Jackson v. King County

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE CEDRIC JACKSON et al., CASE NO. 21-CV-00995-LK-BAT Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING STIPULATED 12 v. MOTION TO SEAL 13 KING COUNTY, 14 Defendant.

16 The parties have filed a stipulated motion asking the court to seal a new exhibit, Dkt. No. 29, and to seal a previously filed copy of a similar document, Dkt. No. 7-2. Both documents are versions of a list that includes class members’ names, the number of days they were in solitary confinement as children and youth, and the financial amount each will receive under the proposed settlement. Having reviewed the motion, the two documents proposed to be filed under seal, the declaration filed in support, and the record as a whole, the Court finds and orders that: 22 1. After balancing the interests of the public in viewing the document and those who may benefit by keeping the document private, the Court finds that compelling interests sufficient to justify sealing the two court records exist, pursuant to Local Civil Rule 5(g)(2) and the legal standard articulated in Kamakana v. City & Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179 (9th Cir. 2006). Namely, RCW 70.48.100, which mandates that information regarding jail records be kept confidential, the Court’s previously entered protective order (Dkt. No. 17), and class members’ privacy interests in keeping their identities confidential, outweigh the public need to view these documents in unredacted form. The information sought to be sealed has also previously been filed in redacted format, Dkt. No. 24-1, which is available for viewing by the public. The redacted document redacts only class members’ names and satisfies any public interest need for information about the overall settlement, the size of the class, and the number of days in solitary confinement for class members.

11 2. Accordingly, the stipulated motion to seal (Dkt. No. 27) is granted. The Court orders that Dkt. No. 7-2 shall be sealed by the clerk and Dkt. No. 29 shall remain under seal.

13 Defendant may seek leave in the future to unseal relevant portions of these filings, if necessary to prove that individual class members have been compensated in this case.

15 The Clerk is directed to send uncertified copies of this Order to all counsel of record and to any party appearing pro se at said party’s last known address.

17 Dated this 7th day of January, 2022.

18 A 19 Lauren King United States District Judge