STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER1

ALEXANDER F. MacKINNON, Magistrate Judge.

1.

A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.

B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

Plaintiff LUIS LORENZO VARGAS ("Plaintiff"), Defendants CITY OF LOS ANGELES, ET AL. ("Defendants") (collectively "the Parties") and the Office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney ("DA"), through their respective attorneys, hereby stipulate, agree and request that this Court enter the following Protective Order set forth below regarding (a) documents and materials from the District Attorney's files that the DA provides to Plaintiff during this action; (b) any related testimony provided at a deposition or an evidentiary hearing in this matter; and (c) any reference to such documents or testimony in the parties' or witnesses' pleadings or papers submitted to the Court:

1. The attorneys for Plaintiff LUIS LORENZO VARGAS issued a subpoena duces tecum by serving the DA COR with a subpoena for the production, inspection and copying of all DA records and files in the criminal case People v. Luis Lorenzo Vargas, Case No. BA171718.

2. The DA will produce documents in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's possession, custody or control, in compliance with the subpoena duces tecum issued as noted in paragraph 1 above. Specifically, the DA will produce, subject to the Protective Order as set forth below, all non-privileged documents in its possession, custody or control, responsive to the subpoena duces tecum.

3. The DA maintains and asserts through this stipulation and its objections to the subpoena, that it has a legitimate need to limit access of information on the grounds that disclosure of information in the materials requested would (a) implicate the subjects' rights to privacy, (b) endanger the personal safety of the subjects, (c) disclose confidential official information, (d) disclose attorney work product, (e) harm and interfere with other criminal prosecutions, (f) disclose information protected by the deliberative processes privilege. The DA maintains and asserts that it has a legitimate need to limit access to information about internal decision making for the conduct and course of prosecutions. The DA maintains and asserts that it has a legitimate need to meet its obligations to maintain confidentiality and/or privacy of information as required by statute and judicial decision, and to assure personal safety of potential witnesses in its prosecutions.

4. Plaintiff and the DA have met and conferred pursuant to Local Rule 37-1 and are desirous of resolving the disputes about disclosure and use of information acquired by Plaintiff from the Office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney and its personnel.

5. To comply with Plaintiff's subpoena duces tecum expeditiously, to regulate the disclosure and use of information from the DA, and to meet the above identified needs of DA, the following procedures and limitations shall govern the use, disclosure, distribution or dissemination of all documents and other tangible things, and the information contained therein (collectively referred hereinafter as "The PROTECTED DOCUMENTS"), either previously or henceforth produced by the DA to Plaintiff and to his counsel:

b. The PROTECTED DOCUMENTS shall be treated as confidential by the Parties and their counsel and shall not be further disclosed, disseminated or otherwise distributed except as provided in this Protective Order.

c. The PROTECTED DOCUMENTS, or any portion thereof, may not be disclosed, distributed or disseminated except as provided in subparagraph (d) below.

d. The PROTECTED DOCUMENTS, or any portion thereof, may only be disclosed to the following persons:

(1) Counsel for the Parties only and specifically not to the individual parties with the exception of any recordings, written or otherwise, of any party's own statements;

(2) All members of the Parties' legal teams, including, but not limited to, paralegal, investigative, support, stenographic, clerical and secretarial and related personnel regularly employed by counsel referred to in subparagraph (1) above.

(3) The Court and Court personnel, including stenographic reporters engaged in such proceedings as are necessarily incidental to preparation for the trial of this action; and

(4) Expert witnesses designated by the Parties' counsel solely for the purpose of this litigation.

e. Furthermore, each person (except Court personnel) to whom disclosure of The PROTECTED DOCUMENTS, or any portion thereof, is made, with the exception of those identified in subparagraph d. above who are presumed to know the contents of this Protective Order, shall, prior to the time of disclosure, be provided a copy of this Protective Order by the person furnishing him/her such material, and shall agree on the record or in writing that he/she has read the Protective Order, and that he/she understands the provisions of the Protective Order, and that he/she agrees to be bound by the provisions of this Protective Order. Such person (except Court personnel) also must consent in writing to be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court, Central District of California, with respect to any proceeding relating to enforcement of this Order, including without limitation, any proceeding for contempt. Unless made on the record in this litigation, counsel making the disclosure to any person described above shall retain the original executed copy of said agreement until final termination of this litigation.

f. If the PROTECTED DOCUMENTS, or any portion thereof which were not part of a public filing, are filed with the Court in any form, such filing shall be under seal and shall not become public record without an unsealing order by the Court.

6. Nothing in paragraph 5 is intended to prevent officials or employees of the County of Los Angeles or other authorized governmental officials from having access to the PROTECTED DOCUMENTS if they would have had access in the normal course of their job duties. Further, nothing in this Protective Order prevents subsequent defense attorneys representing the Parties in a re-trial or other post-trial proceedings from gaining access to the PROTECTED DOCUMENTS to the extent they are otherwise available through ordinary discovery procedures or similar means. Finally, nothing in this order precludes a witness from disclosing events or activities personal to him or her; that is, a witness can disclose to others information previously given to the County of Los Angeles with respect to what he or she saw, heard or otherwise sensed.

7. The foregoing is without prejudice to the right of the Parties and the DA:

a. To apply to the Court for a further protective order relating to confidential material or relating to discovery in this litigation; and

b. To apply to the Court for an order compelling production of documents or modification of this protective order or for any order permitting disclosure of documents or the information contained therein the terms of this protective order.

c. The Parties do not waive any right to assert, inter alia, that the DA does not have a legitimate interest or need to limit access to documents reflecting and/or related to its internal decision making process regarding the above-referenced criminal case and do not waive their rights seeking discovery of these documents. The Parties do not waive their rights to seek disclosure of any and all documents in the possession of the DA relating to the District Attorney files for the cases subpoenaed and identified above on any and all applicable grounds, including but not limited to his rights and guarantees afforded under the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

8. Once the Protective Order issues, the following schedule will take effect, subject to extraordinary circumstances or by mutual agreement of the Parties and the DA:

a. Within twenty-one (21) days of the notice to counsel for the DA of the Court's entry of the Protective Order, the DA will make available, for inspection and/or photocopying all subpoenaed documents including all electronic documents in its custody or control, which are responsive to the above-referenced subpoena duces tecum. Plaintiff will bear the cost of duplicating the materials.

b. The Parties shall place a stamp on each PROTECTED DOCUMENT marked "Confidential-Subject to Protective Order" on only the hard (paper) copies of documents printed and used from the electronic disk or obtained via hard copy and used in the course of this litigation. If through its inadvertence, surprise or neglect, the Parties do not label a PROTECTED DOCUMENT as indicated, counsel for the Parties shall so notify the DA and shall place the phrase "Confidential—subject to Protective Order," on the PROTECTED DOCUMENT.

c. Within Thirty (30) days after the date that an Order terminating this litigation becomes no longer subject to judicial review, counsel for the Parties shall promptly destroy or return to the DA all copies of the PROTECTED DOCUMENTS and shall certify it has not retained any such documents, or portions thereof except as required by the Court.

9. This Protective Order, when entered into by the Court, shall be retroactive to the date of the initial disclosure of any documents made by the DA in this matter.

10. This Protective Order is entered into without prejudice to the right of any party and/or the DA to file any motion for relief from the Court from any restriction hereof or for any other or further restriction on the production, exchange, or use of any documents, testimony, or other information produced, given, or exchanged in the course of discovery in this action. This Order may be modified, amended, or vacated by further Order of the Court. The DA will not will not file a motion to quash/modify the subpoenas at issue.

C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL

The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.

There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties' mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.

Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass'n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.

Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.

2. DEFINITIONS

2.1 Action: Luis Vargas v. City of Los Angeles, et al., 2:16-CV-08684-SVW (AFMx)2.2 Challenging Party:a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of information or items under this Order.

2.3 "CONFIDENTIAL" Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement.

2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their support staff).

2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as "CONFIDENTIAL."

2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.

2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.

2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.

2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.

2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs).

2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action.

2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.

2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as "CONFIDENTIAL."

2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a Producing Party.

3. SCOPE

The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.

4. DURATION

This Protective Order shall survive the final determination for this action and shall remain in full force and effect after conclusion of all proceedings herein, and the court shall have continuing jurisdiction to enforce its terms.

5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.

Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.

If it comes to a Designating Party's attention that information or items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.

5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.

Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend "CONFIDENTIAL" (hereinafter "CONFIDENTIAL legend"), to each page that contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed "CONFIDENTIAL." After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the "CONFIDENTIAL legend" to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

(b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all protected testimony.

(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend "CONFIDENTIAL." If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).

5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party's right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.

6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court's Scheduling Order.

6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.

6.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.

6.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party's designation until the Court rules on the challenge.

7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).

Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.

7.2 Disclosure of "CONFIDENTIAL" Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated "CONFIDENTIAL" only to:

(a) the Receiving Party's Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably ecessary to disclose the information for this Action;

(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;

(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A);

(d) the court and its personnel;

(e) court reporters and their staff;

(f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A);

(g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;

(h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

(i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.

8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as "CONFIDENTIAL," that Party must:

(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and

(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.

If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as "CONFIDENTIAL" before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party's permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL

When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.

12. MISCELLANEOUS

12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.

12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.

12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

13. FINAL DISPOSITION

After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, "all Protected Material" includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).

14. VIOLATION

Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.

IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

EXHIBIT A

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

I, _______________________________ [print or type full name], of _____________________[print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of___________________[insert formal name of the case and the number and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint ________________________________[print or type full name] of _______________________________________[print or type full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.