Rule 77.The Family Court; duties of the Clerk; records and exhibits

Always open. The Family Court is deemed always open for the transaction of business, and may at any time make any order, including a final one. Not a metaphor: it is what allows relief to be sought outside sitting hours, and it is why Rule 65.2 works.

Notice of rule changes. The Clerk gives all members of the Bar of this State notice of any amendment to the rules 30 days in advance of its effective date. A profession is not expected to discover a change in procedure by tripping over it.

Records and exhibits. The Clerk has custody of the court's records and papers, and may not permit an original record, paper or exhibit to leave that custody except at the court's direction or as a statute or these rules provide. Exhibits are not removed before the time these rules provide, except on motion or on stipulation and order of the court.

After a case is finally determined and the time for appeal has passed with no appeal filed, the party who introduced the exhibits removes them; if they are not collected within 1 year following the time for appeal, the court may dispose of them. The restriction reads as housekeeping and is not. The exhibits in this court are photographs, medical records, message logs and financial documents about children, and the file is closed to the public under Rule 42.2 — controlling what leaves the building is part of the same protection.

Opinions. Every written opinion, letter opinions included, bears the date of the last oral argument, brief or other final submission, and the date the opinion or order was filed. Both dates together show how long a decision took — a quiet piece of accountability.

Captioning. Proceedings are captioned and reported with the full names of the individual parties, except that adoption, termination of parental rights, custody and visitation matters — and any other domestic relations matter the trial court in its discretion deems sensitive — are captioned and reported by initials only. That last clause is the useful one: the list is a floor, and the judge may extend it.