Free Motion to Unseal Document - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:03-cv-00446-EGB

Document 122

Filed 10/17/2006

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) UNITED STATES, ) ) Defendant. ) ____________________________________) LEROY BISHOP, et al.,

Case No. 03-446C Senior Judge Bruggink

PLAINTIFFS' CONSENT MOTION TO DIRECT FILING REDACTED COPIES OF TRIAL TRANSCRIPTS Plaintiffs, by their undersigned attorney and with the consent of defendant, hereby move the Court to direct the filing of agreed-upon redacted transcripts of the trial held in this case on August 16-18, 2006, to be made available to the public, and in support of their motion state: 1. On February 28, 2003, defendant filed an unopposed motion for entry of a

Stipulated Protective Order to safeguard the confidentiality of certain documents in this litigation (hereinafter referred to as "Protective Order"). On February 28, 2003, this Court granted the motion and entered the Protective Order. 2. In the Protective Order, the parties defined the "Protected Documents" as those

containing "any information relating to identifiable inmates, including but not limited to inmate names or nicknames, inmate numbers, inmate movements, inmate disciplinary information, and inmate medical related information" (Protective Order at 1). 3. In February 2005, defendant filed an Unopposed Motion for Protective Order to

"protect[ ] the confidentiality of Post orders issued by the Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") produced or to be produced in discovery . . . ." Attached thereto was a Stipulated Protective Order for Post Orders.

Case 1:03-cv-00446-EGB

Document 122

Filed 10/17/2006

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4.

On March 1, 2005, the Court entered an Order granting that motion and approving

the Stipulated Protective Order for Post Orders attached thereto. Among other things, this Protective Order limits disclosure of Bureau of Prison post orders to certain specific persons and requires the parties to file post orders under seal. The Order does not explicitly deal with transcripts of hearings or trials at which confidential or sensitive portions of post orders are quoted or paraphrased on the record. 5. On August 16-18, 2006, the Court held a trial on factual issues involving Plaintiff

Patrick Shea's overtime claims herein. 6. On September 6, 2006, the court reporter filed Volume I, comprising the

proceedings on August 16, of the first transcript of that trial. That transcript was filed under seal. The other two volumes were not immediately filed under seal. On October 4, 2006, the court reporter filed under seal Volumes II and III, which comprised the proceedings on August 17 and 18. 7. Plaintiffs request that the Court order the parties to review the sealed transcripts

for the purpose of redacting confidential or sensitive references from the transcripts and later to submit redacted paper copies of the trial transcripts to the Court for filing and to be available for review by the public. 8. Plaintiffs make this request for the following reasons: This is a case of first

impression in the American courts and all relevant documents should be made available to the public. Not only does this case involve some 582 plaintiffs; the decisions herein may affect many other employees of the Bureau of Prisons.

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Case 1:03-cv-00446-EGB

Document 122

Filed 10/17/2006

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9.

Plaintiffs do not oppose the Government's motion to seal transcript of closing

argument, filed October 12, 2006, provided that an agreed upon, redacted paper copy of the transcript is filed with the Court and available for review by the public. 10. It will not unduly prejudice defendant or the Court if the Court grants this motion.

Rather, it will serve the interests of justice. WHEREFORE, plaintiffs respectfully request the Court to order the parties, within two weeks of the Court's order, to review the three transcripts of the August 16-18 trial for the purpose of redacting confidential or sensitive references from the transcripts and to submit redacted paper copies of the transcripts to the Court and, upon receipt of same, to order the Clerk to file the redacted transcripts, to be available for review by the public. Respectfully submitted,

_________/s/_______________ ALAN BANOV Alan Banov and Associates 1819 L Street, N.W., Suite 700 Washington, D.C. 20036-3803 (202) 822-9699 Fax: (202) 842-9331 [email protected] Attorney for Plaintiffs

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