Jon & Kate's divorce record will be sealed

Jon and Kate Gosselin have shifted their divorce case out of their hometown in Berks County to Montgomery County, which is 50 miles away, the AP reported. It could be because divorce records are open in Berks but sealed in Montgomery. The policy in Montgomery might be open to a legal challenge, however, because the Pennsylvania Constitution declares that "all courts shall be open."

Jon and Kate Gosselin don't live in Montgomery County, Pa. So why are the stars of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" getting divorced there?

One likely answer: to take advantage of an unusual local rule that keeps prying eyes away from divorce records. In Montgomery County, a wealthy enclave outside Philadelphia, divorce filings are automatically placed under seal — barring access to the media and the public and allowing fractious couples like the Gosselins to dissolve their broken marriages in private.

The rule was written decades ago, before no-fault divorce became an option and at a time when divorce petitions tended to be more explosive and salacious than they are today, said Richard Hodgson, the county's president judge.

More here.