From the Legal Hotline

By Teri Henning, General Counsel; Melissa Melewsky, Media Law Counsel
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association

Q: The County Clerk of Courts/Prothonotary has enacted a policy that “seals” all Protection from Abuse (PFA) files. Can they do that?

A: No. Absent a court order sealing a specific PFA file, all records filed with the courts are presumptively public and must be accessible.

Judicial records are presumptively public pursuant to the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions, as well as common law. The presumption of access can only be overcome if the party seeking closure can show the need for secrecy outweighs the right of public access. Each case must be evaluated on an individual basis and the court must conduct a hearing, on the record, to determine whether closure is appropriate, and issue specific findings supporting any closure. A blanket seal order is not appropriate.

There is a Pennsylvania statute that prohibits releasing records that identify child victims of physical or sexual abuse, but this statute only applies to records that reveal the identity of child victims of physical or sexual abuse, not adults. To the extent that a PFA file does not contain allegations of physical or sexual abuse of a child, this statute would not apply. Even if an individual petition does identify a minor victim, the identity could be redacted (blacked out), and the remainder of the document must be produced. A blanket policy restricting access to all PFA files is not appropriate.

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