JOINT PROTECTIVE ORDER

JOSEPHINE L. STATON, District Judge.

In the Court's Order Granting Ex Parte Application and Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion for Clarification of March 20, 2017 Order and Expedited Discovery (the "April 3 Order"), (Doc. 52), the Court ordered Respondents to "produce copies of all non-privileged information in Petitioners' A-Files within twenty-four hours." (April 3 Order at 3.) In the course of complying with that Order, Respondents lodged a proposed joint protective order related to the production of Petitioners' A-Files. (Notice of Lodging, Doc. 57.)

Although the proposed order is not attached to a joint stipulation as required by C.D. Cal. R. 7-1, given that both parties agree to the issuance of a protective order, the Court deems the lodging of the joint protective order as a joint stipulation in this instance.1 Because disclosure in this action may involve production of confidential or privileged information, including information protected from disclosure by the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and 8 C.F.R. § 208.6, the Court finds that certain categories of information should be treated as confidential, protected from disclosure outside this litigation or any related or derivative proceedings, in this Court or elsewhere, and used only for purposes of prosecuting or defending this action, any appeals, or any further proceeding that may arise out of or be related to, directly or indirectly, the pending litigation or the Petitioners more generally. Such information includes personal information of non-parties, disclosure of which might otherwise be prohibited by the Privacy Act without a court order.

Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b)(11) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c), IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:

1. Respondents are ordered to release information and documents responsive to the April 3 Order: "copies of all non-privileged information in Petitioners A-Files." (April 3 Order at 3-4.) This information may include information and documents retrieved from systems of records indexed under the names or other identifying numbers or symbols of non-party employees and other materials protected by the Privacy Act of 1974.

2. Petitioners shall not further disclose the records, or the information contained therein, to anyone except Petitioners or persons employed by Petitioners to assist in this litigation or any derivative litigation. Petitioners' counsel shall require all persons having access to any disclosed records to have read and agreed to be bound by the terms of this Protective Order, and that they shall not make further disclosure of the records or information contained therein unless permitted under the terms of this Protective Order.

3. Petitioners' counsel and all other persons provided access to the records shall not use the records or the information contained therein, for any purpose other than this pending litigation or any related or derivative proceedings, in this Court or elsewhere, including any appeals, or any further proceeding that may arise out of or be related to, directly or indirectly, the pending litigation or related to Petitioners.

4. Respondents shall mark all documents protected by this Order as "confidential," and all documents so marked shall be deemed to fall within the scope of this Order.

IT IS SO ORDERED.