PRIVACY POLICY AND INFORMATION AVAILABILITY NOTICE OF THE

District of New Mexico
U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court
U.S. Pretrial Services, U.S. Probation Office
10th Circuit Library, Albuquerque Branch

February 06, 2007

The following Privacy Policy and Information Availability Notice apply to the web sites operated by the District of New Mexico court units including the U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, U.S. Pretrial Services, U.S. Probation Office and the 10th Circuit Library, Albuquerque Branch. Personnel from the District of New Mexico monitor the use of these sites and other systems available to the public for statistical purposes, for monitoring of system performance and problem areas, for assignment of user accounts, and for security purposes to prevent unauthorized use of the system. By accessing these web sites, users are expressly consenting to these monitoring activities as described below. For information regarding any of these web sites, please contact the webmaster@nmcourt.fed.us.

Collection of personal data:  The District's web sites do not use cookies or any other Web technology to collect personal data from users. The District logs and monitors web site activity for security and statistical purposes only. The information collected in log files include:

• The Internet Domain name and IP address from which you access our web site;
• The type of browser and operating system you used to access the site;
• The date and time you accessed the site;
• The pages you visited; and
• Any errors generated by the system resulting from your request.

Log files can only be accessed by federal court personnel.

Email Communications with the Court: Please note the following with regard to e-mail communications:

• E-mail communication is not secure against interception from outside sources.
• E-mail communications to the court may be shared among or forwarded to court agencies as needed to respond to requests for information.
• The court cannot accept any pleadings via email.
• The court cannot accept any ex parte communications via email and sanctions may be imposed against violators.
• Threatening e-mail communications are forwarded immediately to the United States Marshal for further investigation and may result in criminal prosecution.

Information Submitted via Web Forms: Information submitted via web forms is stored in our ACE database and is used for the purpose of assigning and tracking Advanced Court Engineering (ACE) user accounts and forwarding Internet E-Mail Alerts regarding case information when this feature is utilized. The web form information is not sold or disseminated in any way.

Monitoring of CM/ECF system activities:  The Court's Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system is for Official Court Business only. Unauthorized entry and usage is prohibited and subject to prosecution under Title 18 of the U.S. Code.  All activities and access attempts are logged. (Note: This verbiage appears on the login screen for CM/ECF - " This is a *Restricted Web Site* for Official Court Business only.  Unauthorized entry is prohibited and subject to prosecution under Title 18 of the U.S. Code. All activities and access attempts are logged.")

Site Security, Intrusion Detection: For site security purposes and to ensure that the services of the District's web sites remain available to all users, the District's computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized access to the system. Any attempts to defeat or circumvent security features, to use the system for other than intended purposes, to deny service to authorized users, to access unauthorized information, to alter, damage, or destroy information, or to otherwise interfere with the system or its operations, or otherwise cause damage to the system are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act. Evidence of such acts may be forwarded to the appropriate authorities and may result in criminal prosecution.

Links to Other Sites: The District's web sites contain links to other sites which may be of interest to our users. Please be aware that the District of New Mexico is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that collects personally identifiable information.

The Clerks' Offices accept electronically filed pleadings and makes electronic images of many paper pleadings; therefore the content of those documents become electronically accessible to any account user at our court web site. The exceptions are sealed documents or any documents restricted by court order or Judicial Conference policy. For information on national privacy issues, please visit http://www.privacy.uscourts.gov.

Public records available on Internet:  Most court documents are public records and are available for viewing at the District's courthouses. In addition, users who have an ACE account can view the following documents from the District's web sites.

U.S. District Court:

AMENDED PRIVACY POLICY AND PUBLIC ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC FILES FOR THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT

Civil Cases

• The full text of documents which have been electronically filed or scanned (including pleadings, motions, notices, court orders, complaints and opinions). Please note: the District Court did not begin scanning complete files until 2000. Therefore, many older case may not have all documents available in electronic form.

Note: Certain documents are not available for electronic viewing because they are too bulky or are unscannable.

Social Security Cases

• Pursuant to the Judicial Conference policy on Privacy and Public Access to Electronic Case Files which bars electronic access to all documents filed in Social Security cases, users are only able to view docket sheets in Social Security cases.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court:

• The full text of documents which have been electronically filed (including pleadings, motions, notices, court orders, adversary complaints, and bankruptcy petitions but, so far, not proofs of claims).
• The full text of documents filed in adversary proceedings numbered 99-1092 or higher, whether filed manually or electronically.
• The full text of court orders, which are generally electronically filed.
• The full text of all documents filed after June 1, 2000, in both adversary proceedings and bankruptcy cases, with the exception of proofs of claims.

Note: Certain documents are not available for electronic viewing because they are too bulky or are unscannable.

U.S. Pretrial/U.S. Probation

The U.S. Pretrial Services Office and the U.S. Probation Office do not provide any defendant information or other records via the Internet. In most case, such information is confidential and is not available for public viewing.

Procedure for seeking exclusion of records from Internet:  A motion to file a document under seal is filed either electronically or in paper format. The Court considers each such motion on its individual merits. The order of the Court authorizing the filing of such document under seal is filed by the Court. A paper copy of the order is attached to the sealed document; the sealed document and attached order are delivered to the Clerk of the Court. See Sealed Documents, Attorney Information Manual and Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9018.

Who can access Court records via the Internet:  The Court's Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system may require two separate types of accounts depending upon usage.  The  first is a CM/ECF account, which is used solely for the filing of documents and case management related functions.  These accounts are only issued to attorneys and qualified Pro Se parties and are processed and maintained locally.  The CM/ECF account issued is only valid for the in the District of New Mexico for the U.S. District Court.  If you wish to file in the Bankruptcy Court in New Mexico or another U.S. District Court you must apply for a separate account in that Court.  You may find more information and registration forms on our website.

The second is a PACER account.  This type of account is required to view any case related queries, reports and documents and is fee-based.  Anyone may apply for a PACER account, including the public.  A PACER account is valid in any Federal Court.  A firm may choose to obtain and share a single account or obtain an account for each individual.  You may find more information and register for a PACER account on the PACER Service Center website at http://www.pacer.uscourts.gov.  Questions regarding PACER accounts, including billing issues, should be directed to the PACER Service Center.

Information collected for either account is used to assign and track those accounts and is not disseminated or sold to organizations or individuals. An attorney's or a party's name, address and telephone number are displayed only to the extent the holder of an account is involved in a case.