M.D.N.C.: SW materials remain under seal

The government showed sufficient grounds to have the search warrant application remain under seal to protect the integrity of the investigation. United States ex rel. Childress v. Carolina Comprehensive Health Network, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18389 (M.D. N.C. Feb. 1, 2021):

The interest in protecting government investigations, particularly in their early stages, may outweigh the common law right of access. By way of example, courts may docket search warrant materials under seal. See Goetz, 886 F.2d at 65. Similarly, “the proper functioning of our grand jury system depends upon the secrecy of grand jury proceedings.” Douglas Oil Co. v. Petrol Stops Northwest, 441 U.S. 211, 218, 99 S. Ct. 1667, 60 L. Ed. 2d 156 (1979). The sealing of such materials demonstrates that, to safeguard government investigations, courts may shield certain information from public view, even when the presumption of public access would otherwise warrant disclosure.

Under the circumstances here, the interest in protecting nonpublic investigative details overrides the common law right of access to the Extension Memoranda. Put another way, the balance between “transparency in the judiciary [and] the effective protection of sensitive information,” ACLU, 673 F.3d at 257, weighs in favor of redaction.