Act to Redact
“Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportion’d thought his act.”
“ Be check’d for silence,
But never tax’d for speech.”
The Tennessee Supreme Court has adopted amendments to the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, specifically Rule 20, which governs the filing and service of papers in the appellate courts. Subject to approval by the General Assembly, this amendment goes into effect July 1, 2026 and will impact the way appellate briefs are written, so pay heed:
Rule 20B: Public Access to Appellate Court filings and Privacy Protection. This amendment sets forth detailed requirements for omitting or redacting confidential information from briefs. The new rule encourages the complete omission of confidential information from briefs whenever possible. When this isn’t possible, the filer must ensure that all confidential information, including metadata, is permanently removed or obscured and cannot be restored or accessed. According to this amendment, the responsibility for protecting any confidential material in your brief falls squarely on you, the filer of the brief.
An important addition here to your Brief Checklist is the mandatory inclusion of a signed and dated Certificate of Redaction Compliance identifying the filing by case style and number and verifying that all documents in the filing comply with the requirements of this Rule.
So, when it comes to confidential information in your briefs, give no unproportion’d thoughts their act: always be sure to omit and redact.
You’re welcome.
