Usdc-Cas

Facts

Ismael Higuera-Guerrero ran a drug cartel in Mexico along with Javier Arrellano-Felix and Arturo Villareal-Heredia. After U.S. authorities captured the three men, Higuera- Guerrero agreed to plead guilty and to cooperate with the gov- ernment, but the others, initially, declined.1 The government and Higuera-Guerrero signed a plea agreement containing a “cooperation addendum” in which Higuera-Guerrero pledged to help the government build its case against the cartel. The government filed the plea agreement with the district court, along with a motion to seal the plea “proceedings.” The gov- ernment argued that publicizing Higuera-Guerrero’s plea would endanger him and others. Higuera-Guerrero joined the government’s motion to seal.

The district court granted the government’s motion to seal while the government took steps to reduce the danger to Higuera-Guerrero and others. After those steps were taken, the district court unsealed a redacted transcript of the plea col- loquy and all of the plea agreement except the cooperation addendum. This got the attention of Copley Press, Inc., which intervened and asked that the court unseal all the other docu- ments the government had…