MEMORANDUM ***

MediaPost Communications, the business name of Fadner Enterprises, LLC (MediaPost), which intervened in an action by Rocky Mountain National Bank against Google, Inc., appeals the district court’s denial of its motion to access a compliance report submitted to the district court by Google. We reverse and remand.

The usual rule regarding judicial records and documents is that there is a strong presumption that the public is entitled to access. See, e.g., Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1212 (9th Cir. 2002); see also Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597, 98 S.Ct. 1306, 1312, 55 L.Ed.2d 570 (1978). Like most presumptions, this one does not delineate an absolute right, but to overcome it a compelling reason to deny access must be shown. See Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 678-79 (9th Cir. 2010); Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178-79. Some exceptions to that general rule are instances where access is sought to grand jury transcripts, 1 or to warrant materials while a pre-indictment investigation is in progress, 2 or to materials which were filed or produced pursuant to a protective order. 3

*692 Here, the district court carved out another exception by determining that if a document is lodged, rather than filed, with the court, it is not a judicial record or document at all and, therefore, the public is generally not entitled to access. Of course, there are some distinctions between filed and lodged documents. See Barcamerica Int’l USA Trust v. Tyfield Imps., Inc., 289 F.3d 589, 595 & n. 6 (9th Cir. 2002); N.D. Cal. Civ. R. 1-5(m). However, the district court did not point to any authority for the proposition that lodging alone is sufficient to overcome the public’s right to access. As we see it, the public’s long-standing right cannot be absterged by the simple expedient of having documents lodged. Here, for example, the report in question is a quintessential judicial document. The district court issued an ex parte temporary restraining order against Google and its customer, and ordered Google to lodge a report with the court so that it could assess whether Google had complied with the temporary restraining order. Rocky Mountain and the court were satisfied with the response, and the action was then dismissed. Absent some further determination, 4 the public would be entitled to access to the report. Thus, the district court erred.

REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings.