Free Transcript Redaction Policy - Georgia

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
Policy with Regard to the Availability of Transcripts of Court Proceedings Effective April 26, 2008, the Middle District of Georgia in accordance with Judicial Conference Policy and amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 and Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 49.1 will implement the following policy regarding official court transcripts: A transcript provided to the court by a court reporter or transcriber will be available · in the Clerk's Office, for inspection only, for a period of 90 days after it is filed. · During the 90-day period, a copy of the transcript may be obtained from the court reporter or transcriber at the current rate established by the Judicial Conference. The transcript will be available at the public terminal in the Clerk's Office and electronically available to attorneys of record who have purchased a copy from the court reporter. · After the 90-day period has ended, the transcript will be available for copying in the Clerk's Office and for download through PACER.
This policy applies to all transcripts of proceedings ordered after April 26, 2008, regardless of when the proceeding took place. This policy applies to transcripts of events taking place in the court's courtrooms, not depositions taken outside of court or proceedings of state courts or other jurisdictions.

Following are procedures established for counsel to request the redaction of specific personal data identifiers before the transcript is made electronically available to the general public: Within twenty-one (21) calendar days of the filing of an official court transcript, each · party wishing to redact must inform the court by electronically filing a Transcript Redaction Request indicating where the personal identifiers appear in the transcript by page and line and how they are to be redacted. Counsel must also submit a paper copy of the completed form to the court reporter. The Transcript Redaction Request is limited to the redaction of the specific personal data identifiers listed below: - social security numbers or tax identification numbers to the last four digits; - financial account numbers to the last four digits; - dates of birth to the year; - individuals known to be minor children to the initials; and - in criminal cases, home addresses to the city and state. If an attorney fails to timely file a Transcript Redaction Request or Motion to Extend · Time, no redactions will be made and the original transcript will be available electronically after 90 days. · If redactions are requested, the court reporter or transcriber will file a redacted transcript within thirty-one (31) calendar days from the filing of the transcript with the clerk, or longer if ordered by the court. The redacted transcript will be electronically available at the expiration of the original 90-day period.

Requests for Additional Redactions: If counsel wishes to redact information in addition to those personal identifiers listed above, counsel must move the Court by filing a separate Motion for Redaction of Electronic Transcript. Until the Court has ruled on any such motion, the transcript will not be electronically available, even if the 90-day restriction period has ended. Remote Public Access to Redacted Transcripts: If a redacted transcript is filed with the Court, that redacted transcript will be remotely electronically available through PACER after 90 calendar days from the date of filing of the original transcript. The original transcript will never be made publicly available. If the original transcript is filed without redaction, that original transcript will be electronically available through PACER after 90 calendar days.
The Middle District of Georgia restricts access to voir dire transcripts pursuant to the EGovernment Act. These transcripts are not available to the public remotely. Only counsel of record and the court have remote access to the unredacted transcript.

CJA Panel Attorneys: An attorney serving as appointed "standby" counsel for a pro se litigant must review the transcript as if the pro se party were his/her client. If an attorney represents a client pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act (CJA), including serving as standby counsel, the attorney conducting the review of the transcript is entitled to compensation under the CJA for functions reasonably performed to fulfill the obligation and for reimbursement of related reasonable expenses. PACER Fees: PACER fees will be applied both during and after the 90-day restriction period. Charges will not be capped at 30 pages as they are for other court documents, rather charges will accrue for the entire transcript. The user will incur PACER charges each time the transcript is accessed even though he/she may have purchased it from the court reporter and obtained remote access through CM/ECF. There is no "free look" for transcripts.

____________________________ Counsel are strongly urged to share this notice with their clients so that an informed decision about the inclusion of certain materials may be made. The responsibility for redacting personal identifiers rests solely with counsel and the parties. Neither the Clerk nor the Court Reporter will review transcripts for compliance with this policy. It is possible to avoid the necessity of redactions and prevent the harmful disclosure of personal data identifiers by altering courtroom behavior so that the unnecessary information is not elicited during court proceedings. If information subject to this policy is mentioned in court, you may ask the judge to have it stricken from the record or partially redacted. Please direct all questions concerning this procedure to Gregory J. Leonard, Clerk of Court by phone at (478)752-3497 or by email. ______________________________