NCJ Number
90404
Journal
Michigan Law Review Volume: 81 Issue: 6 Dated: (May 1983) Pages: 1540-1565
Date Published
1983
Length
26 pages
Annotation
The right of the public to attend criminal trials should extend to juvenile delinquency hearings. This would fulfill the first amendment's structural role of ensuring a free flow of information necessary to effective self-government and the checking of the abuse of official power.
Abstract
In the two recent cases of the Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court and Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a first amendment right of access to criminal trials; however, the Court's reasoning suggests a constitutional right of access to juvenile court proceedings. Although the State has a legitimate interest in the confidentiality of juvenile court proceedings, this interest does not justify the mandatory or routine closure of juvenile delinquency hearings. The judge may, however, impose reasonable restriction on access to the juvenile courtroom upon a showing that an 'overriding interest articulated in findings' justifies an infringement of first amendment rights most narrowly tailored to the protection of such a compelling interest. Courts wary of the doctrinal challenges posed by such an approach should, at a minimum, close only the portion of the proceeding implicating the overriding interest and make available contemporaneous transcripts of any closed proceedings. A total of 142 footnotes are provided.