D.S.C.: SW affidavit remains under seal; redaction not yet practical

Government shows grounds to keep this search warrant affidavit under seal for up to a year or when the court should revisit it. Redaction is impractical. In the Matter of the Application of the United States of America for a Search Warrant for the UPS 2 Day Air Parcel Referenced in the Sealed Affidavit of FBI Special Agent Conroy, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 183633 (D.S.C. Sept. 24, 2021):

In reaching this conclusion, the Court has considered alternative measures less restrictive than sealing—such as redaction of portions of the document—but finds that, at this juncture, redaction would not protect the Government’s compelling interests and un-redacted portions would largely be limited to information available in the warrant and application. See In re Search Warrant for Secretarial Area Outside of Gunn, 855 F.2d 569, 574 (8th Cir. 1999) (explaining that “line-by-line” redactions were “not practical” where “[v]irtually every page contain[ed] multiple references” to sensitive information); In re Search of Office Suites for World & Islam Studies Enterprise, 925 F. Supp. 738, 744 (M.D. Fla. 1996) (rejecting redactions of affidavit due to “concerns that unsealing even a portion of the affidavit would reveal, either explicitly or by inference, the scope and direction of the Government’s investigation”); In re Search Warrants for Nat’l Builders Corp., 833 F. Supp. 644, 646 (N.D. Ohio 1993) (finding that sealing of search warrant affidavit was justified when “[v]irtually [*3] every page of the affidavit contain[ed] references to conversations and events, and reveal[ed] the nature and scope of the on-going government investigation, including individuals not within the scope of the search warrant”). Based on the foregoing, the Court finds that the interests of justice are best served by filing the affidavit and attachments thereto, and the return to the warrant, under seal. Working copies may be made available to the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigaton, and any other law enforcement agency designated by the United States Attorney’s Office.

Unless otherwise ordered, the documents sealed by this order shall remain sealed for one year from the date of this order, subject to extension for good cause shown and to the following unsealing protocol: Any person or party who seeks access to the documents sealed by this order may file a written motion or request to unseal. The Clerk of Court is directed to file any motion or request to unseal on the public docket. Regardless of when the motion or request is made, the documents sealed by this order shall remain sealed until the Government or other affected party has an opportunity to respond to any motion or request to unseal.