Sealed Custody Transcript, Media Offer, and Personal Email Request
You are a freelance court reporter who covered a high-profile child custody matter, In re A.M., in Family Court, Erie County. The transcript was sealed by order dated March 3, 2025. Two weeks later, a podcast producer offers you $1,500 for a copy, saying the transcript is 'public record' because the case was mentioned in a newspaper. A legal assistant from the mother's firm asks you to send the transcript to her personal email because she is working from home. A fellow reporter asks to borrow your stenographic notes to prepare a 'sample' for a prospective client. Your office keeps a media-request log, and the supervising court clerk has asked whether you have received any requests.
1. How should you respond to the podcast producer's offer?
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Decline the offer and do not provide any copy, excerpt, or summary of the sealed transcript. A newspaper mention does not unseal a court record, and a sealed order remains in force until the court vacates or modifies it. The producer's characterization of the transcript as 'public record' is not a legal determination you can rely on. Tell the producer that you cannot discuss or release sealed material and refer any request to the court clerk or the judge's chambers. Do not accept the $1,500 or any other payment; accepting money for sealed material would create an appearance of improper conduct and could violate confidentiality rules. Log the date, time, caller identity, and nature of the request in the media-request log. If a subpoena or court order later arrives, do not respond unilaterally; consult the supervising clerk and your own legal counsel, and follow the court's direction. Preserve the request record but do not preserve it in a way that exposes sealed content.
2. What should you do about the legal assistant's request to send the transcript to her personal email?
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Do not send the sealed transcript to a personal email address. First, verify that the request comes from the mother's attorney or an authorized agent and that the firm is entitled to a copy under the sealing order. A legal assistant's request, standing alone, may not establish authority to receive sealed material, especially outside the firm's secure system. Ask for written authorization from the attorney of record and confirm the approved delivery method with the court or your office. If the firm is entitled to a copy, use a secure, court-approved transfer method, not a personal email account. If the transcript is sealed, the court's order may prohibit release entirely or may permit release only to counsel of record under specific conditions. Document the request, your verification steps, and the delivery method. If you cannot verify authority, refer the request to the court clerk. Confidentiality is not waived because the assistant is working from home.
3. How should you handle the fellow reporter's request to borrow your stenographic notes, and what recordkeeping should you maintain?
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Do not lend the notes from the sealed custody matter. Stenographic notes can contain the same confidential content as the transcript, and the sealing order is not avoided by sharing raw notes. Explain that you cannot share materials from a sealed case. If the colleague needs a sample, offer a redacted, unrelated practice excerpt that contains no client identifiers and no sealed content, or suggest public training materials. Keep a written log of the request, your response, and the date. For the office's media-request log, record the podcast inquiry, the personal-email request, and the colleague's request, but do not include sealed substantive content in the log. Retain the original notes and any related correspondence under your normal retention schedule and in a secure location. If the supervising court clerk asks whether you received requests, answer factually and narrowly: identify the requests and their disposition without disclosing sealed material. This protects both confidentiality and the integrity of the record.