Rule 5-III. Sealed or Confidential Documents

(a) SEALING.

(1) In General. Absent statutory authority, no case or document may be sealed

without a written court order. Any document filed with the intention of being sealed must

be accompanied by a motion to seal or an existing written order. The document will be

treated as sealed, pending the ruling on the motion.

(2) Electronically-Filed Cases. For cases that are electronically filed, the motion to

seal must be electronically filed and redacted as necessary for the public record. If the

motion to seal is granted, an unredacted motion to seal with the materials sought to be

placed under seal must be delivered in paper form to the clerk’s office for filing. Any

subsequent documents allowed to be filed under seal must be filed in paper with the

clerk’s office.

(3) Failure to Comply With This Rule.

(A) Failure to File Motion to Seal. Failure to file a motion to seal will result in the

pleading or document being placed in the public record.

(B) Failure to Redact Electronically Filed Documents. Filing an unredacted

document electronically before or after a motion to seal is granted will result in the

document being placed in the public record.

(b) IN CAMERA INSPECTION.

(1) Submission. Unless otherwise ordered or provided in these rules, all documents

submitted for a confidential in camera inspection by the court must be submitted to the

clerk securely sealed if they are:

(A) the subject of a protective order;

(B) subject to an existing written order that they be sealed; or

(C) the subject of a motion requesting that they be sealed.

(2) Required Notation. The envelope or box containing documents being submitted for

in camera inspection must contain a conspicuous notation such as “DOCUMENT

UNDER SEAL” or “DOCUMENTS SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or something

equivalent.

ubject of a protective order;

(B) subject to an existing written order that they be sealed; or

(C) the subject of a motion requesting that they be sealed.

(2) Required Notation. The envelope or box containing documents being submitted for

in camera inspection must contain a conspicuous notation such as “DOCUMENT

UNDER SEAL” or “DOCUMENTS SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or something

equivalent.

(c) OTHER FILING REQUIREMENTS. The face of the envelope or box must also

contain the case number, the title of the court, a descriptive title of the document and

the case caption unless such information is to be, or has been, included among the

information ordered sealed. The face of the envelope or box must also contain the date

of any written order or the reference to any statute permitting the item to be sealed.

(d) HOW TO SUBMIT SEALED MATERIALS. Sealed materials must be filed in the

clerk's office during regular business hours. Filing of sealed materials at the security

desk is prohibited.

COMMENT TO 2018 AMENDMENTS

Rule 5-III is new. It is based on the corresponding Superior Court Rule of Civil

Procedure. Rule 5-III(a)(3) does not prohibit the court, in the appropriate exercise of its

discretion, from sealing documents already in the public record on motion of a party or

on its own initiative.