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Courts Move to Protect Informants From Web Site

By Shannon P. Duffy
July 30, 2007

In response to a controversial Web site that exposes the identities of criminal defendants who have agreed to cooperate with authorities, the federal judges on the Eastern District of Pennsylvania bench have adopted a plan designed to make it impossible for any visitor to the court's Web site to discern whether a defendant is cooperating.

The new protocol, adopted last month, is a direct response to the Who's a Rat Web site (www.whosarat.com), and will result in a modification of the docketing of all sentencing and plea documents in all criminal cases.

Chief U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III said that under the current system, users of the court's Web site were able to discern which defendants had entered into agreements to cooperate ' either by viewing the plea agreement documents, or simply noting that those documents were under seal.

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