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getting a seal on documents

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H

hmmbrdzz

Guest
What is the name of your state? (would rather not give). Need some advice on legal letters. Sorry about the length. Couldn't explain it more concisely and still provide enough details to get advice.

A letter (below) was received by me in Feb 99 in response to attempts being made by me to get a set of documents (one of many) attached to a motion for Request for Summary Judgement, under seal. A request for a protective order had already been filed by my attorney in Feb 1998, requesting these documents not be discoverable and requesting they be sealed. I was the plaintiff in this law suit. My attorneys were requesting claims for relief for wrongful discharge, retaliation, discrimination, and negligent and willful infliction of emotional distress. (I dismissed the law suit).

The following letter (the one I have a question about) was received by me after I dismissal the law suit and after I began inquiring, on my own, about how to get a seal on the documents that were attached to the defendants' request for summary judgment.

The letter was written by the state's (defendants attorney) and reads as follows: "If an attorney should file on behalf of Mrs. (me) a petition in the Superior Court of (county) to seal the attachments to Defendants Request for Admissions, dated 2/28/97, we would not oppose the motion but would advise of the applicable case law which it must consider in reviewing such motion. You should consider, however, whether filing a motion to seal these documents would bring renewed attention to this matter."
Yours truly, Senior Deputy Attorney General, (counsel for the DOC and defendants at the time)
==============================================

Question: What applicable case law would they have to consider, and what would that mean to me if an attorney now filed a petition to seal those documents?

=============================================

Here's a description of the protective order that had been filed by my attorneys long before the motion for summary judgement was filed that requested these documents be kept from discovery and be sealed.

May 12, 1997. Now comes .... pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the NC rules of civil procedure to enter it's protective order limiting discovery in (the documents) on the following grounds: "they are unlawfully seized, are unlawfully possesed; that information contained within are the fruits of defendants' unlawful seizure or are otherwise unlawfully in the possession of the defendant's counsel; that they are extremely personal in nature and outside scope of discovery in that they are not relevant to the subject matter of this action and are not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence; that requiring plaintiff (me) to respond to such matters as set forth in Defendants Request for Admission would subject plaintiff to unreasonable embarrassment, annoyance, oppression, and undue burden; that defense could not inquire about such matters; that any hearing on this motion for protective order be held in camera, that any documents filed in support or opposition of the motion for protective order be filed under seal and shall remain under seal", so on and so forth.

Several months after this protective order was filed, these documents wound up being attached to the defenses' motion for request for Summary Judgment. I freaked out, told my attorneys I couldn't continue with the law suit if those documents were going to be discoverable or not kept under seal; my attorney couldn't assure me they would be; they wouldn't tell me whether the request for a protective order had been granted or denied (to me it looked like it had been denied), and so I immediately filed a dismissal of the law suit on my own thinking that doing so would keep the documents out of someone else's hands in the future.

That law suit was termed a "high profile case against a prison" (the state). The governor's top man was being sued individually (although he was "sovereign immune"). There was media attention, reporters coming to my house, etc. Information being brought to light through depositions sparked investigations by prison officials and SBI. Jobs and careers were lost, several people, including state officials were criminally indicted (not me). It was a nightmare for five years. I was termed "the whistleblower", and I had been told by my attorneys that damages awarded me would be " a whole lot" but that it could take years to settle.

Since having dismissed that law suit, I haven't been able to live without fear that those documents are going to resurface again one day. I want a seal on the ones that are attached to that request for summary judgment and that may be attached to any other filing. The documents were my personal diary that contained intimate details of parts of my life. Every affiant for the defense lied in order to get those documents attached to the summary judgment; two of the affiants have since been convicted of assault related to that lawsuit; one witness and deponent for the prison (a personnel administrator) was indicted on 12 counts of embezzlement of state funds and is now on supervised probation (all on account of my lawsuit); every single witness the state had in defense of my law suit ultimately wound up being investigated and charged with what they were being accused of in my lawsuit -- corrupt. My law suit was valid, the claims were solid; and even though I dismissed it in a moment of panic and against attorney advice, I want a seal on those documents now.

Any chances of my getting one? What would I have to go through to get one? I never attempted further to get a seal after receiving that letter from the Senior Special Attorney General. It was just too much to deal with anymore at that time. If I did get a seal and someone attempted to use those documents against me again one day, what remedy would I have if they were under seal? I've been told (NOT by an attorney) that since they aren't under seal and that witnesses for the state have since that time been criminally charged, that the best thing for me to do is to leave them unsealed in the event one of these officials comes after me again one day.

Any advice is appreciated.
I posted this under general litigation about a week ago; got no response; any advice on where I might get advice on-line if no one can advise here?
 


H

hmmbrdzz

Guest
Thanks Racer72. Let me ask you this -- Is there anything in my post that -- if I gave that state's name -- could come back to haunt me? If one knows it's a sovereign immune state, would that be enough to give advice on the letter I received from AG's office? I'm kind of unfamiliar with what harm can come to one through the internet as it regards a dismissed law suit, pro se, without prejudice, that I might attempt to get a seal on documents. The whole thing was horrible, and I'm actually fearful to move on any of it - let alone put the state's name on this internet.

Thanks.
 

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