Section 27-104. PROTECTIVE ORDERS; IN CAMERA REVIEW

 

104.1(a)At the request of a party to a protest or appeal or on its own initiative, the Board may issue a protective order controlling the treatment of protected information. Such information may include proprietary, confidential, or source-selection-sensitive material, as well as other information the release of which could result in a competitive advantage to one or more firms. The protective order shall establish procedures for application for access to protected information, identification and safeguarding of that information, and submission of redacted copies of documents omitting protected information. For informational purposes only, a sample protective order, as well as sample applications for access to materials under a protective order, are reproduced in an appendix to these Board rules.

 

(b)If no protective order has been issued, the agency may withhold from the parties those portions of a document submission which would ordinarily be subject to a protective order. The Board will review in camera all information not released to the parties.

 

(c)After a protective order has been issued, counsel or consultants retained by counsel appearing on behalf of a party may apply for admission under the protective order by submitting an application to the Board, with copies furnished simultaneously to all parties. The application shall establish that the applicant is not involved in competitive decision-making for any firm that could gain a competitive advantage from access to the protected information and that there will be no significant risk of inadvertent disclosure of protected information. Objections to an applicant's admission shall be raised within 2 days after receipt of the application, although the Board may consider objections raised after that time.

 

(d)Any violation of the terms of a protective order may result in the imposition of sanctions as the Board deems appropriate, including referral to appropriate bar associations or other disciplinary bodies and restricting the violator's practice before the Board.

 

104.2At the request of a party or on its own initiative, the Board may order that specific documents or tangible articles be submitted for in camera review by the Board, and not be available for inspection, if they are asserted to contain privileged information. A party by motion may challenge another party's assertion of privilege.

 

source

Final Rulemaking published at 49 DCR 2078 (March 8, 2002).