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March 12, 2026 Clouds | 43°F
The 194th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Bill S.1035 194th (Current)

An Act relative to increasing transparency in juvenile court proceedings

By Mr. Brownsberger, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1035) of William N. Brownsberger for legislation relative to increase transparency in juvenile court proceedings. The Judiciary.

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Bill Information

Presenter:
William N. Brownsberger
Status:
Referred to Joint Committee on the Judiciary
S1035 would create a presumption for open juvenile sessions for delinquency and care and protection cases. Under current law, these proceedings are closed to the public. Opening or closing juvenile sessions is not a binary/either or proposition. The bill promotes access while precluding the publication of names of youths and parties and precludes the dissemination of juvenile records. In determining whether to open a juvenile session, the judge will hear from parties with privacy interests, as well as from the youth and parents regarding their positions. This bill allows the presiding judge to exclude the public generally or a person from the juvenile court proceeding if the judge makes a factual determination based on evidence that exclusion is warranted. If this determination is made, the presiding judge is required to make written or oral findings on the record. In 2005, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges passed a resolution supporting having juvenile and family courts be presumed open, with judicial discretion to close them, as this bill would do. As of 2019, twenty-four states have presumptively open juvenile hearings. Twenty other states have presumptively open juvenile court proceedings for dependency hearings. By creating additional transparency in these court proceedings, this bill aims to promote greater due process for youth and families and accountability across the juvenile justice system in Massachusetts.
* The bill summary was created by the Primary Sponsor of the bill; no committee of the General Court certifies the accuracy of its contents.

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