38-2353. Hearings; open to the public; restrictions. (a) All hearings shall be open to the public, unless the judge determines that opening the hearing to the public is not in the best interests of the victim or of any juvenile who at the time of the alleged offense was less than 16 years of age.

(b) If the court determines that opening the court proceedings to the public is not in the best interest of the juvenile, the court may exclude all persons except the juvenile, the juvenile's parents, attorneys for parties, officers of the court, the witness testifying and the victim, as defined in subsection (b) of K.S.A. 74-7333, and amendments thereto, or such members of the victim's family, as defined in subsection (c)(2) of K.S.A. 74-7335, and amendments thereto, as the court deems appropriate. Upon agreement of all parties, the court shall allow other persons to attend the hearing unless the court finds the presence of the persons would be disruptive to the proceedings.

(c) As used in this section, "hearings" shall include detention, first appearance, adjudicatory, sentencing and all other hearings held under this code. Nothing in this section shall limit the judge's authority to sequester witnesses.

History: L. 2006, ch. 169, § 53; January 1, 2007.