Build Redaction Instruction Set

Skill: Convert PII findings + court rules into a per-document redaction instruction set

Region: United States Category: Legal / eDiscovery Does: Takes PII/PHI detection results plus the applicable court redaction rules and produces a structured redaction instruction set — per-document, per-location instructions (coordinates or text patterns, redaction basis, and code) importable into Relativity Redact, Nuix, Everlaw, or DISCO for automated application. Authority: FRCP 5.2 · FRAP 25(a)(5) · local-court ESI/protective orders · Relativity Redact (and equivalent) import schema

This produces instructions, applied by a redaction tool and then QC'd by a human before production. Redaction must burn in (flatten) — never rely on a visual overlay that leaves the text layer intact, the classic metadata-leak failure. Confirm the controlling court's redaction rules and the protective order before generating.

When this applies

• Turning a PII/PHI detection report into actionable redactions ahead of production.
• Applying FRCP 5.2 personal-identifier redactions (SSN → last 4, financial account → last 4, DOB → year, minor → initials) and any case-specific categories (trade secrets, privileged passages, third-party confidential data).

FRCP 5.2 default redaction rules

Protective orders and local rules may add categories (medical, trade secret, source code) and stricter forms.

Output structure (JSON/XML per redaction)

{
  "document_id": "DOC000123",
  "bates": "ABC000451",
  "page": 1,
  "target": {
    "mode": "text_pattern",        // or "region_coordinates"
    "text_pattern": "\\b\\d{3}-\\d{2}-(\\d{4})\\b",
    "keep_groups": [1],            // keep last 4 (FRCP 5.2 partial)
    "region": null                 // {x, y, width, height} when mode=region_coordinates
  },
  "redaction_type": "partial",     // full | partial
  "redaction_basis": "FRCP 5.2 - SSN",
  "redaction_code": "PII-SSN",
  "burn_in": true,
  "scrub_text_layer": true,
  "scrub_metadata_fields": ["from","to","subject","ocr_text"]
}

Build rules

• Map each detection to a rule: detection entity_type + jurisdiction_flags → the redaction form (full vs partial, keep-last-4, year-only). FRCP 5.2 types are usually partial; trade-secret/privilege passages are full.
• Two targeting modes: text_pattern (preferred for born-digital text — robust to pagination) and region_coordinates (for images/scanned pages where text isn't reliably positioned). OCR scanned docs first so patterns can match.
• Burn-in + scrub: every instruction must set burn_in=true (flatten the mark) and scrub_text_layer=true, and list metadata fields to scrub — redacting the image but leaving the extracted text or load-file field is the most common production leak.
• Carry a redaction_basis and redaction_code per redaction — these populate the production's redaction log and let opposing counsel see the justification category (not the content).
• Family/consistency: apply the same redaction to all near-duplicates and family copies of a document so the same SSN isn't redacted on one copy and produced on another.
• Always QC a sampled set after the tool applies the instructions; verify no underlying text/metadata survives.

Worked example (one document, two redactions)

DOC000123 / ABC000451:
  R1  page 1  text_pattern SSN \d{3}-\d{2}-(\d{4})  → partial, keep last 4
              basis "FRCP 5.2 - SSN"  code PII-SSN   burn_in+scrub
  R2  page 2  region_coordinates {x:120,y:300,w:240,h:18} (scanned acct no.)
              → full, basis "FRCP 5.2 - financial account"  code PII-ACCT  burn_in+scrub
Apply identically to DOC000123's 2 near-duplicates (DOC000130, DOC000401).

Exported as a Relativity Redact / Nuix / Everlaw import set; tool applies, then human QC before the document joins the production volume.

Validation checklist

• Controlling court redaction rules + protective order confirmed; FRCP 5.2 partial forms applied (last-4 / year / initials)
• Each redaction has a target (text_pattern or region_coordinates), type (full/partial), basis, and code
• Scanned/image docs OCR'd before pattern targeting; coordinate mode used where text isn't reliable
• burn_in=true and scrub_text_layer=true on every redaction; metadata fields to scrub listed
• Same redactions propagated to near-duplicates and family members
• Output format matches the target tool's import schema (Relativity Redact/Nuix/Everlaw/DISCO)
• Redaction log (basis/code per doc) generated for the production
• Post-application QC: sampled docs verified — no underlying text or metadata survives

Last updated: 2026-05-31 — instructions are applied by a redaction tool and require human QC; confirm permitted redaction forms and metadata handling against current FRCP 5.2, the case protective order, and the target platform's redaction-import schema before production.