(a) Trials in Open Court; In Regular Courtroom. All trials on the merits must be conducted in open court provided that the court may exclude witnesses as provided in the Idaho Rules of Evidence. So far as convenient, trials must be in a regular courtroom, but all trials or hearings and all judgments and orders issued by a court are deemed to have been done in open court regardless of the place held.(b) Hearings Outside the County. Any hearing, except a trial or evidentiary hearing, may be held outside the county in which the action was filed or transferred for change of venue. By stipulation of the parties, a trial or evidentiary hearing may be held outside the county in which the action was filed or transferred for change of venue.
