Exclusion of Personal Identifiers in Pleadings

In order to conform with the policy of the Judicial Conference of the United States and the E-Government Act of 2002 and in order to promote electronic access to case files while also protecting personal privacy and other legitimate interests, the court has directed that parties shall refrain from including, or shall redact where inclusion is necessary, the following personal identifiers from all pleadings filed with the court, including exhibits thereto, unless otherwise ordered by the court.

a.   Social Security numbers. If an individual's social security number must be included in a pleading, only the last four digits of that number should be used.

b.   Names of minor children. If the involvement of a minor child must be mentioned, only the initials of that child should be used.

c.   Dates of birth. If an individual's date of birth must be included in a pleading, only the year should be used.

d.   Financial account numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant, only the last four digits of these numbers should be used.

In compliance with the E-Government Act of 2002 effective April 16, 2003, a party wishing to file a document containing the personal data identifiers listed above may file an unredacted document under seal. The filing party shall clearly mark the document "Filed Under Seal". This document shall be retained by the court as part of the record.

The responsibility for redacting these personal identifier rests solely with counsel and the parties. The Clerk will not review each pleading for compliance with this rule.

April 9, 2003
Loretta G. Whyte, Clerk