Yes. A divorce file is a court record, and Uniform Superior Court Rule 21 provides that “[a]ll court records are public and are to be available for public inspection unless public access is limited by law or by the procedure set forth below.”
Sealing Is the Exception
Under Rule 21.1 a party may move to limit access, or the court may do so on its own, but only “after hearing.” The order must “specify the part of the file to which access is limited, the nature and duration of the limitation, and the reason for limitation.” Rule 21.2 adds that no such order may be granted “except upon a finding that the harm otherwise resulting to the privacy of a person in interest clearly outweighs the public interest.”
In Altman v. Altman, 301 Ga. 211 (2017), the Georgia Supreme Court called these rules “designed to preserve the traditional common law right of access to court records.”
Reciting the standard is not enough: a judge “must set forth findings that explain how the invasion of privacy threatened by public access to the sealed materials differs from the type of privacy invasion that is suffered by all parties in civil suits.”
An Emergency Seal Runs 30 Days
Rule 21.3 allows an ex parte order only “[u]nder compelling circumstances,” on a supporting affidavit, and for no more than 30 days.
Anyone Can Ask to Unseal
Rule 21.5 lets a sealing order be reviewed and amended, after notice and hearing, “at any time on its own motion or upon the motion of any person for good cause” – including strangers to your case.
And under Rule 21.4 a sealing order “may be reviewed by interlocutory application to the appellate court that has jurisdiction to hear the appeal” – in a divorce case, the Court of Appeals.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!