Generally, court records and filings are open to the public. Indeed, any member of the community is entitled to enter a Clerk’s office and inspect case files. Occasionally, however, these files are sealed and only the court and the involved parties can view the contents.
In What Circumstances are Court Documents “Sealed”?
This typically occurs where the case’s subject matter is particularly sensitive, such as matters involving children. It is also possible for part of a record to be sealed while the rest—usually the vast majority—remains open to public inspection. Documents such as these tend to include sensitive information, like social security numbers or banking information. When records are sealed by circuit courts, they remain sealed on appeal. The appellate courts can also seal a record should the matter arise.
Virginia Requirements for Filing Under Seal
The Supreme Court of Virginia and Court of Appeals of Virginia have special requirements for filing in cases under seal:
- Each filing’s cover page must be clearly marked indicating it is under seal.
- “Each page of a sealed document must be watermarked at not more than 10% opacity with the word SEALED in red Arial font, scaled relative to target page, and rotated across the page at a 45° angle.”
- If a joint appendix contains any sealed documents, those documents must be collected in a separate, clearly marked sealed appendix.
- If briefs or appendices contain only some passages requiring redaction of sealed matter, a party must file and serve two copies of the brief: one redacted and one unredacted. Such briefs should clearly indicate which is redacted and which contains the sensitive information.
- Perhaps most importantly, sealed briefs cannot be sent by email. Once the sealed brief is filed through Virginia Appellate Courts Electronic System (VACES), counsel must serve the sealed brief on opposing counsel by mail or commercial courier service.
Sealed records are certainly a small exception to an appellate practice. But when the need arises, these specific rules ensure the sensitive matters in the sealed record, and the parties themselves, are protected.
