(a) Unless otherwise required by statute or rule, all hearings or trials shall be conducted privately by the Court without a jury. Only those persons shall be admitted to the courtroom who are parties or attorneys representing parties; the Court may also admit persons having a direct interest in the proceeding or whose presence otherwise accords with the public interest. No person shall be admitted or permitted to remain in the courtroom whose presence is inconsistent with law or proper decorum(b) No party shall be excluded from a trial or hearing except for good cause.(c) Sequestration of witnesses, other than parties, may be allowed upon request of any party or on the Court’s own motion.(d) All hearings or trials shall be recorded by stenographic notes, stenotype machine or by electronic, mechanical or other appropriate means; however, children may be interviewed by the Court in accordance with 13 Del.C. Section 724(a).(e) All sidebar conferences and chambers conferences during trial shall be recorded unless the judicial officer determines, in advance, that neither evidentiary nor substantive issues are involved.
Del. Fam. Ct. R. Civ. P. 42.2
Amended June 14, 2020, effective September 1, 2020.
