Rule 25-59. Closure of Courtroom in Family Matters

(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, there shall be a presumption that courtroom proceedings shall be open to the public.

(b) Except as provided in this section and except as otherwise provided by law, the judicial authority shall not order that the public be excluded from any portion of a courtroom proceeding.

(c) Upon motion of any party, or upon its own motion, the judicial authority may order that the public be excluded from any portion of a courtroom proceeding only if the judicial authority concludes that such order is necessary to preserve an interest which is determined to override the public's interest in attending such proceeding. The judicial authority shall first consider reasonable alternatives to any such order and any such order shall be no broader than necessary to protect such overriding interest. An agreement of the parties to close the courtroom shall not constitute a sufficient basis for the issuance of such an order.

(d) In connection with any order issued pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, the judicial authority shall articulate the overriding interest being protected and shall specify its findings underlying such order. If any findings would reveal information entitled to remain confidential, those findings may be set forth in a sealed portion of the record. The time, date and scope of any such order shall be set forth in a writing signed by the judicial authority which upon issuance the court clerk shall immediately enter in the court file. The judicial authority shall order that a transcript of its decision be included in the file or prepare a memorandum setting forth the reasons for its order.

(e) A motion to close a courtroom proceeding shall be filed not less than fourteen days before the proceeding is scheduled to be heard. Such motion shall be placed on the short calendar so that notice to the public is given of the time and place of the hearing on the motion and to afford the public an opportunity to be heard on the motion under consideration. The motion itself may be filed under seal, where appropriate, by leave of the judicial authority. When placed on a short calendar, motions filed under this rule shall be listed in a separate section titled ''Motions to Seal or Close'' and shall also be listed with the time, date and place of the hearing on the Judicial Branch website. A notice of such motion being placed on the short calendar shall, upon issuance of the short calendar, be posted on a bulletin board adjacent to the clerk's office and accessible to the public. text were amended, Section 25-59 read: '' Closed Hearings and Records

Committee Notes

(Amended May 14, 2003, to take effect July 1, 2003.) (P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 478.) (Amended May 14, 2003, to HISTORY—2003: Prior to 2003, when both the title and ''Subject to the provision of Section 11-20, any family matter may be heard in chambers or in a courtroom from which the public and press have been excluded, and the records and other papers in any family matter may be ordered by the court to be kept confidential and not to be open to inspection except under order of the court or a judge thereof.'' COMMENTARY—2003: The public and press enjoy a right of access to attend trials in civil as well as criminal cases. Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court , 478 U.S. 1, 10, 106 S. Ct. 2735, 92 L. Ed. 2d 1 (1986); Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court , 457 U.S. 596, 606, 102 S. Ct. 2613, 73 L. Ed. 2d 248 (1982); Westmoreland v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. , 752 F.2d 16, 22 (2d Cir. 1984). For a further discussion of court closure, see the Commen- tary to Sections 11-20 and 42-49. It is intended that the above rule also apply to family support magistrates. HISTORY—2005: Prior to 2005, the third sentence of sub- section (d) read: ''The time, date and scope of any such order shall be in writing and shall be signed by the judicial authority and be entered by the court clerk in the court file.'' COMMENTARY—2005: As used in subsection (a) above, the words ''Except as otherwise provided by law'' are intended to exempt from the operation of this rule all established proce- dures for the closure of courtroom proceedings as required or permitted by statute; e.g., General Statutes §§ 19a-583 (a) confidential HIV-related information), 36a-21 (b) (pertaining to court proceedings at which certain records of the Department of Banking are disclosed), 46b-11 (pertaining to hearings in family relations matters), 54-86c (b) (pertaining to the disclo- sure of exculpatory information or material), 54-86f (pertaining to the admissibility of evidence of sexual conduct) and 54-86g (pertaining to the testimony of a victim of child abuse); other rules of practice; e.g., Practice Book Section 40-43; and/or controlling state or federal case law. The above amendment to subsection (d) establishes a mechanism by which the public and the press, who are empow- ered by this rule to object to pending motions to close the courtroom in family matters, will receive timely notice of the court's disposition of such motions. HISTORY—2012: Prior to 2012, the last sentence of sub- section (e) read: ''A copy of the short calendar page containing the aforesaid section shall, upon issuance of the short calen- dar, be posted on a bulletin board adjacent to the clerk's office and accessible to the public.'' COMMENTARY—2012: intended to provide for the electronic filing and processing of documents and orders, and the maintenance of court records, where the present terminology, filing requirements or pro- cesses that are applicable in a paper environment result in confusion or redundancy when applied to an electronic envi- ronment.