Filing Under Seal

Submitters have the option to request that a filing be sealed, and limited to the attorneys and pro se litigants on a case, when they argue that the document includes content sensitive information that should not be available publicly. This application can be added to any PACFiling through the Filing Documents tab. Since this application is requesting that another document be sealed, it must be submitted simultaneously with the content sensitive document.

Once added, a unique column, called Viewable To, appears in the grid on the Filing Documents tab. When a value of Counsel Only appears in the Viewable To column for any filing type, it indicates the corresponding document is only viewable to the attorneys and pro se litigants on the case. When the Viewable To column is blank for a given filing type, there are no restrictions on the document.

When creating a PACFiling for an existing case, the application itself is not assigned the Counsel Only value since the request to file under seal is not itself considered sensitive or private. All other filing types that are submitted with the application, however, are temporarily assigned the Counsel Only value. After the PACFiling is submitted and the court rules on the application, the court may adjust the restrictive settings for the Counsel Only documents. If the application is denied, the Counsel Only designation is removed from all documents on the PACFiling. If the application is granted, the Viewable To values for each filing type remain unchanged and the visibility remains limited to the attorneys and pro se litigants on the case.

When creating a PACFiling for a new case, neither the application nor the initiating filing document (ex. Petition for Allowance of Appeal or Petition for Review) are assigned the Counsel Only value. Initiating documents cannot be filed under seal. Any other filing types that are submitted simultaneously with the application, however, are assigned a value of Counsel Only. Similar to PACFilings on existing cases, the Viewable To value may be updated by the court based on how they rule on the application.

The steps below, which are not meant to be comprehensive, describe how the process is unique when filing an Application to File Under Seal on an exiting case or initiating a new case:

	How to file an Application to File Under Seal on an existing case
1.	In the Select Filing screen, click on the Filing Type dropdown and select Application to File Under Seal.
2.	In the Filing Documents tab, click on the Add Optional Filing icon and select the filing that you are requesting to have sealed.
3.	In the Document Management popup screen, click the Add Document icon .
4.	Click CHOOSE File and locate the corresponding document in the popup. Click OPEN to upload the document.
5.	In the Document Management popup screen, click on the Confidentiality dropdown menu and select the confidentiality option that best describes the document as it relates to the Public Access Policy of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
6.	Click SAVE. Note: In the Filing Documents tab, the Counsel Only value will display for the filing type that was identified in Step 2.

	How to add Application to File Under Seal to a case initiating filing
1.	In the Select Filing screen, click on the Filing Type dropdown and select the filing type that is initiating the case (ex. Petition for Allowance of Appeal or Petition for Review).
2.	In the Filing Documents tab, click on the Add Optional Filing icon and select Application to File Under Seal.
3.	In the Document Management popup screen, click the Add Document icon .
4.	Click CHOOSE File and locate the corresponding document in the popup. Click OPEN to upload the document.
5.	In the Document Management popup screen, click on the Confidentiality dropdown menu and select the confidentiality option that best describes the document as it relates to the Public Access Policy of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
6.	Click SAVE.
7.	Repeat Steps 2-6 for any other filing types you are adding to your filing. You must add at least one since the initiating filing document and the application cannot be filed under seal. Note: In the Filing Documents tab, the Counsel Only value will display for the filing type that was identified in Step 2.