Sources (e.g., Above the Law, Techdirt) report that Judge Charles Breyer (N.D. Cal., brother of Justice Breyer) recently issued an order refusing to seal certain documents on the grounds that they were already heavily redacted, and so who cares. Or, at least, we can infer from the order (PDF) that this was part of his thinking—and note: this is the order, not a redacted copy of the order. What’s underneath the redactions is just random text pasted from some other document.

There is a little helpful guidance in the footnote at the end, suggesting that the defendant had not identified “compelling reasons” that “exceptionally sensitive information” needed protection. But the order does give you the feeling that the judge thinks they went overboard on the redactions.

Added this to the Noteworthy Court Orders page partly because it should come in handy for judges in future cases. You really just need to add a paragraph at the beginning and one at the end, or maybe just white-out the date and Judge Breyer’s name.