Most Family Court proceedings and files are closed. As a result, only the parties and their attorneys may be present for hearings or access Court documents. Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 9, entitled "A Resolution To Create A Blue Ribbon Task Force To Review Open Family Court Proceedings", established a panel to examine whether more proceedings should be open. On June 9, 2015, Senate Bill 119 was introduced and is based on the recommendations of the Task Force. Under the terms of this legislation paternity, divorce, property division and alimony matters would be presumed to be public, but the Court would retain the discretion to hold the proceedings in private in certain circumstances. Adoption, custody, visitation, third party visitation, Child Protection Registry and child welfare hearings would remain private, but the Family Court may open those hearings to the public in certain circumstances. The Bill, which has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, may be viewed here.
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