(a) Trials in open court; In regular courtroom. All trials on the merits must be conducted in open court provided that the court may exclude witnesses as provided in the Idaho Rules of Evidence. So far as convenient, trials must be in a regular courtroom, but all trials or hearings and all judgments and orders issued by a court are deemed to have been done in open court regardless of the place held.
Rule 42.1.Trials and hearings in open court; where held
Title VI: Alternative Dispute Resolution and Trial · Last amended July 1, 2016 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 42.1 requires civil trials on the merits to be conducted in open court, ordinarily in a regular courtroom, while allowing most hearings other than trials or evidentiary hearings to be held outside the county where the case is pending.
Full Text of Rule 42.1
(b) Hearings outside the county. Any hearing, except a trial or evidentiary hearing, may be held outside the county in which the action was filed or transferred for change of venue. By stipulation of the parties, a trial or evidentiary hearing may be held outside the county in which the action was filed or transferred for change of venue.
Amendment History
(Adopted March 1, 2016, effective July 1, 2016.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 42.1 states a default that runs through the whole system: trials on the merits happen in open court, subject to the court's power to exclude witnesses under the Idaho Rules of Evidence. So far as it is convenient, that means a regular courtroom, but the rule makes clear that the label of "open court" attaches to a trial, hearing, judgment, or order no matter where it physically takes place -- the openness requirement is about public accountability, not about the specific room.
Rule 42.1(b) addresses geography rather than openness. Most hearings -- anything short of a trial or an evidentiary hearing -- can be held outside the county where the action was filed or transferred after a change of venue, without needing anyone's agreement. A trial or an evidentiary hearing is different: moving one outside the county takes a stipulation from the parties, reflecting that trials and evidentiary hearings carry more at stake than routine hearings and deserve the parties' consent before the setting changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a civil trial always have to happen in a courtroom?
So far as convenient, yes, but the rule is not rigid about the physical room. A trial, hearing, judgment, or order is treated as done in open court regardless of where it takes place, so the emphasis is on the proceeding being public and on the record.
Can witnesses be excluded from the courtroom during trial?
Yes. Rule 42.1(a) allows the court to exclude witnesses as provided in the Idaho Rules of Evidence, even though the trial itself remains open court.
Can a hearing be held in a different county than where the case was filed?
Yes, for most hearings. Anything short of a trial or an evidentiary hearing can be held outside the county where the action is pending or was transferred to, without requiring the parties' agreement.
What about moving an actual trial to a different county for convenience?
That requires the parties to stipulate. Unlike routine hearings, a trial or evidentiary hearing can only be held outside the filing or transferee county if all parties agree to it.
Why does it matter whether a proceeding is officially in "open court"?
Because Rule 42.1 ties several other procedural consequences to that label -- treating the proceeding as public and on the record -- regardless of the room or building where it happens, which keeps the substance of open-court practice consistent even when logistics vary.
Source & verification. Rule text
are reproduced verbatim from the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Idaho. Last verified July 14, 2026. ·
Official source
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