Existing law requires the court in any action for divorce to close a proceeding upon the demand of either party to the action. (NRS 125.080) In 2024, the Nevada Supreme Court held that such a statute is unconstitutional because it permits closed court proceedings without the exercise of judicial discretion. (Falconi v. Eighth Judicial District Court in and for the County of Clark, 140 Nev. Adv. Op. 8, 543 P.3d 92 (2024)) Section 6 of this bill repeals this statute. Section 2 of this bill defines the term “family law proceeding” to mean a proceeding conducted pursuant to the provisions of Title 11 of NRS. Section 3 of this bill: (1) establishes that family law proceedings are presumptively open unless an exception applies; and (2) authorizes a court to exercise its discretion and close any such proceeding if the court determines that closure is necessary to serve a compelling interest. Section 3 also requires the court to: (1) consider certain factors when making this determination; and (2) exclude certain persons from the court or chambers if the proceeding is closed. Additionally, section 3 provides that an electronic or video record of a private hearing: (1) is confidential and not open to public inspection, except by the parties, their counsel and necessary staff or experts, unless an exception applies; and (2) must not be distributed, copied or made publicly available.
Section 4 of this bill governs which court records are accessible to the public in family law proceedings. Under section 4, a court is authorized to seal or redact certain court records if the court determines that the sealing or redaction is justified by a compelling interest that outweighs the public interest in access to the court record. Section 4 also: (1) authorizes the court to unseal a court record under certain circumstances; and (2) requires the court to consider certain factors in determining whether to unseal a court record. Section 6 repeals an existing statute governing which court records are accessible to the public in a divorce action, which is being replaced by the provisions of section 4.
Section 5 of this bill prohibits a person from willfully and intentionally posting or displaying in any public manner certain personal identifying information of another person without the consent of the person. Section 5 provides that a person who commits such an unlawful act is guilty of a category C felony.