[Panel 9] Judicial Roundtable: Protecting Privacy and Confidentiality in Open Courts

Civil litigation often involves matters of a sensitive private nature, or business confidences, trade secrets, and other information that present problems or lose value if made public. Conversely, we have a long constitutional and common-law tradition of open courts: Court filings are public records, and court proceedings are public activities. How do we square the need for full disclosure of the facts necessary for adjudication with concerns for privacy and data security, especially in a digital age, when public documents are freely available online? Our panel of judges, aided by seasoned litigators, explore the various mechanisms, from protective agreements to sealing orders, available to litigants and the courts to address this tension.