Vermont

Delinquency and dependency proceedings: The general public is excluded from juvenile court proceedings in Vermont, although the court may admit people with a proper interest in the case or in the work of the court. Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 33, § 5110 (2012). Interpreting this statute, the state Supreme Court found that the law imposes a mandatory closure rule in juvenile court proceedings and rejected a lower court holding that the statute violated the First Amendment. In re J.S., 438 A.2d 1125, 1129 (Vt. 1981). This holding was limited to proceedings already in juvenile court. Proceedings prior to transfer are presumptively open in Vermont, given the need to accommodate the First Amendment and the alleged juvenile delinquent’s confidentiality interests. In re K.F., 559 A.2d 663, 664—65 (Vt. 1989) (holding that proceedings against a juvenile charged with manslaughter would be confidential only after transfer to the juvenile court).

Delinquency and dependency records: Juvenile court and law enforcement records are confidential and not open to public inspection except by certain individuals and agencies designated by statute. However, this general rule of confidentiality does not apply to delinquency records of juveniles who are prosecuted as adults or those that the court orders to be open in the interests of the child. Id. § 5117.

Restrictions on coverage: Vermont law allows victims 12 years old or younger and those who are mentally ill or mentally impaired regardless of age to testify about abuse, neglect, exploitation or sexual offenses in a criminal or civil proceeding via video-recorded testimony or closed-circuit television. The law does not specify whether the media and public may remain in the courtroom when this testimony is broadcast there. Vt. R. Evid. 807. Although court rules governing the recording of court proceedings do not specifically restrict coverage of minors, the reporter’s note accompanying the rule suggests that coverage may be inappropriate for cases in which the victim is a minor. The decision is left to the discretion of the trial judge to evaluate on a case-by-case basis. Vt. R. Civ. P. 79.2; Vt. R. Crim. P. 53.