Morton v. County of San Diego

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA MARILYN MORTON, et al., Case No. 21-cv-1428-MMA-DDL 12 Plaintiffs, ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO v. FILE UNDER SEAL; AND COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, et al., [Doc. No. 226] 15 Defendants.

GRANTING MOTION FOR LEAVE TO ALLOW NON-ELECTRONIC 17 FILING [Doc. No. 231] 21 On June 14, 2024, Defendants the County of San Diego, Hosanna Alto, and Janine Sparks filed a renewed motion for leave to file Exhibits 1–45 in support of their summary judgment motion under seal. Doc. No. 226. Thereafter, they filed a motion seeking leave to allow the non-electronic filing of eleven audio file exhibits. Doc. No. 231. Their motions are unopposed to date.

26 When presented with a request to file a document under seal, the Court begins with the strong presumption in favor of the “general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents.” Nixon v. Warner Communications, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 n.7 (1978); see also Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006). “The presumption of access is ‘based on the need for federal courts, although independent—indeed, particularly because they are independent—to have a measure of accountability and for the public to have confidence in the administration of justice.’” Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096 (9th Cir. 2016) (quoting United States v. Amodeo, 71 F.3d 1044, 1048 (2d Cir. 1995)). When a party moves to file under seal a motion or documents attached to a motion, the focus is on the underlying motion and whether it is “more than tangentially related to the underlying cause of action.” Ctr. for Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 10 1099. If the motion is more than tangentially related to the merits, like here, the movant must show compelling reasons for overcoming the presumption in favor of public access.

12 See id. at 109–99.

13 According to the County, Alto, and Sparks, compelling reasons exist to seal Exhibits 1–45 because of the risk they will be used for improper purposes. Doc. No. 226 at 10. Additionally, they explain that these exhibits consist of confidential law enforcement documents and reports, government personnel files, and medical records.

17 Id. The Court finds that these exhibits contain sensitive information, not generally accessible to the public, and that the need to keep these records and information private so as to protect various individual’s privacy and protect against the risk of improper use are compelling reasons to file them under seal. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the motion and DIRECTS the Clerk of Court to file Exhibits 1–45 (Doc. No. 227) UNDER SEAL.

23 Additionally, the Court finds that the eleven audio file exhibits are not capable of electronic filing and therefore GRANTS the motion for leave to allow their non- electronic filing. The Court DIRECTS Defendants to manually file the following exhibits in accordance with this district’s Electronic Case Filing Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual § 2.k as soon as practicable and in no event later than July 15, 2024: ||| Audio | App. File Name Bates Ex. No. | Evidence Ex. No. OL. 30A 5-12-20 1741 (EL) SD02059 - 10.36.101.25- SD02059 4 31B 0b7685980a2465 1929f68ad965 1 lbfc8.mp3 5-15-20 1915 (MM) SD02088 - 10.36.144.70- SD02088 5 31C 1b3d940f0a249046573fa9cdda00fdba.mp3 ||) 03. 30C 5-16-20 1907 (EL) SD02093 - 10.36.148.13- SD02093 31E 205f5acb0a24940d7£264672d65939b5.mp3 WII 04. 30D 5-16-20 1923 (MM) SD02094 - 10.36.148.13- SD02094 31F 206d63fe0a24940d7£26467272ba02df.mp3 5-17-20 0713 (MM) SD02072 - 10.36.101.27- SD02072 9 31G 22£74a690a2465 1b73874£257dfd9573.mp3 10 30F 5-17-20 0800 (EL) SD02075 - 10.36.101.27- SD02075 31H 2322c3cf0a24651b73874f25alaS5a7ac.mp3 1 5-12-20 0410 (MM) SD02090 - 10.36.144.70- SD02090 2 088fbcc70a249046 1 8de5a42e40fc868.mp3 8 sD 5-15-20 1949 (EL) SD02055 - 10.36.101.23- SD02055 13 1 bSeabce20a24651711a78895331e2199.mp3 14 36 2020-05-19 Phone call, Det. Sisto to M. Morton | SD01848 SD 01848 13 37 2020-05-19 Phone call, Det. Sisto to E. Luong SD | SD 01847 16 01847 11. 38 2020-05-26 Phone call, Det. Sisto to E. Luong SD | SD 01863 01863 19 IT IS SO ORDERED.

20 || Dated: June 26, 2024 21 Maikuk lu of O hills: 22 HON. MICHAEL M. ANELLO 3 United States District Judge