Iowa

Delinquency and dependency proceedings: Juvenile court proceedings generally are open in Iowa, although the court, on the motion of any of the parties or on its own, may exclude the public from the hearing if the court determines that the possibility of damage or harm to the child outweighs the public’s interest in an open hearing. Upon closing the hearing to the public, however, the court may admit those people with a direct interest in the case or in the work of the court. Iowa Code Ann. §§ 232.39, 232.92 (West 2012).

Delinquency and dependency records: Juvenile court records generally are confidential and may not be publicly disclosed except to certain individuals and agencies designated by statute and by court order to people with a direct interest in the proceeding or in the work of the court. Official juvenile court records in cases alleging delinquency, including delinquency complaints, are public records, but they are subject to several restrictions, including confidentiality orders and sealing. When the court excludes the public from a hearing, the transcript of the proceeding is not considered a public record, and inspection and disclosure of its contents are prohibited except by court order. Id. § 232.147.

Records and files of a criminal or juvenile justice agency concerning a child involved in a delinquent act are public records, but they are subject to several restrictions, including confidentiality orders and sealing. However, the records are not subject to sealing if the juvenile is being prosecuted as an adult for a criminal offense. Criminal or juvenile justice agencies may disclose the name of a juvenile who escaped from an institution to which he or she was committed, as well as the facts surrounding the escape and the offense or alleged offense that resulted in the placement of the juvenile in the facility. Id. § 232.149.

Upon request from a member of the public, the state Department of Human Services must disclose certain information relating to a case of founded child abuse involving the fatality or near fatality of a child. If the request is received before or during an assessment of the case, the director of human services or the director’s designee must initially disclose whether or not the assessment will be or is being performed. Otherwise, within five business days of receiving the request or completing the assessment, whichever is later, the director of human services or the director’s designee must release any relevant child abuse information concerning the child or the child’s family and the department’s response and findings. This information will include a summary of information as to whether the child or a member of the child’s family was utilizing social services provided by the department at the time of the fatality or near fatality or within the previous five years, information about the department’s response and findings in the case and any recommendations it made to the county attorney or juvenile court. But the department will not release information that is confidential under federal law or information that would identify the reporter of the child abuse or be likely, in the director’s or designee’s reasonable belief, to cause mental or physical harm to a sibling of the child or another child in the house, jeopardize the prosecution or rights of any alleged perpetrator of the fatality or near fatality or undermine an ongoing or future criminal investigation. If a person who requested such information does not believe the department has substantially complied with the request, the person may apply to the juvenile court for an order for disclosure of additional information. Also, if an individual who is the subject of a child abuse report or another party involved in a child abuse assessment publicly releases information concerning the case, including information that would otherwise be confidential, the director of human services or the director’s designee may respond with relevant information about the case. Id. § 235A.15.

Restrictions on coverage: Iowa court rules allow a magistrate judge to close the courtroom during a preliminary hearing in which the judge decides whether there is probable cause to believe that an indictable offense, including one involving a minor, has been committed and that the defendant committed it if the defendant requests such closure. The media and public may not remain in the courtroom in such cases. Iowa Ct. R. 2.2. The law also allows victims and witnesses 17 years old or younger and those who are mentally ill or intellectually or developmentally disabled regardless of age to testify in a criminal proceeding outside the presence of the defendant via video-recorded testimony or closed-circuit television. The statute does not specify whether the media and public may remain in the courtroom when this testimony is broadcast there. Iowa Code Ann. § 915.38.

Cameras: Although court rules governing expanded media coverage of court proceedings specifically prohibit the broadcasting, recording and photographing of juvenile proceedings, such coverage is allowed in cases where all parties, including the parent or guardian of a minor child, consent on the record to the media coverage. Iowa Ct. R. 25.2.