R. 1:38-11. — Sealing of Court Records

a. Information in a court record may be sealed by court order for good cause as defined in paragraph (b) or subparagraph (e)(2) for the temporary sealing of a Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2). The moving party shall bear the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that good cause exists.

b. Good cause to seal a record except as provided in subparagraph (e)(2) shall exist when:

1. Disclosure will likely cause a clearly defined and serious injury to any person or entity; and

2. The person's or entity's interest in privacy substantially outweighs the presumption that all court and administrative records are open for public inspection pursuant to R. 1:38.

c. Exceptions. --The provisions of this rule do not apply to: actions required to be sealed pursuant to the New Jersey False Claims Act (N.J.S.A. 2A:32C-5(c) and 2A:32C-5(f)).

1. Actions required to be sealed pursuant to the New Jersey False Claims Act (N.J.S.A. 2A:32C-5(c) and 2A:32C-5(f)); or

2. Records for convictions or adjudications of delinquency for offenses involving marijuana or hashish required to be sealed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5.2.

d. Documents or other materials not exempt from public access under Rule 1:38 may not be filed under seal absent a prior court order mandating the sealing of such documents, and should not be submitted to the court with the motion, which may be filed on short notice, requesting an order to seal.

e. Temporary Seal of Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2).

1. Application for Temporary Seal of Complaint- Warrant (CDR-2) by Prosecutor. Upon submission of a Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2) on an initial charge in the Judiciary’s computerized system used to generate complaints, a prosecutor may request a Superior Court judge to temporarily seal the Complaint-Warrant. For purposes of paragraph (e), the Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2) includes information contained within and attached to the Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2).

2. Good Cause for a Temporary Seal of Complaint- Warrant (CDR-2). The application requesting a temporary seal of the Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2) shall contain the facts and circumstances that are alleged to establish good cause for the temporary seal. In determining whether good cause exists to temporarily seal the Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2), among the factors a Superior Court judge should consider are

a. the risk of physical harm to any person(s);

b. the risk of harm to any law enforcement investigation, including, but not limited to, destruction of evidence or witness tampering;

c. the risk of defendant's flight; and

d. when sealing would be required by any other law, including, but not limited to, the New Jersey Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-1 to -37. The availability of reasonable alternative means to address the concerns in the above factors should be considered in determining whether to seal the Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2).

3. Period of Temporary Seal; Extension. Upon a finding of good cause, a Superior Court judge shall grant a request for the temporary sealing of the Complaint- Warrant (CDR-2) for a period of no more than ten calendar days following issuance of the warrant or until the warrant has been executed, whichever occurs first. Any order for a temporary seal of a Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2) shall certify that for good cause shown the Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2) is sealed and state the date that the sealing shall expire. If the defendant has not yet been arrested, the prosecutor may apply to the court to extend the temporary seal for additional periods of time no greater than ten days each.

4. Confidentiality. The Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2) and the sealing order shall be kept confidential pursuant to R. 1:38-3(c)(13) until the expiration of the sealing period or the execution of the Complaint- Warrant, except that it shall not be kept confidential from law enforcement as needed to perform their official duties.