Protective Order — Air Force Officer v. Austin (Case No. 5:22-cv-00009-TES, Document 29)

Summary

A protective order entered January 21, 2022 as Document 29 in Air Force Officer v. Lloyd J. Austin, III, et al., Case No. 5:22-cv-00009-TES, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Macon Division. Entered on the parties' joint request under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), pending a ruling on Plaintiff's motion to proceed anonymously (Dkt. #3), it provides for Plaintiff's counsel to give Defendants' counsel her identifying information and unredacted filings. The order limits who may receive that information, restricts its use to this litigation, and requires persons employed by Defendants to sign an Acknowledgement and Agreement to be Bound. A party filing the information must redact it and use the pseudonym or move to seal under Local Rule 5.4, and any party may seek modification after conferring. The 3-page order is signed by Judge Tilman E. Self, III.

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Full text

              Case 5:22-cv-00009-TES Document 29 Filed 01/21/22 Page 1 of 3




                            IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
                            FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
                                       MACON DIVISION


AIR FORCE OFFICER,                                   )
                                                     )                   Case No. 5:22-cv-00009-TES
                       Plaintiff,                    )
v.                                                   )
                                                     )
LLOYD J. AUSTIN, III, individually and in his )
official capacity as Secretary of Defense;           )
FRANK KENDALL, III, individually and in his )
official capacity as Secretary of the Air Force; and )
ROBERT I. MILLER, individually and in his            )
official capacity as Surgeon General of the          )
Air Force,                                           )
                                                     )
                       Defendants.                   )


                                           PROTECTIVE ORDER

         Upon the joint request of the parties in the above-captioned matter, pending adjudication

of the Plaintiff’s motion to proceed anonymously, and pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 26(c), the Court hereby enters the following protective order, jointly agreed and

proposed by the parties, to provide a mechanism for Plaintiff, who currently has moved to

proceed in this action through the pseudonym “Air Force Officer,” to disclose her identity to

Defendants before final resolution of that motion by the Court. 1

         1.       Provision of Plaintiff’s Identity and Unredacted Filings to Defendants. Upon entry

of this protective order, Plaintiff, through her counsel, will provide her name (“Name”), her

address (“Address”), and unredacted copies of any redacted documents that have been filed in




1
 Entry of this protective order does not deprive Defendants of the opportunity to file an opposition to Plaintiff’s
Motion for Leave to Proceed Anonymously, Dkt. #3.
             Case 5:22-cv-00009-TES Document 29 Filed 01/21/22 Page 2 of 3




this matter (“Unredacted Documents”) (Name, Address, and Unredacted Documents,

collectively, “Identifying Information”), to Defendants’ counsel of record.

        2.       Limited Dissemination of Plaintiff’s Identity. The following persons may receive

Identifying Information: (a) counsel for Defendants, including supervisory officials at the

Department of Justice and agency counsel for Defendants; (b) persons regularly in the employ of

counsel for Defendants directly assisting such counsel in the defense of this litigation and who

have been advised by such counsel of their obligations hereunder; and (c) persons regularly in

the employ of Defendants who are actually engaged in the preparation of this litigation for trial

or other proceedings herein, provided that such persons agree to and sign the attached

Acknowledgement and Agreement to be Bound (Appendix A). Counsel for Defendants shall

maintain copies of all signed Acknowledgments and Agreements to be Bound.

        3.       Permissible Uses of Plaintiff’s Identity. Any person receiving any Identifying

Information pursuant to this Protective Order (“Recipient”) shall use that information only for

purposes of this litigation and shall not disclose Plaintiff’s Identifying Information to anyone

except persons permitted under Paragraph 2 to receive it, absent court order.

        4.       Scope of the Protective Order. This protective order does not alter the

requirements of Middle District of Georgia Local Rule 5.4. If any party wishes to use any

document containing Identifying Information or other personal information that would lead to

the discovery of her identity in a court filing or proceeding in this action, they shall either (i)

redact Plaintiff’s name and other personal information and utilize Plaintiff’s assigned

pseudonym, or (ii) file a motion to seal pursuant to Middle District of Georgia Local Rule 5.4.

        5.       Modifications. Each party reserves the right to seek to modify the terms of this

protective order at any time. If a party seeks to modify this protective order, the counsel for the




                                                   2
            Case 5:22-cv-00009-TES Document 29 Filed 01/21/22 Page 3 of 3




party seeking to modify the protective order shall confer with counsel for all other parties to this

action.

          IT SO ORDERED, this 21st day of January, 2022.



                                                      S/ Tilman E. Self, III
                                                      TILMAN E. SELF, III, JUDGE
                                                      UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT




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