McCode v. Ziegler, No. 5:2013cv21542 - Document 16 (S.D.W. Va. 2014)
Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER SEALING EXHIBIT: granting the United States' 14 MOTION to Seal Exhibit 1 of its 15 Response to Motion Under 28 USC 2241. Due to the highly confidential nature of the information this Court Orders Exhibit 1 to be sealed. Signed by Magistrate Judge Cheryl A. Eifert on 1/30/2014. (cc: attys; any unrepresented party) (cds)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA BECKLEY DIVISION JAMES MCCODE, Petitioner, v. Case No. 5:13-cv-21542 JOEL ZIEGLER,WARDEN, FCI-BECKLEY, Respondent. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER SEALING EXHIBIT Pending before the Court is United States Motion to Seal Exhibit 1 of its Response to Motion under 28 U.S.C. ยง 2241. (ECF No. 14). Due to the highly confidential nature of the information, this Court ORDERS Exhibit 1 to be sealed. (ECF No. 15). The undersigned is cognizant of the well-established Fourth Circuit precedent recognizing a presumption in favor of public access to judicial records. Ashcraft v. Conoco, Inc., 218 F.3d 288 (4th Cir. 2000). As stated in Ashcraft, before sealing a document, the Court must follow a three step process: (1) provide public notice of the request to seal; (2) consider less drastic alternatives to sealing the document; and (3) provide specific reasons and factual findings supporting its decision to seal the documents and for rejecting alternatives. Id. at 302. In this case, Exhibit 1 shall be sealed and will be designated as sealed on the Court s docket. The Court deems this sufficient notice to interested members of the public. The Court has considered less drastic alternatives to sealing the document, but in view of the highly confidential and specially protected nature of the records, as well as the extent of the private information contained therein, no such alternatives are feasible at this time. Moreover, the exhibit pertains to highly personal matters which have no particular relevance to the general public. Accordingly, the Court finds that sealing Exhibit 1 does not unduly or significantly prejudice the public s right to access them. The Clerk is instructed to provide a copy of this Order to the Petitioner and all counsel of record. ENTERED: January 30, 2014
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