(a) Except as provided in Section 214 of the Family Code or any other law, the sittings of every court shall be public.
§ 124.Public sittings; Exclusion from physical access due to availability of remote access not permitted
Title 1. Organization and Jurisdiction · Chapter 6. General Provisions Respecting Courts of Justice · Article 1. Open Court Access · Last amended 2022 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 124 requires that California court sittings be open to the public, bars a court from citing the availability of remote viewing as a reason to keep people out of the courtroom, and requires a public audio or telephone feed whenever a courthouse itself is closed.
Full Text of § 124
(1) The court shall not exclude the public from physical access because remote access is available, unless it is necessary to restrict or limit physical access to protect the health or safety of the public or court personnel.
(2) When a courthouse is physically closed, to the extent permitted by law, the court shall provide, at a minimum, a public audio stream or telephonic means by which to listen to the proceedings. This paragraph does not apply to proceedings pursuant to Section 214 of the Family Code or other law that authorizes or requires a proceeding to be closed.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, “remote access” shall include, but is not limited to, an audio stream that is available on an internet website or telephonic means to listen to a court proceeding.
Plain-English Summary
Section 124 states the basic rule that keeps California courts open: sittings of every court are public, with narrow exceptions carved out elsewhere in the law, such as certain family law proceedings under Family Code § 214. That open-court principle is not new, but subdivision (b) addresses a problem that grew out of the shift toward remote hearings. A court cannot use the fact that people can watch or listen remotely as a reason to bar them from showing up in person. Remote access supplements the public’s right to observe a proceeding; it does not replace it.
Subdivision (b) also covers the reverse situation — a courthouse building itself is closed. When that happens, the court must provide at least a public audio stream or telephone line so people can still listen to what is happening, unless the proceeding falls under an exception such as a closed Family Code § 214 hearing. The section defines “remote access” broadly enough to include an internet audio stream or a telephone dial-in, so a court cannot claim it satisfied the requirement with something more limited.
Read together, the section protects two related interests: the public’s ability to see justice administered in person, and a fallback way to listen in when in-person access is not physically possible. Neither interest depends on the other; a court cannot trade one for the other.
Official Comment
The following official comments are published by the California Law Revision Commission (and, for a few older sections, its predecessor Code Commissioners) alongside the statute itself — not commentary from this site.
1992 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 124 is amended to substitute a reference to Family Code Section 214 for the former Civil Code references. Family Code Section 214 gives the court general authority to direct that the trial of any issue of fact joined in a proceeding under the Family Code be private and to exclude all persons except the officers of the court, the parties, their witnesses, and counsel. Section 124 also recognizes that other provisions of law may qualify the rule stated in Section 124 or provide a contrary rule. Other provisions of the Family Code may provide more restrictive rules that prevail over the rule stated in Family Code Section 214 or may provide special rules concerning exclusion of the public from hearings under the Family Code that prevail over the general rule stated in Section 214. See Fam. Code § 214 Comment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a California court require people to watch a hearing remotely instead of coming to the courthouse?
No. Section 124 bars a court from excluding the public from physical access to a hearing because remote access is also available, except when restricting physical access is necessary to protect health or safety.
What happens if the courthouse itself is closed?
Section 124(b)(2) requires the court to provide at least a public audio stream or telephonic means of listening to the proceeding, unless the case falls under a closed-proceeding exception such as Family Code § 214.
Does Section 124 make every court proceeding open?
It sets the general rule that sittings of every court are public, but subdivision (a) recognizes that Family Code § 214 and other laws can authorize or require specific proceedings to be closed.
What counts as “remote access” under this section?
Section 124(b)(3) defines remote access to include, without limitation, an audio stream available on an internet website or a telephonic means of listening to the proceeding.
Amendment History
Enacted 1872. Repealed and re-enacted Code Amdts 1880 ch 35 § 1. Amended Stats 1971 ch 762 § 2; Stats 1990 ch 1363 § 10 (AB 3532), operative July 1, 1991; Stats 1992 ch 163 § 12 (AB 2641), operative January 1, 1994; Stats 2021 ch 526 § 3 (AB 716), effective January 1, 2022.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: california open court rulepublic access to court hearings californiaremote hearing access ccp 124can courts close courtroom to public californiaaudio stream court proceedings california law