Rule 312 - Public Attendance at Hearings(a)Definitions.(1)"Public" includes anyone who is not a party, an attorney, or a CASA.(2)"Personal identifiable information" includes a person's name, address, date of birth, social security number, tribal enrollment number, telephone numbers, driver's license number, places of employment, school or military affiliation, or any other distinguishing characteristic that tends to identify a specific party, participant, or person involved in the case. (b) Open Hearings. Under A.R.S. § 8-525, court hearings concerning dependent children, permanent guardianships of children, and termination of parental rights are open to the public, except as otherwise required by A.R.S. § 8-537.(c) Request for Closed Hearings and Considerations. At the first hearing in any dependency, permanent guardianship, or termination of parental rights hearing, the court must ask the parties if there are any reasons the hearing should be closed. If the court finds there is good cause to order the hearing closed, the court must enter written findings that include the following factors: (1) whether doing so is in the child's best interests;(2) whether an open hearing would endanger the child's physical or emotional wellbeing or the safety of any other person;(3) the privacy rights of the child, the child's siblings, parents, guardians, caregivers, and any other person whose privacy rights the court determines need protection;(4) whether all the parties have agreed that the hearing should be open;(5) the wishes of a child at least 12 years of age who is a party to the hearing; and(6) whether an open hearing could cause specific material harm to a criminal investigation.(d) Subsequent Proceedings.(1) For good cause, the court may order any subsequent open hearing closed to the public after consideration of the factors above.(2) If the court has closed a hearing, a person may request the court to reopen a specific hearing to the public. The court must consider the factors above.(e) Request for a Transcript. If the court has closed a hearing relating to child abuse, abandonment, or neglect that has resulted in a fatality or near fatality, any person may request a transcript of the previously closed hearing pursuant to A.R.S. § 8-525(G). The person who requests the transcript must pay the cost of the transcript. If the court grants a request for a transcript of a closed hearing, the court must redact from the transcript any information that: (1) is essential to protect the privacy, well-being, or safety interests described in section (c);(2) protects the identity and safety of a person who reports child abuse or neglect, and to protect any other person, if the court believes that disclosure of the DCS information would likely endanger the person's safety; and(3) is confidential by law, which the court must maintain according to applicable law.(f) Admonition at Public Hearings. At the beginning of a hearing that is open to the public, the court must admonish all public attendees as follows: "You are prohibited from disclosing outside this hearing personal identifiable information about the child, the child's siblings, parents, guardians, caregivers, and others mentioned in the hearing. You are advised that by remaining in the courtroom or by remaining present by telephone or video conference after this admonition, you have submitted yourself to the power of the court for purposes of this order. Failure to follow this order is contempt of court for which you could be fined or given time in jail."(g) Limitations for Order and Decorum. The court may impose reasonable restrictions on the public's attendance to maintain order and decorum in the courtroom.Adopted Dec. 8, 2021, effective 7/1/2022; amended August 29, 2022, effective 9/24/2022; amended December 8, 2022, effective 1/1/2023.