Guideline 5:00A
Like ex parte hearings, hearings after notice should be held in the courtroom and recorded. They should never be held in the judge’s lobby or off the record.
Hearings should presumptively be open to the public. Closing the courtroom requires good cause and must be based on specific findings made on the record. Closing the courtroom should be a very rare occurrence.
Commentary
Despite the emotional and volatile issues often involved in a c. 209A hearing, the matter should be treated like any other civil proceeding and heard in open court. “Generally, public access to judicial proceedings may not be abridged absent an overriding interest based on findings that closure is essential to preserve higher values and is narrowly tailored to serve that interest.” Boston Herald, Inc. v. Superior Court Dep’t of the Trial Court, 421 Mass. 502, 505 (1995). Closure of the courtroom may occur if the following four requirements are met: “[1] the party seeking to close the hearing must advance an overriding interest that is likely to be prejudiced, [2] the closure must be no broader than necessary to protect that interest, [3] the judge must consider reasonable alternatives to closing the proceeding, and [4] the judge must make findings adequate to support the closure.” Id. at 506, quoting Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39, 48 (1984). Two-party hearings should not be conducted at sidebar. If particularly sensitive issues may arise during the course of the hearing, the judge should consider moving the matter to a less crowded courtroom rather than bringing the parties to sidebar.
Like any other hearing, the proceedings should be recorded and the public has a right to access these recordings. The public does not, however, have the right to access the plaintiff’s residential address, residential telephone number and workplace name, workplace address, and workplace telephone number. G.L. c. 209A, § 8. Such information “shall be confidential and withheld from public inspection.” Id. If, during the hearing, it is necessary to disclose this information, the judge should direct the clerk to seal that portion of the audio so that this information remains inaccessible to the public. If the clerk does not press the “seal” button prior to address information being disclosed on the record, then the clerk can send an email to mass.support@fortherecord.com, designating the date, court, courtroom, and start and stop time of the segment that should be impounded.
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| Last updated: | October 20, 2025 |
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