PNA Legal Hotline: Court records are presumed to be public
From the
PNA Legal
Hotline
By Teri
Henning, General Counsel
and Melissa Melewsky, Media Law Counsel
Pennsylvania
Newspaper Association
Q: A local county court policy restricts
access to all domestic court filings like
divorce, custody, and child support. Pursuant to
the policy, only parties and court personnel are
entitled to access. Aren’t court records
presumptively public?
A: Yes. Judicial records are presumptively public
and should be accessible to the general public
unless a court has ordered a record sealed for
good cause.
Judicial records are presumptively public
pursuant to the United States and Pennsylvania
Constitutions, as well as common law. The
presumption of access can only be overcome if the
party seeking closure can show the need for
secrecy outweighs the right of public access.
Each request for closure must be evaluated on an
individual basis and the court must conduct a
hearing, on the record, to determine whether
closure is appropriate, and issue specific
findings supporting any closure.
A blanket policy that restricts access to an
entire class of judicial records is not
appropriate.
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association attorneys provide member newspapers with advice on government access issues.