Campbell v. Columbia University
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:22-cv-10164
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Campbell v. Columbia University, Judge Broderick directed Doc. 9 unsealed because its contents were already public and terminated the sealing motion.
Jody-Ann Campbell, the defendant, and public access to Doc. 9; the order makes that document available on the public docket.
What happened
Campbell v. Columbia University concerns a request to keep a court filing about Campbell’s health matters and the defendant’s response confidential.
The defendant asked to seal Doc. 9, but Jody-Ann Campbell opposed the request and had already disclosed the letter’s contents in public filings.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick found no reason to keep the already-public material sealed, directed the clerk to unseal Doc. 9, and terminated the motion to seal.
The detailed version
- Campbell v. Columbia University · No. 1:22-cv-10164
- Vernon Broderick
- Jan. 9, 2023
Background
The defendant asked the court to seal its letter at Doc. 9 because the letter concerned Jody-Ann Campbell’s sensitive health matters and the defendant’s response to those matters. Campbell opposed sealing the letter. The court also noted that Campbell’s publicly filed letters had effectively disclosed the contents of Doc. 9.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that whether the information is already public is an important consideration in deciding whether sealing is appropriate. Although the presumption of public access to Doc. 9 was low, the court found no countervailing reason to keep the document sealed because its contents were already public.
Ruling
Judge Vernon S. Broderick directed the Clerk of Court to unseal Doc. 9 and to terminate the motion at Doc. 8.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.