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Attorney Newsletter September 2018

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NEWS FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT
September 14, 2018

DOCUMENTS PROTECTED BY THE E-GOVERNMENT ACT OF 2002: The February 2018 newsletter addressed how to electronically file attachments subject to a protective order. The August 2018 newsletter addressed how to manually file motions to seal. This month, we address documents containing personal data identifiers subject to the E-Government Act. Unlike documents filed subject to a protective order or an order granting a motion to seal, this category of documents does NOT require a court order.

The E-Government Act of 2002 requires parties to partially redact the following personal data identifiers from all pleadings and papers filed in CM/ECF:

• Social Security numbers (SSN) and employer identification numbers (EIN)—redact all but the last four digits
• Names of individuals known to be minors—use the minor’s initials
• Dates of birth—redact all but the year
• Financial account numbers—redact all but the last four digits
• Home addresses in criminal cases—redact all but the city and state

After electronically filing the redacted version of a document in CM/ECF, filers may manually submit an unredacted version of a document containing personal data identifiers to the Clerk’s Office for filing under seal. Such filings must be accompanied by a cover sheet stating the following, “Document filed under seal pursuant to the E-Government Act.” D.S.D. Civ. LR 5.2(B) and D.S.D. Crim. LR 49.1.1(B). The Clerk’s Office will file an unredacted version of a redacted document under seal using the Sealed Document event.

TIP OF THE MONTH: The maximum size of PDF documents that can be filed in CM/ECF has increased.

  • Single Document (main document) => was 12 MB => Now 18 MB
  • Merged (main document and all attachments) => was 40 MB => Now 80 MB

To determine the size of a single PDF document before attempting to e-file it, briefly rest your mouse pointer over the PDF document file on your computer until a pop-up window opens. The window will contain information about the PDF document, including the size of the document.

Monday, September 17, 2018