Hector, Javier, Monty and Rudder are living the good life in Virginia Beach. They’re harbor seals hanging out at the Virginia Aquarium only about seven miles from the Virginia Beach Circuit Court. A different kind of seal is used in the courts. And it could be used on your divorce records.

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Privacy Versus the Public

Virginia’s citizens have a right to know what the publicly funded court system is doing, how it is treating people with business before the court, and how it is administering justice for the good of the Commonwealth.

That inherent right is a legal presumption, enshrined in Virginia Code § 17.1-208. With only a few exceptions, you can walk into any Virginia court clerk’s office and pay for copies of any court records.

Balancing open access to court records with a person’s right to privacy is a delicate seesaw. Some legal proceedings are off limits, but Virginia has two different versions of “off limits.” They are, according to Virginia’s Circuit Court Clerks Manual:

  • Sealed records — Sealed records are placed in an envelope that is sealed making the envelope unable to be opened except by court order. After placing the record(s) in a plain envelope, the envelope should be sealed by tape or other adhesive and the following statement should be typed in a visible location on the outside of the envelope, “Sealed record to be opened only upon order of the Circuit Court of ___”.
  • Confidential records — Confidential records do not have to be physically sealed but may be simply placed in an envelope and made unavailable for inspection.

Examples of sealed records include things you might expect:

  • Records of judicial officers
  • Mental, Psychological and/or Psychiatric documents
  • Grand Jury notes
  • Election materials
  • Applications made for wiretaps or interceptions and the orders granting or denying those applications

Perhaps surprisingly, though, divorce records can also be sealed, under Virginia Code § 20-124. That law states plainly:

Upon motion of a party to any suit under this chapter, the court may order the record thereof or any agreement of the parties, filed therein, to be sealed and withheld from public inspection and thereafter the same shall only be opened to the parties, their respective attorneys, and to such other persons as the judge of such court at his discretion decides have a proper interest therein.

Shielding Court Records For the Children

Protecting the children of the marriage is the main reason either party to a Virginia divorce would want to shield court records from public scrutiny. Parents — even divorced parents — have a duty to protect the location, identifying information, and names of minor children.

Virginia adheres to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, so court actions regarding children (in either Circuit Court of Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court) are often sealed to shield children from predators or unwanted attention.

How to Get Your Divorce Records Sealed

Making your case to seal your divorce cannot be about you. Judges are not impressed by these reasons:

  • A mutual agreement of the opposing parties to seal the file
  • Vague worries of damage to your professional reputation, emotional damage, or financial harm
  • A confusion between court seals and harbor seals
  • Salacious allegations advanced in court
  • Your fame, notoriety, or celebrity
  • Publicity surrounding the case
  • Malicious use of court records by any party

Then how can you get your divorce sealed? Specific, provable concerns that can get your divorce records sealed include:

  • Detailed, actual proof of harm to either party
  • Disclosure of privileged materials, personally identifiable information, and trade secrets
  • Protection of minor children
  • Demonstrably false information entered into the court record

What is Private in a Divorce Suit?

Virginia’s courtrooms are almost uniformly open to the public. Some cases and proceedings may occur in camera (in a judge’s chambers), and sometimes a judge will clear a courtroom. But for the most part, you are free to wander into any Virginia courthouse (after undergoing a security check, of course) and stroll into any courtroom to engage firsthand in the drama or tedium of the court.

So how are divorce proceedings kept private? For the most part, they already are private, since only a tiny fraction of a Virginia divorce takes place in front of a Circuit Court judge. Most of the grunt work is accomplished between the two attorneys representing the two opposing parties.

If you have a contested divorce or make accusations against your spouse (fault grounds), only the resulting records and files can be sealed or made confidential. Your actual hearing is open to the public. If the details of your divorce are especially titillating — if you bring harbor seals into the court as exhibits, for example — you may even get unwanted media attention.

The easiest, least expensive way to have a private divorce with no courtroom appearance is through an uncontested divorce. Using this out-of-court approach, a judge reviews all the paperwork submitted by the two attorneys, signs off on it, and the divorce is granted. No spectators, no media, no Perry Mason moments.

Your best protection — to your reputation, name, children, property, and finances — begins at The Firm For Men. Contact us today or telephone us at (757) 383-9184. We specialize in representing and protecting the interests of Virginia’s men. The harbor seals have to fend for themselves.