Model Confidentiality Statement

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ILND 306

(Rev. 0

6/18)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

CONFID

ENTIALITY STATEMENT

One of the most important obligations of judicial employees is to ensure that nonpublic information

learned in the course of employment is kept confidential. In the performance of job duties, employees

may have access to files, records, draft materials, and conversations that are, under the Code of

Conduct for Judicial Employees or by practice of the court, confidential. Canon 3D of the Code sets

forth the minimum standard:

A judicial employee should avoid making public comment on the merits of a pending or

impending action and should require similar restraint by personnel subject to the judicial

employee's direction and control. This proscription does not extend to public statements made

in the course of official duties or to the explanation of court procedures. A judicial employee

should never disclose any confidential information received in the course of official duties

except as required in the performance of such duties, nor should a judicial employee employ

such information for personal gain. A former judicial employee should observe the same

restrictions on disclosure of confidential information that apply to a current judicial employee,

except as modified by the appointing authority.

1. C

onfidential Information

Confidential information means information received in the course of judicial duties that is not

public and is not authorized to be made public. This includes information received by the court

pursuant to a protective order or under seal; expressly marked or designated by a judge to be kept

confidential; or relating to the deliberative processes of the court or an individual judge. Examples of

confidential information are:

(a) the substance of draft opinions or decisions;

(b) internal memoranda, in draft or final form, prepared in connection with matters before the court;

employees concerning matters before the court;

(d) the identity of panel members or of the authoring judge before release of this information is

authorized by the court;

(e) the authorship of per curiam opinions or orders;

(f) the timing of a decision, order, or other judicial action, including the status of or progress on a

judicial action not yet finalized (except as authorized in accordance with Section 2.C.);

(g) views expressed by a judge either in casual conversation or in the course of discussions about a

particular matter before the court;

(h) any subject matter the appointing authority has indicated should not be revealed, such as internal

office practices, informal court procedures, the content or occurrence of statements or

conversations, and actions by a judge or staff; and

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(i) any matter on which you have been, are, or will be working.

Information that is not considered confidential includes court rules, published court procedures, public

court records including the case docket, and information disclosed in public court documents or

proceedings. However, judicial employees should not disclose, or make, public or private statements

about the merits or decision making process concerning past, pending, or future cases even if those

statements entail the use of only non-confidential materials.

2. Nondisclosure

A. Unauthorized disclosure. To promote public confidence in the integrity of the

judicial system and to avoid impropriety, illegality, or favoritism, or any appearance thereof, it is

critical that confidential information not be disclosed by a judicial employee. No past or present

judicial employee may disclose or make available confidential information, except as authorized in

accordance with Section 2.C.

B. Inadvertent disclosure. Sometimes breaches of confidentiality do not involv

intentional disclosure but are the result of overheard remarks, casual comments, or inadequate shielding

of sensitive materials. Judicial employees should take care to prevent inadvertent disclosure of

confidential information by avoiding:

(1) case-related conversations and other discussions of confidential information in public places within

the court, such as the library, hallways, elevators, and cafeteria, either in person or by telephone or

cellular phone;

(2) case-related conversations and other discussions of confidential information at bar association

meetings, law schools, other gatherings of non-court persons, or in public places, either in person

or by telephone or cellular phone;

(3) exposure of confidential documents to the view of non-court persons;

(4) visible display of confidential documents in public places such as a library, on public

transportation, or in a photocopier or scanner to which non-court persons have access, and the

internet;

(5) substantive discussions with counsel, litigants, or reporters about the merits of a matter before the

court;

(6) use of writing samples from judicial employment without adequate redaction and approval of the

appointing authority; and

(7) internet and other electronic exchanges (anonymously, pseudonymously, or otherwise) about the

court or its cases, including email, instant messaging, social networking postings (such as Twitter

and Facebook), blog posts, and other internet comments or postings.

C. Authorized disclosure. Confidential information is authorized to be disclosed in the

following circumstances:

(1) pursuant to a statute, rule, or order of the court, or authorization from the appointing authority;

(2) pursuant to a valid subpoena issued by a court or other competent body; and

(3) to report an alleged criminal violation to the appointing authority or other appropriate government

or law enforcement official.

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(

4) to report any allegations of fraud waste or abuse as defined by the Judicial Conference.

(5) to report any workplace misconduct pursuant to the Court's EEO and EDR Plan.

(6) to report any Judicial Misconduct Complaints pursuant to the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act.

D. Continuing obligation. Confidentiality obligations do not end when judicial employment

ceases or when a matter is completed or a case is closed. Former judicial employees should observe the

same restrictions on disclosure of confidential information that apply to current employees, except as

modified in accordance with Section 2.C. Confidentiality restrictions continue to apply with respect to

open as well as closed and completed matters.

Judicial employees should consult their appointing authority if there is any doubt whether a certain

disclosure is authorized before any disclosure is made.

Individual judges and/or other appointing authorities may institute stricter standards than those outlined

herein, but may not modify provisions listed under section 2.C. They may also limit who is authorized

to speak for the court or agency and the topics that specific judicial employees are allowed to address.

The policies described in this document do not supersede or in any way override any stricter disclosure

standards that a court, a judge, or other appointing authority may institute.

This Confidentiality Statement does not address, and in no way limits, the remedy or penalty that a

court, judge, or other appointing authority may impose for a breach of an employee’s duties of

confidentiality, but all judicial employees should be aware that the Judiciary considers all such

breaches to be serious, given the need to maintain the public’s confidence in the impartiality of the

judicial system.