Why are divorce records open to the public, including video depositions, etc.? Is there any public benefit?
The formation of a marriage is a public event, affecting property rights, inheritance rights, custody rights, durable power of attorney, etc.
The dissolution of a marriage has similar legal repercussions, and so it is also a public event. If the public has to deal with the consequences, the public has a right to know why.
Depends on your jurisdiction. In many Canadian jurisdictions, family law files are not open to the public. The result of a family court case is a matter of public record, but the gory details are not necessarily so.
The obvious and apparent reason is that proceedings in the public’s courts are public in the absence of specific ruling, order, court rule or statute that closes them. Many juvenile proceeding are closed especially when some sort of abusive or aberrant behavior is involved. Court proceeding often effect title to property, especially real estate, and an the market in that property needs a way to find out if the property comes with strings or an encumbrance. Do you really want to buy a house to find out that it is encumbered with some stranger’s child support or alimony obligation? In other words, in general the public has a need to know. This is aside from the consideration that both the civil and criminal justice systems need to demonstrate how they work in order to bolster the public’s confidence in them as the approved method of resolving civil disputes and keeping the lawless in check.
The legislature of my state, in the grip of some sort of Americans for Family Values hysteria, has ordained that divorce records are to be closed until the final decree is entered. This means that the market my have some items of property in circulation that are subject to encumbrances for temporary support accrued during the pendency of the case. The legislature’s rational was that if the court records were not opened then people who started divorces would not feel compelled to go through with it because of the publicity. My legislature is not composed of deep thinkers.
I guess I was wondering if there’s any concern that opposing sides in the divorce will just try to shame each other into submission with public details (true or not). Seems that the courts would want to have some way to prevent that by not allowing such an advantage.