(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, there shall be a presumption that courtroom proceedings shall be open to the public.
Section 11-20.Closure of Courtroom in Civil Cases
Current through August 12, 2025 (2026 Practice Book edition) · Last verified July 9, 2026
In one sentencePresumes courtroom proceedings are open to the public and lets a judge close a proceeding only on written findings that closure protects an overriding interest, no order broader than necessary, with advance notice and a right to appellate review.
Full Text of Section 11-20
(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 notice of such motion being placed on the short calendar 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 seventytwo 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 seventytwo hours from the issuance of such order. The timely filing of any petition for review shall stay such order. (P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 211B.)
Amendment History
(Amended June 28, 1999, to take effect Jan. 1, 2000; amended May 14, 2003, to take effect July 1, 2003; amended June 21, 2004, to take effect Jan. 1, 2005; June 20, 2011, to take effect Jan. 1, 2012.) HISTORY—2003: Prior to July 1, 2003, Sec. 11-20 read: ‘‘Exclusion of the Public; Sealing Files Limiting Disclosure of Documents ‘‘(a) Except as provided in this section and except as otherwise provided by law, including Section 13-5, the judicial authority shall not order that the public, which may include the news media, be excluded from any portion of a proceeding and shall not order that any files, affidavits, documents, or other materials on file with the court or filed in connection with a court proceeding be sealed or their disclosure limited. ‘‘(b) Upon motion of any party, or upon its own motion, the judicial authority may order that the public be excluded from any portion of a proceeding and may order that files, affidavits, documents or other materials on file with the court or filed in connection with a court proceeding be sealed or their disclosure limited 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 or in viewing such materials. Any such order shall be no broader than necessary to protect such overriding interest. ‘‘(c) In connection with any order issued pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the judicial authority shall, on the record in open court, articulate the overriding interest being protected and shall specify its findings underlying such order. The time and date of any such order shall be entered by the court clerk in the court file together with such order. ‘‘(d) With the exception of orders concerning any session of court conducted pursuant to General Statutes §§ 46b-11, 46b-49, 46b-122 or any other provision of the General Statutes under which the judicial authority is authorized to close proceedings, whether at a pretrial or trial stage, no order excluding the public from any portion of a 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. ‘‘(e) With the exception of orders concerning the confidentiality of records and other papers, issued pursuant to General Statutes § 46b-11 or any other provision of the General Statutes under which the court is authorized to seal or limit the disclosure of files, affidavits, documents or other materials, whether at a pretrial or trial stage, any person affected by a court order that seals or limits the disclosure of any files, documents or other materials on file with the court or filed in connection with a court proceeding, 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. Nothing under this subsection shall operate as a stay of such sealing order. ‘‘(f) The provisions of this section shall not apply to settlement agreements which have not been incorporated into a judgment of the court.’’
Rules Committee Commentary
Plain-English Summary
Connecticut courtrooms start from a presumption of openness: proceedings are presumed public, and a judge cannot exclude the public from any part of a proceeding except as this section or other law allows. On written motion by a party, or on its own motion, the judicial authority may exclude the public only after concluding that closure is necessary to protect an interest that outweighs the public’s interest in attending. The judge must first consider reasonable alternatives, and any closure order can be no broader than necessary. The parties agreeing to close the courtroom is not enough on its own to justify the order.
Before closing, the judge must state the overriding interest being protected and the specific findings behind the order — findings that reveal confidential information can be sealed. The order’s time, date, and scope must be in a signed writing, entered in the court file, and posted on the Judicial Branch website and a bulletin board by the clerk’s office, and the judge must either include a transcript of the decision in the file or write a memorandum explaining it. A motion to close must be filed at least fourteen days before the proceeding, placed on the short calendar under a “Motions to Seal or Close” heading with public notice, though the motion itself may be filed under seal with the judge’s permission. Except where other statutes authorize closure, no closure order takes effect until seventy-two hours after it issues, and anyone affected can petition the Appellate Court for review within that seventy-two-hour window — a timely petition automatically stays the order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Connecticut judge close a courtroom just because both sides agree?
No. The rule states that an agreement of the parties to close the courtroom is not, by itself, a sufficient basis for a closure order.
What must a judge find before closing a courtroom?
The judge must conclude closure is necessary to protect an interest that overrides the public’s interest in attending, consider reasonable alternatives first, and then articulate that overriding interest and the specific findings supporting the order in a signed writing.
How much notice does the public get before a courtroom-closure hearing?
The motion must be filed at least fourteen days before the proceeding and placed on the short calendar under a “Motions to Seal or Close” heading, with notice posted on the Judicial Branch website and the clerk’s office bulletin board.
Can I challenge a courtroom-closure order?
Yes. Anyone affected can file a petition for review with the Appellate Court within seventy-two hours of the order, and a timely petition automatically stays the closure.
Source & verification. The section text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Connecticut Practice Book (Conn. Practice Book § 11-20). Prescribed by the Judges of the Superior Court of Connecticut (Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 51-14). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 9, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: closing the courtroom Connecticut civil casepublic access to court proceedings CTmotion to close courtroom notice requirementsappealing an order excluding the public
COMMENTARY—2003: The public and press enjoy a right of access to attend trials in civil as well as criminal cases. Westmoreland v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. , 752 F.2d 16, 22 (2d Cir. 1984); Publicker Industries, Inc. v. Cohen , 733 F.2d 1059, 1071 (3d Cir. 1984). This right is implicit in the first and fourteenth amendments. Westmoreland v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. , supra, 21. In civil cases, public access to trials ‘‘enhances the quality and safeguards the integrity of the factfinding process . . . fosters an appearance of fairness . . . and heightens public respect for the judicial process . . . while permitting the public to participate in and serve as a check upon the judicial process—an essential component in our structure of self government . . . .’’ (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 23. For a further discussion of court closure, see the Commentary to Section 42-49. Because this section no longer deals with the sealing of documents, subsections (e) and (f) have been transferred, with revisions, to Section 11-20A. HISTORY—2005: Prior to 2005, the third sentence of subsection (d) read: ‘‘The time, date and scope of any such order shall be in writing and shall be signed by the judicial authority and be entered by the court clerk in the court file.’’
COMMENTARY—2005: As used in subsection (a) above, the words ‘‘Except as otherwise provided by law’’ are intended to exempt from the operation of this rule all established procedures for the closure of courtroom proceedings as required or permitted by statute; e.g., General Statutes §§ 19a-583 (a) (10) (D) (pertaining to court proceedings as to disclosure of confidential HIV-related information), 36a-21 (b) (pertaining to court proceedings at which certain records of the Department of Banking are disclosed), 46b-11 (pertaining to hearings in family relations matters), 54-86c (b) (pertaining to the disclosure of exculpatory information or material), 54-86f (pertaining to the admissibility of evidence of sexual conduct) and 54-86g (pertaining to the testimony of a victim of child abuse); other rules of practice; e.g., Practice Book Section 40-43; and/or controlling state or federal case law. The above amendment to subsection (d) establishes a mechanism by which the public and the press, who are empowered by this rule to object to pending motions to close the courtroom in civil matters, will receive timely notice of the court’s disposition of such motions. General Statutes § 51-164x (a) gives any person affected by a court closure order in a civil action the right to the review of such order by filing a petition for review with the Appellate Court within seventytwo hours from the issuance of the order. HISTORY—2012: In 2012, in beginning of the fifth sentence of subsection (e), ‘‘notice of such motion being placed on’’ was substituted for ‘‘copy of,’’ before ‘‘the short calendar.’’ Also, in that same sentence, ‘‘page containing the aforesaid section’’ was deleted, after ‘‘short calendar.’’
COMMENTARY—2012: The above amendment is intended to provide for the electronic filing and processing of documents and orders, and the maintenance of court records, where the present terminology, filing requirements or processes that are applicable in a paper environment result in confusion or redundancy when applied to an electronic environment.