens
First Nat. Bank of Princeton v. Cincinnati Ins. Co., 178 F.3d 943, 946 (7th Cir. 1999).

2

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the following portions of the complaint
(Docket #1) shall remain under seal: page 4 1 ; page 6 ¶¶ 13-14; page 7 ¶ 14; page 8 ¶¶ 15-21,
23; page 9 ¶¶ 23-26, 28; page 10 ¶¶ 30, 32-33; page 11 ¶¶ 34-42; page 12 ¶¶ 43-48; page 13
¶ 48; page 14 ¶¶ 54-58; page 15 ¶¶ 59-61, 63; page 16 ¶¶ 63-66, 68; page 17 ¶¶ 69-72, 74-75;
page 18 ¶¶ 77-80, 83; page 19 ¶¶ 86-87; page 22 ¶¶ 99-100; page 25 ¶ 114; page 27 ¶¶ 12223; page 31; pages 33-35.2
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the following portions of the amended
complaint (Docket #7) shall remain under seal: page 1; page 3 ¶¶ 14-15; page 4 ¶¶ 16-18;
page 5 ¶¶ 18-22, 24-27; page 6 ¶¶ 29, 31; page 7 ¶¶ 33-41; page 8 ¶¶ 42-48; page 9 ¶ 49;
page 10 ¶¶ 55-60; page 11 ¶¶ 61-62, 64-65; page 12 ¶¶ 65-67, 69-71; page 13 ¶¶ 72-73, 7576, 78-80; page 14 ¶¶ 80-81, 84; page 15 ¶¶ 87-88; page 17 ¶¶ 100-01; page 20 ¶ 115; page
21 ¶¶ 123-24; pages 24-28.

1

Pages numbers refer to the number designated by court’s electronic filing system, CM /ECF.

2

The court is not redacting complaint paragraphs or pages in their entirety. Thus, reference to a complaint
paragraph or page indicates that a portion of the paragraph or page has been redacted.

3

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the portions of the following exhibits to
the complaint and amended complaint shall remain under seal: Exhibits 2, 4, 7-10, 12, 16,
18, 21, 25.
Dated at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 18th day of June, 2013.
SO ORDERED,

HON. RUDOLPH T. RANDA
U. S. District Judge

4