HIGHLY SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS

HIGHLY SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS GENERAL RULES A

Highly Sensitive Document (HSD) is a document or other material that contains sensitive, but unclassified information that, if disclosed, could have significant national or international repercussions. The court anticipates relatively few documents will be classified as HSDs. In determining whether a document is an HSD, factors to be considered might include whether the case involves matters of national security, foreign sovereign interests, cybersecurity, or especially sensitive public corruption investigations; the extent of domestic or international interests; highly exploitable intellectual property, trade secrets, financial information, or computer source code; or the reputational interests of the United States. A document that meets one or more of these criteria may be classified as an HSD only upon motion and court order.

The following types of documents are unlikely to be classified as HSDs: A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. Presentence investigation reports and pretrial release reports and documents related to those reports; Documents related to cooperation in criminal cases; Social Security records; Administrative records in immigration cases; Search warrant applications; Interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications under 18 U.S.C. § 2518; Application for pen registers, trap, and trace devices; and Most sealed filings in civil cases. Instructions for filing a motion to designate a document as an HSD are on the court’s website. 20 Effective October 6, 2025