In Re Special Proceedings ( 2012 )


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  •                  IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
    FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
    :
    :
    In Re SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS      :         Misc. No. 09-0198 (EGS)
    :         UNDER SEAL
    :
    MEMORANDUM OPINION
    On February 8, 2012, this Court issued a Memorandum Opinion
    and Order denying two motions to permanently seal from public
    disclosure the Report to the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan of
    Investigation Conducted Pursuant to the Court’s April 7, 2009
    Order (“Mr. Schuelke’s Report” or “Report”).   In that Order, the
    Court provided the six attorneys who were the subject of Mr.
    Schuelke’s investigation (“subject attorneys”) with the
    opportunity to submit their comments related to the Report by no
    later than March 8, 2012, and ordered Mr. Schuelke to file his
    Report on the public docket on March 15, 2012, including any
    submissions by the subject attorneys to be attached as addenda
    to the Report.
    Edward P. Sullivan, one of the subject attorneys, now moves
    this Court to stay the February 8, 2012 Order pending an appeal
    to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
    Circuit (“Motion to Stay”).   He also moves to file his Notice of
    Appeal and his Motion to Stay under seal. Senator Stevens’s
    attorneys oppose the motions, and Mr. Sullivan has filed a reply
    to thir opposition.
    Upon consideration of the motions, opposition and reply
    thereto, and for the reasons discussed herein, the Court DENIES
    the Motion to Stay, and GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART the
    Motions to Seal.         Mr. Sullivan’s Memorandum in Support of his
    Motion to Stay and his Reply in Support of Motion to Stay shall
    remain sealed until Mr. Schuelke’s Report is publicly filed on
    March 15, 2012.         Mr. Sullivan’s Notice of Appeal and Motion to
    Stay shall be posted on the public docket on Thursday, March 1,
    2012.
    I.     DISCUSSION
    A.        Motion to Stay
    1.    Standard of Review
    In determining whether to stay an order pending appeal, the
    Court considers the same four factors as it would in resolving a
    motion for a preliminary injunction:        “(1) whether the stay
    applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed
    on the merits; (2) whether the applicant will be irreparably
    injured absent a stay; (3) whether issuance of the stay will
    substantially injure the other parties interested in the
    proceeding; and (4) where the public interest lies.”         Nken v.
    Holder, 
    556 U.S. 418
    , --, 
    129 S. Ct. 1749
    , 1761 (2009)
    (citations omitted); see also Wash. Metro. Area Transit Comm’n
    2
    v. Holiday Tours, 
    559 F.2d 841
    , 842, n.1, 843 (D.C. Cir. 1977).
    On a motion to stay, “it is the movant’s obligation to justify
    the court’s exercise of such an extraordinary remedy.”     Cuomo v.
    United States Nuclear Regulatory Comm’n, 
    772 F.2d 972
    , 978 (D.C.
    Cir. 1985).
    The four factors have typically been evaluated on a
    “sliding scale,” whereby if the movant makes an unusually strong
    showing on one of the factors, then he does not necessarily have
    to make as strong a showing on another factor.   Sherley v.
    Sebelius, 
    644 F.3d 388
    , 392 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (citing Davenport
    v. Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters, 
    166 F.3d 356
    , 360-61 (D.C. Cir.
    1999)).   While it is unclear whether the “sliding scale” is
    still controlling in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in
    Winter v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 
    555 U.S. 7
     (2008),
    the Court need not decide that issue because Mr. Sullivan’s
    request for a stay fails even under the less demanding “sliding
    scale” analysis of Davenport.   See Sherley, 
    644 F.3d at 393
    .
    2.   Analysis of the Four Factors Relevant to a Motion
    to Stay
    a. Likelihood of Success on the Merits
    Mr. Sullivan advances three arguments which, he asserts,
    “raise[] serious legal questions” related to his ability to
    demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits.   Mot. to Stay
    at 8, citing Holiday Tours, 
    559 F.2d at 844-45
    , see also Reply
    3
    at 5-6.   As an initial matter, the Court is not persuaded that
    merely raising a “serious legal question” on the merits is
    sufficient for Mr. Sullivan to obtain a stay based on this
    factor.   Typically, a movant must show a likelihood of success
    on the merits to achieve a stay.       It is only when the other
    three factors tip sharply in the movant’s favor that the
    standard for success on the merits changes.      “An order
    maintaining the status quo is appropriate when a serious legal
    question is presented, when little if any harm will befall other
    interested persons or the public and when denial of the order
    would inflict irreparable injury on the movant.”       Holiday Tours,
    
    559 F.2d at 844
    ; see also Davis Pension Benefit Guar. Corp., 
    571 F.3d 1288
    , 1292 (D.C. Cir. 2009).      As discussed infra, Mr.
    Sullivan has not met his burden as to the other three factors;
    accordingly, the Court considers whether he has demonstrated
    “probable success” on the merits.       
    Id.
     (quoting Charlie’s Girls,
    Inc. v. Revlon, Inc., 
    483 F.2d 953
    , 54 (2d Cir. 1973)).
    The legal arguments in Mr. Sullivan’s Motion to Stay and
    his Reply are identical to the arguments he asserted in his
    Motion to Permanently Seal the Report, all of which the Court
    carefully and thoroughly considered and ultimately rejected in
    its February 8, 2012 Opinion.   In his Motion to Stay, Mr.
    Sullivan has offered neither new argument nor new support for
    his previously-raised arguments.       Presented with no new
    4
    information, authority, or analysis to persuade the Court to
    reconsider its February 8, 2012 decision, the Court has no basis
    to conclude that Mr. Sullivan has demonstrated a probability of
    success on the merits.
    The Court is likewise unpersuaded by Mr. Sullivan’s claim
    that the “unique circumstances” of this case present a “novel
    and admittedly difficult legal question that weighs in favor of
    a stay.”   Mot. to Stay at 9 (citing Ctr. For Int’l Envtl. Law v.
    Office of U.S. Trade Rep., 
    240 F. Supp. 2d 21
    , 22 (D.D.C.
    2003)); see also Reply at 9.   In its February 8, 2012 Opinion,
    after a thorough analysis of the facts and the law, the Court
    concluded that “the public has an overriding and compelling
    right to access the Report, and that right is protected by the
    First Amendment.”   February 8, 2012 Opinion, 
    2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15656
    , *14.   Nowhere in its Opinion does the Court state
    or indicate that the decision was a close call.
    To the contrary, the Court found that Mr. Schuelke’s Report
    fits squarely within the category of criminal judicial
    proceedings to which the First Amendment provides a clear and
    long-standing public right of access.   Id. *16 (collecting cases
    finding a right of access to pre- and post-trial proceedings),
    *18-22 (detailing public interest in, and access to, all aspects
    of the Stevens proceedings), *24 (explaining that the Report
    addresses the prosecutors’ conduct throughout the investigation
    5
    and prosecution of Senator Stevens, and therefore “relates and
    pertains to the Stevens prosecution.”).    The Court likewise
    concluded that one of the core purposes of the First Amendment
    right of access – “monitoring prosecutorial or judicial
    misconduct” – compels public access to the Report.     Id. *26
    (quoting Washington Post v. Robinson, 
    935 F.2d 282
    , 288 (D.C.
    Cir. 1991)). Finally, the Court found that access to the Report
    would inform the public about still-unrevealed events in the
    Stevens case, shed light on this Court’s decision not to
    initiate criminal contempt proceedings, aid public understanding
    of criminal trials, and safeguard against further prosecutorial
    misconduct.   Id. *26-37.
    After concluding that the First Amendment protects public
    access to the Report, the Court’s February 8, 2012 Opinion went
    on to consider the opposing attorneys’ argument – primarily
    advanced by Mr. Sullivan - that the investigation conducted by
    Mr. Schuelke was “substantially the same as a grand jury
    proceeding and should be bound by the same secrecy rules
    governing grand jury investigations.”     Id. *40 (quoting Mr.
    Sullivan’s Motion to Permanently Seal Report at 6).    The Court
    squarely rejected this argument, finding that Mr. Schuelke’s
    investigation differed from a grand jury proceeding in many
    important respects, id. *47-48, and further finding that most
    reasons for grand jury secrecy, such as protecting witnesses
    6
    from intimidation and mitigating the risk that targets of
    investigation would flee, were not relevant to Mr. Schuelke’s
    investigation.   Id. *49-50.   Finally, the Court concluded that
    under the circumstances of this case, any claimed prejudice to
    the subject attorneys from disclosure of the Report was
    significantly less than potential prejudice to unindicted
    targets of grand jury investigations.      Id. *56-62 (explaining
    that the scope and subjects of Mr. Schuelke’s investigation were
    publicized from the outset; the subject attorneys were
    represented during the investigation and presented defenses;
    their employer, the Department of Justice, is already aware of
    the information in the Report and continues to employ them; and
    any claimed prejudice is addressed by providing the opportunity
    for the subjects to submit comments and objections which will be
    attached as addenda to the published Report).
    Finally, in its February 8, 2012 Opinion, the Court looked
    to In re North, 
    16 F.3d 1234
     (D.C. Cir. 1994), in which the D.C.
    Circuit weighed whether to publicly release the Independent
    Counsel’s report on the Iran-contra affair.     Acknowledging the
    differences between this case and North, the Court nevertheless
    found the case “instructive” because it squarely addressed the
    propriety of releasing a report containing allegations of
    wrongdoing when those allegations would not be the subject of
    future criminal proceedings.    Id. *62.   The Court found that the
    7
    factors considered by the court in North “overwhelmingly weigh
    in favor of disclosure” of Mr. Schuelke’s Report.                               Id. *64, 65-
    70 (the subjects of investigation are publicly known; the Report
    addresses a trial about which much is known, and much is
    incorrectly known, therefore disclosure will help set the record
    straight; the Report will shed light on information which should
    be publicly available to facilitate understanding of the Stevens
    case in particular and prosecutorial misconduct in general.)
    In short, while the specific circumstances of this case may
    be unusual, the application of those circumstances to
    controlling, well-established law do not present the degree of
    difficulty or novelty required to meet the movant’s heavy burden
    1
    to obtain a stay.
    b. Irreparable Harm
    As discussed supra, Mr. Sullivan has not established a
    likelihood of success on the merits.                               Accordingly, he must show
    1
    It is significant that, as stated in the February 8, 2012
    Opinion, the Department of Justice and one subject attorney
    raised no objection to the public release of the Report, and a
    second subject attorney agreed to its release. February 8, 2012
    Opinion at *9-10 (citations omitted). Moreover, two other
    subject attorneys filed very brief objections to disclosure (one
    was two pages, the other was four) which contained little or no
    argument.   Id. *11, n.5 (citations omitted). The absence of
    significant, legally-supported objection to disclosure from the
    Department of Justice and four of the six subject attorneys, all
    of whom were participants in a prosecution which, the Report
    concludes, was “permeated by the systematic concealment of
    significant exculpatory evidence,” Mr. Schuelke’s Report at 1,
    further weighs against Mr. Sullivan’s claim that he is likely to
    succeed on the merits.
    8
    a high degree of irreparable harm to justify the granting of a
    stay.               “Probability of success is inversely proportional to the
    degree of irreparable injury evidenced. A stay may be granted
    with either a high probability of success and some injury, or
    vice versa.”                             Cuomo, 
    772 F.2d at 974
    .     Moreover, to establish
    irreparable harm, “[a] party moving for a stay is required to
    demonstrate that the injury claimed is ‘both certain and
    great.’”                     
    Id. at 976
     (quoting Wisconsin Gas Co. v. FERC, 
    758 F.2d 669
    , 674 (D.C. Cir. 1985).                                Mr. Sullivan has not
    established any irreparable harm, much less one that is “certain
    and great.”
    Mr. Sullivan claims that his professional reputation will
    be irreparably harmed by publication of the Report.                               This
    argument is unavailing, especially in light of Mr. Sullivan’s
    own submissions and statements related to the Report.2                                In his
    Motion to Stay, Mr. Sullivan claims that “the Report correctly
    exonerates [him], and accurately concludes that he was not on
    2
    As explained in the February 8, 2012 Opinion, any claimed
    harm to the subjects’ professional reputations flowing from the
    release of the Report is speculative for a number of reasons,
    including: (1) the issues under investigation and the subjects’
    identities have been known and widely publicized from the
    outset; (2) the subjects work for the Department of Justice,
    which conducted its own investigation into the same conduct and
    which is already aware of the information in the Report; (3)
    some of the subjects have themselves made statements to the
    press regarding the investigation; and (4) the subjects will
    have the opportunity to submit comments to the Report, and those
    submissions will be attached as addenda and published
    simultaneously with the Report. Feb. 8, 2012 Opinion at *59-62.
    9
    the trial team, did not meaningfully participate in the
    decisions and actions under review, and merely assisted his
    veteran supervisors and the experienced attorneys on the trial
    team in a limited, ‘back office’ role.”   Mot. to Stay at 2,
    citing Mr. Schuelke’s Report at 3, 507.   Given Mr. Sullivan’s
    own characterizations of the Report, the Court cannot conclude
    that Mr. Sullivan will be harmed at all – much less irreparably
    so – by publication of a Report that he himself maintains
    exonerates him.
    Mr. Sullivan nevertheless argues that, regardless of his
    own exoneration in the Report, he will be irreparably harmed
    “through unwarranted association with the alleged conduct and
    decision-making of” the other subject attorneys.   Mot. to Stay
    at 6; see also Reply at 3-4.   Again, this argument is
    unavailing.   For years, Mr. Sullivan has been widely identified
    as one of the prosecutors responsible for the investigation and
    prosecution of Senator Stevens.    Mr. Sullivan’s name has been
    associated with the other prosecutors, in an undifferentiated
    fashion, in a case which has come “to symbolize the dangers of
    an overzealous prosecution and the risks inherent when the
    government does not abide by its discovery obligations.”
    February 8, 2012 Opinion at *35 (collecting citations).    To the
    extent the Report exonerates Mr. Sullivan and distinguishes his
    conduct from the other subject attorneys’ as he claims,
    10
    publication of the Report would presumably help, not harm, his
    professional reputation.3                                       This is particularly true because the
    Court’s February 8, 2012 Order provides him, as well as the
    other subject attorneys, with the “opportunity to submit
    comments on the Report.                                        These comments shall be published with
    the Report, to enable the public to consider the subject
    attorneys’ comments simultaneously with the Report.” February 8,
    2012 Opinion at *62; see also North, 
    16 F.3d at 1237
     (providing
    for the subjects of the Independent Counsel’s Report to file
    comments on the Report, which would be appended to the Report
    and serve as “the final word on the merits of the []
    investigation.”).
    Publication of the Report itself, which Mr. Sullivan
    maintains “exonerates” him, combined with his own, unedited
    comments which provide him with the opportunity to clarify
    events and/or further distance him from the misconduct “of
    others,” cannot possibly comprise irreparable harm.                                        See North,
    
    16 F.3d at 1241
     (the subjects’ “right of comment, both in the
    3
    Mr. Sullivan’s Reply in Support of Motion to Stay underscores
    the Court’s conclusion that he has not demonstrated irreparable
    harm. His reply is replete with references to the Report which,
    he asserts, support the “indisputable determination[]” that Mr.
    Sullivan was not responsible for the misconduct in Stevens.
    Reply at 1, see also id. at 3-4 (discussing Report’s findings
    regarding Mr. Sullivan). Mr. Sullivan’s claim that,
    notwithstanding these clear conclusions, the public may “wrongly
    conclude that the Report’s generalized criticism of the
    government . . . applies to Mr. Sullivan,” Reply at 2, is
    insufficient to meet his high burden to show irreparable harm.
    11
    report and other fora, may do them more good than the order
    [denying publication] they seek from us.”)
    Deprived of his argument that release of the Report will
    irreparably harm his professional reputation, Mr. Sullivan is
    left only with his claim that a stay is justified because once
    the Report is released, with his comments, the appellate court
    will not be able to “unring the bell” on appeal.                    Mot. to Stay
    at 7 (quoting Maness v. Meyers, 
    419 U.S. 449
    , 460 (1975)).                    The
    Court is not persuaded that this argument is sufficient to
    warrant a stay in this case, where, as discussed throughout, the
    movant has not demonstrated a serious question on the merits,
    the balance of harms favors disclosure, and the public interest
    weighs heavily in support of release.4
    4
    The cases Mr. Sullivan cites are not to the contrary. In
    Providence Journal Co. v. FBI, 
    595 F.2d 889
     (1st Cir. 1979), the
    First Circuit stayed an order disclosing FBI documents regarding
    a wiretap to the plaintiff, a newspaper. The court found that
    the movant established “serious legal questions” on the merits,
    and further found that “once the documents are surrendered . . .
    confidentiality will be lost for all time.”   
    Id. at 890
    . By
    contrast, the Court does not find Mr. Sullivan has established a
    serious legal question on the merits. Moreover, as discussed
    throughout the February 8, 2012 Opinion, the existence of Mr.
    Schuelke’s investigation, its scope, and its subjects have been
    widely publicized from the outset, and some of the subject
    attorneys, including Mr. Sullivan, have made statements to the
    press about the investigation. See Feb. 8, 2012 Opinion at *60
    (citations omitted). The other cases cited by Mr. Sullivan are
    likewise distinguishable. See Ctr. for Envtl. Law v. Office of
    the U.S. Trade Rep., 
    240 F. Supp. 2d 21
    , 22 (D.D.C. 2003)
    (concluding that the movant “made out a substantial case on the
    merits [in] an issue of first impression . . . [the] Court’s
    decision centered on a novel and admittedly difficult legal
    12
    c. Harm to Other Interested Parties
    Mr. Sullivan argues that no party will be harmed by a stay.
    The Court disagrees.                                            Senator Stevens’s attorneys have
    persuasively argued that the Senator’s family and former staff,
    colleagues and close friends, who suffered the effects of the
    prosecution along with him, have not been permitted to review
    the Report.                          Opp’n to Motion for Stay Pending Appeal at 9.
    Moreover, one subject attorney “welcomes the release” of the
    Report.                   See Brenda Morris Concurs with the Court’s Intent, as
    Stated in Its November 21, 2011 Order, to Release the Full
    Report.                   Accordingly, the Court finds the balance of harms tips
    in favor of disclosure.
    d. The Public Interest
    “The fourth and final factor to be considered by the
    Court when analyzing the . . . request for a stay and injunction
    is where the public interest lies.                                                                       The public interest is a
    uniquely important consideration in evaluating a request for
    [interim relief].”                                        Nat’l Ass’n of Mfrs. v. Taylor, 
    549 F. Supp. 2d 68
    , 77 (D.D.C. 2008) (citations omitted).                                                                                          As this Court has
    question.” (internal citations omitted)); People for Am. Way
    Found. v. U.S. Dep’t of Educ., 
    518 F. Supp. 2d 174
    , 177 (D.D.C.
    2007) (opposing party consented to stay). The final case cited
    by movant, Maness v. Meyers, does not concern a stay pending
    appeal; it addresses whether an attorney is subject to contempt
    by advising his client to resist compliance with a court order
    to produce documents where production would implicate his Fifth
    Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
    13
    repeatedly stated over the course of this case, the public has a
    compelling interest in the Stevens case, and that interest
    weighs overwhelmingly in favor of the prompt release of the
    Report.   See, e.g., Transcript of Hearing 46:7-11, U.S. v.
    Stevens, Case 08-cr-231 (April 7, 2009) (“[T]he events and
    allegations in this case are too serious and too numerous to
    leave to an internal investigation that has no outside
    accountability.   The court has an independent obligation to
    ensure that any misconduct is fully investigated and addressed
    in an appropriate public forum.”); see also Feb. 8, 2012 Opinion
    at *34-35 (collecting Supreme Court authority in support of
    public access to criminal trials in order to facilitate public
    understanding of the process and safeguard against prosecutorial
    misconduct).   In this case in particular, which involved the
    trial of a sitting United States Senator and which has “come []
    to symbolize the dangers of an overzealous prosecution . . . and
    [] has also been credited with changing the way other courts,
    prosecutors, and defense counsel approach discovery in criminal
    cases,” February 8, 2012 Opinion *35-36 (collecting citations),
    the public interest in timely disclosure of the results of Mr.
    Schuelke’s investigation is evidenced by the public statements
    of members of the United States Senate, the national media, and
    the Attorney General himself.   Press Release, Senator Chuck
    Grassley, Distrust of the Justice Dept., Televising Supreme
    14
    Court Proceedings, (Feb. 9, 2012)
    http://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/Article.cfm?customel_dataPag
    eID_1502=38980 (last visited Feb, 27, 2012) (“[T]he public has a
    right to know what the special investigator found and how
    pervasive the misconduct was inside the Public Integrity Unit at
    the Justice Department.”); Editorial, Release the Stevens
    Report, THE NEW YORK TIMES, (Feb. 7, 2012),
    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/opinion/release-the-ted-
    stevens-report.html?scp=1&sq=Ted%20Stevens&st=Search (last
    visited Feb. 26, 2012); Oversight of the U.S. Dep’t of Justice:
    Hearing Before the Senate Judiciary Comm., Webcast at 66:00:66-
    10 (Nov. 8, 2011),
    http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=9b6937d5
    e931a0b792d258d9b32d21a8 (last visited Feb. 26, 2012),
    (statement of Attorney General Holder that “I want to share as
    much of [the Department of Justice report on its investigation
    of the Stevens prosecution] as we possibly can given the very
    public nature of that matter and the very public nature of the
    decision I made to dismiss the case[.]”)
    Mr. Sullivan does not acknowledge or attempt to dispute
    these compelling interests.    Rather, he argues that there is “a
    substantial public interest in ensuring that a prosecutor does
    not accuse uncharged individuals of wrongdoing.”   Mot. to Stay
    at 11.   As discussed in the Irreparable Harm section supra, this
    15
    argument is unavailing, especially in view of Mr. Sullivan’s
    claim that the Report “correctly exonerates” and “rightfully
    clears” his name.   Id. at 2, 5.    The only other argument Mr.
    Sullivan asserts in support of public interest in further delay
    is “the right to effective appellate review.”       Id. at 11.    But,
    again, as discussed supra, this unsupported assertion does not
    erase or negate the stringent requirements for a stay, none of
    which have been met in this case.       It also does not trump the
    overwhelming public interest in, and right to, the results of
    Mr. Schuelke’s investigation, as detailed in his Report.
    For the foregoing reasons, the Court will DENY movant’s
    Motion to Stay Pending Appeal.
    B.    Mr. Sullivan’s Motions to Seal His Motion to Stay
    and His Notice of Appeal
    In addition to his Motion to Stay Pending Appeal, Mr.
    Sullivan has moved the Court to file the Motion to Stay, as well
    as his Notice of Appeal, under seal.      Mr. Sullivan cites no
    authority for his requested relief, which would hide the fact of
    appeal and all subsequent litigation in this case from the
    public record.   Therefore, with the exception of his Memorandum
    and his Reply in Support of Motion to Stay, which reference the
    16
    contents of the Report, Mr. Sullivan’s motions to seal will be
    DENIED.5
    As recent decisions in this case have made clear, judicial
    proceedings in the United States are presumptively open to the
    public.                   Proceedings, records, and the identities of litigants
    are withheld from the public only when the movant overcomes
    strong presumptions in favor of disclosure.                                            See, e.g., Richmond
    Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, 
    448 U.S. 555
    , 589-93 (1980)
    (presumption of public access to criminal cases, overcome only
    by overriding interest that closure is essential to preserve
    higher values and narrowly tailored to serve that interest);
    Nixon v. Warner Communications, Inc., 
    435 U.S. 589
    , 597 (1978)
    (“[i]t is clear that the courts of this country recognize a
    general right to inspect and copy public records and documents,
    including judicial records and documents.”); U.S. v. Microsoft
    Corp, 
    56 F.3d 1448
    , 1464 (D.C. Cir. 1995) (courts grant “rare
    dispensation” of anonymity sparingly); Coe v. U.S. Dist. Court
    for Colorado, 
    676 F.2d 411
    , 415-16 (10th Cir. 1982) (courts
    generally allow anonymity to preserve privacy only in highly
    personal matters such as abortion and welfare of children, or
    when identification poses risk of physical or mental harm;
    5
    In accordance with                                           the Court’s Opinion of February 8, 2012, all
    pleadings related to                                           Mr. Schuelke’s Report will be unsealed on
    March 15, 2012, when                                           the Report is placed on the public docket.
    Feb. 8, 2012 Opinion                                           at *72.
    17
    anonymity not permitted in an action involving a litigant’s
    future professional and economic life.).
    In this case, the Court has sealed only those pleadings and
    portions of pleadings which would reveal the contents of the
    Report.6                    The subjects’ identities have never been sealed; to the
    contrary, they have been widely publicized from the outset of
    the investigation.                                        Mr. Sullivan’s Notice of Appeal contains no
    information regarding the content of the Report, nor does his
    Motion to Stay.                                   Accordingly, in the absence of any argument by
    Mr. Sullivan to overcome the presumption of openness, his
    motions to seal the Notice of Appeal and Motion to Stay are
    DENIED.                   The Clerk of the Court is directed to post the Notice
    of Appeal and Motion to Stay on the public docket on March 1,
    2012.               Because his Memorandum in Support of Motion to Stay and
    his Reply in Support of Motion to Stay reference the content of
    the Report, the Court will GRANT Mr. Sullivan’s motion to file
    6
    Mr. Sullivan points out that the Court redacted from the
    February 8, 2012 Opinion the identities of the attorneys who
    filed motions, notices or memoranda in response to the Court’s
    November 21, 2011 Order announcing its intention to publish the
    Report and providing the attorneys an opportunity to file
    pleadings in response to that Order. Mot. for Leave to File
    Under Seal at 1-2. The Court made these redactions in order to
    avoid the possibility of linking an attorney with a substantive
    argument regarding the Report, thereby inadvertently revealing
    that content prematurely. Mr. Sullivan nowhere explains,
    because he cannot, how these limited redactions in an otherwise
    public opinion and order translate into a right to complete
    anonymity, or a right to withhold all future litigation in this
    case from the public record.
    18
    those memoranda under seal.   In accordance with the Court’s
    February 8, 2012 Opinion and Order, all pleadings related to Mr.
    Schuelke’s Report shall be unsealed when the Report is published
    on March 15, 2012, and Mr. Sullivan’s Memorandum in Support of a
    Stay shall likewise be unsealed at that time.
    II. CONCLUSION
    For the foregoing reasons, Mr. Sullivan’s Motion to Stay is
    DENIED, and his motions to file under seal are GRANTED IN PART
    AND DENIED IN PART.
    An appropriate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
    Signed:   Emmet G. Sullivan
    United States District Judge
    February 27, 2012
    19