D. Statutes and court rules

In addition, public access to court proceedings and records often will be governed by statute or court rule. For example, Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 77(b) provides that “[e]very trial on the merits must be conducted in open court and, so far as convenient, in a regular courtroom,” and Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 43(a) provides that “the witnesses’ testimony must be taken in open court unless a federal statute, the Federal Rules of Evidence, these rules, or other rules adopted by the Supreme Court provide otherwise.”