Judge: Theodore R. Howard, Case: 19-1081908, Date: 2023-08-31 Tentative Ruling

Defendant John Bauche’s (“Bauche”) Motion to Seal (“Motion”) is GRANTED.

At issue in this motion is whether Exhibits A, O, and K to the Decl. of Robert J. Ellison (ROA #461) should be sealed. 

Pursuant to CRC Rule 2.550(d), the court finds there is an overriding interest that the exhibits be sealed as pretrial diversion agreements and information therein are generally confidential in nature.  (CA R USDCTED L.R. 460.)  The overriding interest supports sealing the records and keeping confidential records as confidential and to prohibit them from easily being obtained by the general public.  Disclosure of such documents could impair the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s (“USAO”) enforcement of criminal matters, and/or may cause a waste of court and USAO’s resources for criminal matters that could easily be taken care of through the diversion process.  If the records are not sealed, then anyone would be able to obtain copies of the confidential records, which may in turn result in future criminal defendants to not seek their own diversion agreements.  The request is narrowly tailored so that only a few documents are being sealed, yet parties to this action will still have access to said documents.  There are no less restrictive means to achieve confidentiality of the documents.

The court hereby orders that the following documents and pages therein continued to remain under seal with the court:

ROA #461 at pp. 2, 6, 8-9, Exhibits A, K, and O.

 Any future filings in this lawsuit that contain those exhibits are to be filed under seal.

Bauche to give notice.