Opinion ID: 2637358
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Exclusion of the Media from the Courtroom

Text: {2} On September 5, 2000, the children's court prohibited the media from attending all of the court proceedings in Anamarie M.'s case. The court noted that NMSA 1978, § 32A-4-20(D) (1999) conditions media access on a requirement that the press refrain from divulging information that would identify a child, parent, guardian, or custodian, a condition which could not be met in this case due to the extensive pre-hearing media coverage of Anamarie M.'s case. The court then found that further coverage of Anamarie M.'s case in the media would not be in the best interests of the child and excluded the media from the courtroom. Petitioners challenge this exclusion. {3} Section 32A-4-20(D) provides that: Accredited representatives of the news media shall be allowed to be present at closed hearings, subject to the condition that they refrain from divulging information that would identify any child involved in the proceedings or the parent, guardian or custodian of that child and subject to enabling regulations as the court finds necessary for the maintenance of order and decorum and for the furtherance of the purposes of the Children's Code [this chapter]. Petitioners concede that any media coverage of the proceedings would identify parties in this case because of the extensive pre-hearing media coverage. Petitioners argue that their inability to comply with the statutory preconditions regarding confidentiality renders this part of Section 32A-4-20(D) moot. They further argue that because the confidentiality provision is moot, it should be read out of the statute, thereby creating a mandatory right of access to the proceedings. We disagree. {4} Historically, the media has not enjoyed a right of access to child abuse and neglect proceedings, which have been traditionally closed to both the media and the public. See, e.g., State ex rel. Dispatch Printing Co. v. Solove, 52 Ohio St.3d 6, 556 N.E.2d 439, 449 (1990) (The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that juvenile court proceedings have historically been closed to the public.) (citing Smith v. Daily Mail Publ'g Co., 443 U.S. 97, 105, 99 S.Ct. 2667, 61 L.Ed.2d 399 (1979); Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 319, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 39 L.Ed.2d 347 (1974); Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541, 556, 86 S.Ct. 1045, 16 L.Ed.2d 84 (1966)). Section 32A-4-20(D) grants the media a limited statutory right of access to child abuse and neglect proceedings. The right of access enables the public, through the media, to monitor proceedings in order to help ensure that the system as a whole is functioning properly. This right of access is conditioned on a requirement of confidentiality for the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian. The requirement of confidentiality affords individual children and their families privacy and enables the State to comply with federal requirements that states provide safeguards to restrict the use and disclosure of information regarding children receiving foster care and adoption assistance under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. See DHHS Policy Interpretation Question, ACF-CB-PIQ98-01 (June 29, 1998). {5} This evaluation of the goals underlying the enactment of Section 32A-4-20(D) leads us to the conclusion that confidentiality is a necessary precondition to media access to child abuse and neglect proceedings. These interests survive despite the extensive pre-hearing media coverage. We therefore reject Petitioners' contention that where confidentiality cannot be maintained a mandatory right of access is created in the media. Where confidentiality cannot be maintained, as is the case here, the media enjoys no statutory right of access. In the absence of a statutory right of access, the children's court was within its discretion under Section 32A-4-20(D) to decide whether to allow the media to attend the proceedings. Petitioners do not contend that the court abused its discretion in finding that media coverage of the proceedings was not in Anamarie M.'s best interests. Accordingly, we hold that the court properly exercised its authority in excluding the media from the proceedings.