Closure of Courtroom in Civil

Cases (Amended May 14, 2003, to take effect July 1, 2003.) (a) Except as otherwise provided by law, there shall be a presumption that courtroom proceed- ings 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 the public be excluded from any portion of a courtroom pro- ceeding. that (c) Upon written 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 pre- serve an interest which is determined to override the public’s interest in attending such proceeding. The judicial authority shall first consider reason- able alternatives to any such order and any such order shall be no broader than necessary to pro- tect 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 pursu- ant 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 and publish by posting both on the Judicial Branch website and on a bulletin board adjacent to the clerk’s office and accessible to the public. 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 calen- dar, 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 adja- cent to the clerk’s office and accessible to the public. (f) With the exception of any provision of the General Statutes under which the judicial author- ity is authorized to close courtroom proceed- ings, whether at a pretrial or trial stage, no order excluding the public from any portion of a court- room proceeding shall be effective until seventy- two hours after it has been issued. Any person affected by such order shall have the right to the review of such order by the filing of a petition for review with the Appellate Court within seventy- two hours from the issuance of such order. The timely filing of any petition for review shall stay such order. (P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 211B.) (Amended June 28, 1999, to take effect Jan. 1, 2000; amended May 14, 2003, to take effect July 1, 2003; amended June 21, 2004, to take effect Jan. 1, 2005; June 20, 2011, to take effect Jan. 1, 2012.) HISTORY—2003: Prior to July 1, 2003, Sec. 11-20 read: ‘‘Exclusion of the Public; Sealing Files Limiting Disclosure of Documents ‘‘(a) Except as provided in this section and except as other- wise provided by law, including Section 13-5, the judicial authority shall not order that the public, which may include the news media, be excluded from any portion of a proceeding and shall not order that any files, affidavits, documents, or other materials on file with the court or filed in connection with a court proceeding be sealed or their disclosure limited. ‘‘(b) 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 proceeding and may order that files, affidavits, documents or other materials on file with the court or filed in connection with a court proceeding be sealed or their disclo- sure limited 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 or in viewing such materials. Any such order shall be no broader than necessary to protect such overriding interest. ‘‘(c) In connection with any order issued pursuant to subsec- tion (b) of this section, the judicial authority shall, on the record in open court, articulate the overriding interest being protected and shall specify its findings underlying such order. The time and date of any such order shall be entered by the court clerk in the court file together with such order. ‘‘(d) With the exception of orders concerning any session of court conducted pursuant to General Statutes §§ 46b-11, 46b-49, 46b-122 or any other provision of the General Statutes under which the judicial authority is authorized to close pro- ceedings, whether at a pretrial or trial stage, no order excluding 216 © Copyrighted by the Secretary of the State of the State of Connecticut SUPERIOR COURT—PROCEDURE IN CIVIL MATTERS