Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XVII Chapter 119
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 119, § 38 (2026)

Closed hearings; publication of names

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 38. All hearings under sections 1 to 38A, inclusive, except those related to court orders to not resuscitate or to withdraw life-sustaining medical treatment for children in the custody of the department under a care and protection order, shall be closed to the general public. It shall be unlawful to publish the names of persons before the court in any closed hearing.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1980–2025 · leading case: Care & Prot. of M.C., 94 N.E.3d 379 (Mass. 2018).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Care & Prot. of M.C., 94 N.E.3d 379 (Mass. 2018). · cites it 5× “The records from the care and protection proceeding, including the transcripts and exhibits from a trial to terminate parental rights, are impounded, pursuant to G. L. c. 119, § 38, and Juvenile Court Standing Order 1-84, Mass.”
In re Adoption (&, 102 N.E.3d 1018 (Mass. App. Ct. 2018). “See G. L. c. 119, § 38 ; G. L. c. 210, § 5C. In addition, any impact on the mother's physician-patient relationship with the program is, at best, minimal because her treatment at that program had already ended by the time the department subpoenaed her records.”
Care & Prot. of Sharlene, 840 N.E.2d 918 (Mass. 2006). · cites it 3× “See G. L. c. 119, § 38 (“All hearings under [§§ 1-37], inclusive, shall be closed to the general public and it shall be unlawful to publish the names of persons before the court in any hearing provided for therein .”
Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, 401 N.E.2d 360 (Mass. 1980). · cites it 2× “In G.L.c. 119, § 38, inserted by St. 1954, c.”
Kirk v. Commonwealth, 944 N.E.2d 135 (Mass. 2011). “See G. L. c. 119, § 38 (hearings related to protection of children, except those pertaining to resuscitation or withdrawal of life-sustaining medical treatment for children in custody of Department of Children and Families, “shall be closed to the general public”); G.”
Care & Prot. of Adele, 255 N.E.3d 1259 (Mass. 2025). · cites it 6× “See G. L. c. 119, § 38. The second judge denied the request, after applying Rules 7 and 11 of the Uniform Rules on Impoundment Procedure (2015) (URIP).”
Adoption of Lisette, No. AC 17-P-644 (Mass. App. Ct. May 30, 2018). “See G. L. c. 119, § 38; G. L. c. 210, § 5C. In addition, any impact on the mother's physician-patient relationship with the program is, at best, minimal because her treatment at that program had already ended by the time the department subpoenaed her records.”
Care & Prot. of M.C., No. SJC 12652 (Mass. Oct. 28, 2019). “Pursuant to G. L. c. 119, § 38, and standing orders of the Juvenile Court, the records of the trial on the termination of parental rights are impounded, as are all the other documents in the case.”
Adoption of Jacob, No. AC 20-P-4 (Mass. App. Ct. Mar. 1, 2021). “See G. L. c. 119, § 38. 17 aunt at the next trial date; the attorney stated that he was available to attend.”
In re Adoption Gemma, 113 N.E.3d 934 (Mass. App. Ct. 2018). “Next we turn to the Juvenile Court judge's denial of the foster mother's request for impounded transcripts and pleadings from the underlying care and protection proceeding.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.