DOVER, Del. (AP) - A House panel is set to consider a bill that could make the workings of Delaware's Family Court system more transparent.
The bill, which passed the state Senate unanimously in June, was scheduled to be discussed Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee.
The legislation includes recommendations from a task force formed to consider the feasibility of opening more Family Court proceedings, which often are conducted in secret, to the public.
The bill states that paternity, divorce, property division and alimony hearings are presumed to be public, but that judges could hold them behind closed doors for certain specific reasons.
Proceedings involving adoption, custody, visitation, termination of parental rights, guardianship, and neglect and abuse hearings would be presumed private, but could be opened to the public.
