N.J. guidelines clarify what court documents are public

In September, a new rule adopted by New Jersey's highest court will define evidence admitted in courts as "open for public inspection," the Star-Ledger reported. Private records will include financial information in divorce proceedings and personal identifiers such as credit card and Social Security numbers. Thomas Cafferty, a lawyer for the New Jersey Press Association said, "It was less than clear before what would be accessible to the public. I think the Albin report makes it clear."

For decades, some residents could not get court documents they were entitled to see because the judiciary had limited guidelines on which records were available for public viewing.

That's expected to change next month when a new rule recently adopted by the state's highest court goes into effect.

Evidence admitted in New Jersey courts are just some of the records specifically defined as "open for public inspection" in the state's new guidelines.

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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.

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Secret Divorce Filings, And the Former Law Partners Who Grant Them

In early February, (Speaker of the House) Glenn and Susan Richardson walked into the Paulding County Courthouse, filed for an uncontested divorce and got their case sealed from public view.

The handling of the divorce raised questions as to whether the speaker of the state House received preferential treatment from Judge James Osborne, who was not initially assigned the case but signed the order placing it under wraps. The judge, once the speaker's law partner, is now weighing a request to unseal the divorce file. He said Thursday that he has treated the Richardsons' request like any other.

he case is being closely watched, particularly by divorce lawyers across the state. They say if the speaker succeeds in keeping the file sealed, it could lead to an avalanche of requests to close the files of other broken marriages.

"If they carve out an exception for him, I guarantee you we'll all be trying to seal divorce records," said John Lyndon, a family law attorney in Athens. "There's no doubt about it."

Lyndon has had mixed results sealing divorce records and said judges more often than not refuse to do it. When successful, he said he gives clients this caveat: "If challenged, I wouldn't expect it to hold up."

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