§ 11-20. Closure of Courtroom in Civil Cases

(a)Except as otherwise provided by law, there shall be a presumption that courtroom proceedings 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 that the public be excluded from any portion of a courtroom proceeding.

(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 preserve an interest which is determined to override the public's interest in attending such proceeding. 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 close the courtroom shall not constitute a sufficient basis for the issuance of such an order.

(d)In connection with any order issued pursuant 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 calendar, 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 copy of the short calendar page containing the aforesaid section shall, upon issuance of the short calendar, be posted on a bulletin board adjacent 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 authority is authorized to close courtroom proceedings, whether at a pretrial or trial stage, no order excluding the public from any portion of a courtroom 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.