Rules of Court · Part 5 · New Jersey
R. 5:17-4 New Jersey Rules of Court, R. 5:17-4: Closed Hearings; Records, rendered as code with every cross-reference linked
Closed Hearings; Records
(a) Hearings. Every hearing shall be conducted in private with only such persons in attendance as have a direct involvement in the proceeding, except as hereinafter provided. At the judge's discretion, attendance may also be permitted at any private hearing of any person who has an interest in the work of the court; provided, however, that such person shall agree not to record, disclose or publish the names, photographs or other identifying data with respect to any of the participants in the hearing. Upon objection by any family member involved in the hearing or by the attorney of any family member, any person seeking permission to attend because of interest in the work of the court may be excluded from any hearing involving said juvenile.
(b) Records. Social, medical, psychological, legal, and other records of the court or family intake services, and records of law enforcement agencies, found to be part of a juvenile-family crisis matter, shall be strictly safeguarded from public inspection and shall be made available only pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-60 to -62. Any application for such records shall be made by motion to the court.
Note: Source-R.R.. (1969) 5:9-1. Adopted December 20, 1983, to be effective December 31, 1983; amended July 13, 1994 to be effective September 1, 1994; caption amended, text of rule redesignated as paragraph (a), and new paragraph (b) added July 12, 2002 to be effective September 3, 2002.
Verbatim rule text, unmarked. Nothing here is a summary.
rule 5:17-4 "Closed Hearings; Records" {
(a) Hearings. Every hearing shall be conducted in private with only such persons in attendance as have a direct involvement in the proceeding, except as hereinafter provided. At the judge's discretion, attendance may also be permitted at any private hearing of any person who has an interest in the work of the court; provided, however, that such person shall agree not to record, disclose or publish the names, photographs or other identifying data with respect to any of the participants in the hearing. Upon objection by any family member involved in the hearing or by the attorney of any family member, any person seeking permission to attend because of interest in the work of the court may be excluded from any hearing involving said juvenile.
(b) Records. Social, medical, psychological, legal, and other records of the court or family intake services, and records of law enforcement agencies, found to be part of a juvenile-family crisis matter, shall be strictly safeguarded from public inspection and shall be made available only pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-60 to -62. Any application for such records shall be made by motion to the court.
Note: Source-R.R.. (1969) 5:9-1. Adopted December 20, 1983, to be effective December 31, 1983; amended July 13, 1994 to be effective September 1, 1994; caption amended, text of rule redesignated as paragraph (a), and new paragraph (b) added July 12, 2002 to be effective September 3, 2002.
}
referenced_by: none
source: njcourts.gov // verbatim; changed 2025-09-18; corpus harvested 2026-09-02← R. 5:17-3 · chapter 5:17 · all rules
The Rules of Court are a government edict and carry no copyright; the text above is the Judiciary’s own publication, unchanged. Structure, links and highlighting are ours and carry no legal weight. Read the rule on njcourts.gov before you rely on it; amendments take effect each September 1.