Axel Raul Zamarron v. Herman Madrid, et al.

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO

AXEL RAUL ZAMARRON,

Plaintiff,

v. No. 1:21-cv-919-RB-GJF

HERMAN MADRID, et al.,

Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE CERTAIN MARTINEZ REPORT EXHIBITS UNDER SEAL OR REDACTED

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Defendants’ Motion for Leave to File Certain Martinez Report Exhibits Under Seal or Redacted (Dkt. No. 95), filed April 2, 2026. Plaintiff Axel Raul Zamarron is incarcerated, pro se, and proceeding in forma pauperis. See Orders, Dkt. Nos. 6, 22. The Court entered an Order for Martinez Report, directing the Martinez Report to be filed by April 16, 2026. Order 2, Dkt. No. 94. The Order included approval for Defendants to file under seal “confidential portions of documents submitted with the Martinez Report and provide a redacted version of the Report to Plaintiff.” Id. The Court also ordered Defendants to file a motion to seal if they sought to seal or redact any portion of their Report. Id. As directed, on April 2, 2026, Defendants timely filed a motion to seal, describing with specificity the type of documents Defendants wish to seal and asserting the reasons for nondisclosure. “A party seeking to file court records under seal must overcome a presumption, long supported by courts, that the public has a common-law right of access to judicial records.” Eugene S. v. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, 663 F.3d 1124, 1135 (10th Cir. 2011). “To do so, ‘the parties must articulate a real and substantial interest that justifies depriving the public of access to the records that inform our decision-making process.” Id. at 1135-36 (quoting Helm v. Kansas, 656 F.3d 1277, 1292 (10th Cir. 2011)). Personal and private medical information may be sealed. See id. at 1136. See also N.M. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-1(A) (excepting from right to inspect “records pertaining to physical or mental examinations and medical treatment of persons confined to an institution”). Confidential documents, the confidential nature of which outweighs the public’s right of access, may also be sealed. See Suture Express, Inc. v. Owens & Minor Distribution, Inc.,

851 F.3d 1029, 1047 (10th Cir. 2017). Prison or jail records may be sealed out of safety concerns for staff and/or inmates. Brown v. Flowers, 974 F.3d 1178, 1188 (10th Cir. 2020). Defendants seek to seal or redact the following documents: A. Plaintiff’s medical information including photographs, under seal, with access by the Court only and Plaintiff by accessing in person his own records through the New Mexico Corrections Department (“NMCD”); B. Medical information of other inmates or NMCD personnel, including photographs, under seal with access by the Court only; C. Information from inmate files other than Plaintiff’s, under seal, with access by the

Court only; D. Plaintiff’s enemy data information, under seal, with access by the Court only and the Plaintiff by accessing in person the records through NMCD; E. Personally identifying information of Plaintiff or Plaintiff’s known associates, redacted, with access by the Court only and by Plaintiff by accessing in person the records through NMCD; F. Personally identifying information of persons other than Plaintiff or his known associates, redacted, with access by the Court only; and G. Information identifying non-party, non-witness incarcerated individuals, redacted, with access by the Court only. Def.’s Mot. 4-5, Dkt. No. 95. Having reviewed the motion to seal, the Court finds that privacy interests in medical records and privacy and safety concerns arising from the release of inmate files and identifying information in NMCD files are real and substantial interests that justify depriving the public of access to the records. The Court therefore finds good cause to impose the access restrictions proposed in the motion to seal. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion for Leave to File Certain Martinez Report Exhibits Under Seal or Redacted (Dkt. No. 95) is GRANTED. SO ORDERED.

A

THE HON BLE GREGORY J. FOURATT UNITED ES MAGISTRATE JUDGE