Bill Text: DE SB235 | 2013-2014 | 147th General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: An Act To Amend Titles 13 And 16 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Public Access To Family Court Proceedings.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 10-5)
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2014-06-19 - Introduced and Assigned to House Administration Committee in House [SB235 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2013-SB235-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Sen. Ennis & Sen. Lawson & Rep. Mitchell & Rep. Ramone |
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Sens. Bushweller, Simpson; Reps. Bolden, Briggs King, Hudson, Kenton, Miro, Mulrooney, Spiegelman, Wilson |
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DELAWARE STATE SENATE 147th GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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SENATE BILL NO. 235 |
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AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 13 AND 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS TO FAMILY COURT PROCEEDINGS. |
Section 1. Amend Chapter 8, Title 13 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§ 8-105 Protection of participants.
(a) Notwithstanding
any other law concerning public hearings and records, any hearing or trial
under this chapter shall be held in closed court without admittance
of any person other than those necessary to the action or proceeding, presumed
a public proceeding, unless the court otherwise directs for good cause,
including:
(1) Safety concerns of the Court or the parties;
(2) The position of the parties, including children;
(3) The effect of the release of private information;
(4) The opinion of medical and behavioral professionals involved with any of the parties or the children;
(5) The likelihood of harm from the release of any medical or financial information; or
(6) Any other factor the Court finds where privacy access serves an overriding interest and no less restrictive means is available.
Section 2. Amend Chapter 15, Title 13 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§1516 Hearings; use of masters; impoundment; assignment of counsel.
(a) All
hearings and trials shall be private, but for reasons appearing sufficient
to the Court any hearing or trial may be opened to any person who has a direct
and legitimate interest in the particular case, or a legitimate educational or
research interest in the work of the Court presumed public proceedings,
unless the court otherwise directs for good cause, including:
(1) Safety concerns of the Court or the parties;
(2) The position of the parties, including children;
(3) The effect of the release of private information;
(4) The opinion of medical and behavioral professionals involved with any of the parties or the children;
(5) The likelihood of harm from the release of any medical or financial information; or
(6) Any other factor the Court finds where privacy access serves an overriding interest and no less restrictive means is available.
Section 3. Amend Chapter 7, Title 13 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§726 Hearings.
(a) The
Court without a jury shall determine questions of law and fact. All hearings
and trials shall be conducted in private but the Court may admit any person
who has a direct and legitimate interest in the particular case or a legitimate
educational or research interest in the work of the Court , unless the
court otherwise directs for good cause, including:
(1) Safety concerns of the Court or the parties;
(2) Position of the parties regarding public access;
(3) Position of the child or a representative of the child to have a support person present;
(4) Position of the parties to have a support person;
(5) The effect public access may have on the proceeding;
(6) The opinion of medical and behavioral professionals involved with any of the parties or the children;
(7) Legitimate academic or research interest in the work of the Court; or
(8) Any other factor the Court finds where public access serves an important interest and no other means is available.
Section 4. Amend Chapter 9, Title 13 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§924 Confidential nature of Court records.
(a) Except as provided in subchapter III of this chapter, all court records of any adoption shall be treated as strictly confidential and shall be kept by the Clerk of the Court in a sealed container which shall be opened only upon the order of the Judge of Family Court concerned. Nothing in this section shall be construed in such a way as to restrict the Department or licensed agency from releasing nonidentifying information in its records to any of the parties to the adoption. Except as otherwise provided in §929 and subchapter III of this title, identifying information, such as names and addresses, shall not be released except by order of the Court or with the consent of all the parties involved when it is deemed by the agency to be in the adoptee's best interest, except in cases where the adopted individual's health or the health of any blood relative of the adopted individual is concerned and the adoption agency has refused to release the health information to the individual, the Court may, through petition by the adopted individual, permit the party to inspect only that part of the adoption agency or Court record containing medical information for health reasons. The Court shall order open to inspection by the individual the part of the record containing the needed medical information if the Court finds that any medical information in the Court or adoption agency record of the individual's adoption is needed for the health of the individual or of any blood relative of the individual. This section shall apply to information as to the identification and location of any biological sibling of the individual if the individual's health or the health of any blood relative of the individual depends on the sibling's participation in any medical treatment. If Family Court receives a report stating that a birth parent, another offspring of the birth parent or the adoptee has a genetically transmitted disorder or a family pattern of a disease, Family Court shall instruct the agency that was involved with the adoption or the termination of parental rights to conduct a diligent search for the adult adoptee, adoptive parents of a minor adoptee or birth parent or parents to inform them of the report.
(b)A judicial officer has discretion to determine whether to grant a request that a hearing be made public based upon these factors:
(1) Safety concerns of the Court or the parties;
(2) Position of the parties regarding public access;
(3) Position of the child or a representative of the child to have a support person present;
(4) Position of the parties to have a support person;
(5) The effect public accessmay have on the proceeding;
(6) The opinion of medical and behavioral professionals involved with any of the parties or the children;
(7) Legitimate academic or research interest in the work of the Court; or
(8) Any other factor the Court finds where public access serves an important interest and no other means is available.
Section 5. Amend Chapter 11, Title 13 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§1107 Time for hearing; preparation of social report.
(c) All
hearings shall be held before the Court privately, but for reasons appearing
sufficient to the Court, the hearing in any particular case may be public unless
the court otherwise directs for good cause, including:
(1) Safety concerns of the Court or the parties;
(2) Position of the parties regarding public access;
(3) Position of the child or a representative of the child to have a support person present;
(4) Position of the parties to have a support person;
(5) The effect public accessmay have on the proceeding;
(6) The opinion of medical and behavioral professionals involved with any of the parties or the children;
(7) Legitimate academic or research interest in the work of the Court; or
(8) Any other factor the Court finds where public access serves an important interest and no other means is available.
Section 6. Amend Chapter 23, Title 13 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§2325 Hearing procedure and notice requirements.
(f) All proceedings under this chapter and all records of such proceedings shall be held before the Court privately, unless the court otherwise directs for good cause, including:
(1) Safety concerns of the Court or the parties;
(2) Position of the parties regarding public access;
(3) Position of the child or a representative of the child to have a support person present;
(4) Position of the parties to have a support person;
(5) The effect public access may have on the proceeding;
6) The opinion of medical and behavioral professionals involved with any of the parties or the children;
(7) Legitimate academic or research interest in the work of the Court; or
(8) Any other factor the Court finds where public access serves an important interest and no other means is available.
Section 7. Amend Chapter 23, Title 13 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§2327 Confidentiality of proceedings.
All proceedings under this chapter shall be held
before the Court privately, but for reasons appearing sufficient to the Court,
the hearing in any particular case may be public.
Section 8. Amend Chapter 24, Title 13 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§2406 Confidentiality of proceedings.
All proceedings
under this chapter and all records of such proceedings shall be held before the
Court privately, except for reasons found sufficient to the Court, a hearing
in any particular case may be made open to the public. , unless the
court otherwise directs for good cause, including:
(1) Safety concerns of the Court or the parties;
(2) Position of the parties regarding public access;
(3) Position of the child or a representative of the child to have a support person present;
(4) Position of the parties to have a support person;
(5) The effect public access may have on the proceeding;
(6) The opinion of medical and behavioral professionals involved with any of the parties or the children;
(7) Legitimate academic or research interest in the work of the Court; or
(8) Any other factor the Court finds where public access serves an important interest and no other means is available.
Section 9. Amend Chapter 9, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§926 Finding of abuse of neglect in child welfare proceeding; binding effect.
(a) In every child welfare proceeding brought by the Division or in which the Division is a party and in which the Division has requested a finding of abuse or neglect and entry on the Registry, the Family Court shall make a finding, by a preponderance of the evidence, as to whether a parent or other party has abused or neglected the child. If the Court finds that a parent or party has abused or neglected the child, it shall order the parent or party to be entered on the Child Protection Registry at the Child Protection Level designated by the Court, as provided in §923 of this title. An order of substantiation may not be stayed pending appeal. The findings of the Family Court are final and binding, and work as issue or claim preclusion for the same incident of abuse or neglect in substantiation proceedings.
(b) Every child welfare proceeding in which the Division has requested a finding of abuse or neglect and entry on the Registry shall be held before the Court privately, unless the court otherwise directs for good cause, including:
(1) Safety concerns of the Court or the parties;
(2) Position of the parties regarding public access;
(3) Position of the child or a representative of the child to have a support person present;
(4) Position of the parties to have a support person;
(5) The effect public access may have on the proceeding;
(6) The opinion of medical and behavioral professionals involved with any of the parties or the children;
(7) Legitimate academic or research interest in the work of the Court; or
(8) Any other factor the Court finds where public access serves an important interest and no other means is available.
SYNOPSIS
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This Bill represents the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on the feasibility of opening Family Court proceedings to the public.The Bill provides that paternity, divorce, property division and alimony hearings are presumed to be public proceedings and that the Court has discretion to hold the proceedings in private for criteria specifically outlined.The Bill also clarifies that adoption, custody, visitation, third party visitation, termination of parental rights, guardianship, permanent guardianship, and Child Protection Registry hearings are private, except that the Court may open the hearings to the public under a specific criteria. |
Author: Senator Ennis
