Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

ii. Whether information is traditionally considered private
in nature:
1. Relates to interest of minors;
2. Intimate details of marriage;
3. Personal medical records;
4. Trade secrets;
5. Confidential business information;
iii. Legitimate public interest or just curiosity;
iv. Tactical purposes to coerce settlement;
v. If derogatory information, has it been proven;
vi. Information produced with reliance upon confidentiality.
b. California
California seems to abide by the general rule that unless confidentiality is required by
law, the trial court records are presumed to be open.
i. Case law
In 1977, the issue of sealing court records was considered in Estate of Hearst, 67
Cal. App. 3d 777 (1977). In this case, the trustees wanted to seal the records of
the probate file in order to protect the families. 193 The court ultimately left the file
unsealed. 194 The California rules for sealed court documents follow the court’s
decision in NBC Subsidiary (KNBC-TV), Inc. v. Superior Court, 20 Cal. 4th 1178
(1999). That decision held that the right of public access to trials applies to civil
as well as well as criminal proceedings. 195 It also provided guidance on the
proper standards for courts to apply in deciding whether to seal documents filed
in court as the basis for adjudication.
ii. General Rule
The general rule is that trial court records are presumed to be open, unless
confidentiality is required by law. The rules incorporate the standard set out in
the NBC Subsidiary case, providing that trial courts may not seal records unless
the court expressly finds:
1. There exists an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public
access to the record;
2. The overriding interest supports sealing the record;
3. A substantial probability exists that the overriding interest will be
prejudiced if the record is not sealed;
4. The proposed sealing is narrowly tailored; and
5. No less restrictive means exist to achieve the overriding interest.
193 Estate of Hearst, 67 Cal. App. 3d 777 (1977)
194 Estate of Hearst, 67 Cal. App. 3d 777 (1977); see Mitchell J. Langberg, Practice and Procedure, Rules for
Sealing Evidence, MCLE Self Study.
195 NBC Subsidiary (KNBC-TV), Inc. v. Superior Court, 20 Cal. 4th 1178 (1999).
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