Court Remands Decision to Unseal Documents Identifying Doe 107 in Connection with Epstein and Maxwell Case

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has remanded a decision to unseal certain litigation documents that identify a woman known as Doe 107 in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell case. The court’s decision came after Doe 107 appealed a November 18, 2022, order to unseal the documents, arguing that revealing her identity could place her in mortal danger in her culturally conservative home country, where “honor killings are a real risk.”

Doe 107 had stated that she had received “hate mail” from someone who saw her name listed as a potential witness who may have information regarding Epstein’s and Maxwell’s alleged illegal conduct. She also mentioned that she resides in a country where honor killings pose a real threat.

The court stated that it could not confidently hold that the District Court did not err in concluding that Doe 107’s proffered facts constituted only “generalized concerns of adverse publicity [that] do not outweigh the presumption of public access.” As a result, the case has been remanded to the District Court for further consideration of whether to unseal the litigation documents identifying Doe 107 (Page 3).