Sealing or Limiting Disclosure

of Documents in Criminal Cases (a) Except as otherwise provided by law, there shall be a presumption that documents filed with the court shall be available to the public. (b) Except as provided in this section and except as otherwise provided by law, including Sections 36-2, 40-29 and 40-40 through 40-43 and General Statutes § 54-33c, the judicial authority 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. (c) Upon written motion of the prosecuting authority or of the defendant, or upon its own motion, the judicial authority may order that files, affida- vits, documents, or other materials on file or lodged with the court or in connection with a court proceeding be sealed or their disclosure limited 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 viewing such materials. 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 seal or limit the disclo- sure of documents on file with the court or filed in connection with a court proceeding 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 and the duration of such order. If any finding would reveal information enti- tled to remain confidential, those findings may be 424 © Copyrighted by the Secretary of the State of the State of Connecticut SUPERIOR COURT—PROCEDURE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS