Wash. Rev. Code » Title 13 · Chapter 13.34
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 13.34.115 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WA-LEGapp.leg.wa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
(1) All hearings shall be public, and conducted at any time or place within the limits of the county, except if the judge finds that excluding the public is in the best interests of the child.
(2) Either parent, or the child's attorney or guardian ad litem, may move to close a hearing at any time. If the judge finds that it is in the best interests of the child the court shall exclude the public.
(3) If the public is excluded from the hearing, the following people may attend the closed hearing unless the judge finds it is not in the best interests of the child:
(a) The child's relatives;
(b) The child's foster parents if the child resides in foster care; and
(c) Any person requested by the parent.
(4) Stenographic notes or any device which accurately records the proceedings may be required as provided in other civil cases pursuant to RCW 2.32.200.
(5) Any video recording of the proceedings may be released pursuant to RCW 13.50.100, however, the video recording may not be televised, broadcast, or further disseminated to the public.
[ 2003 c 228 s 1; 2000 c 122 s 12.]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2001–2026 · leading case: Hundtofte v. Encarnación, 330 P.3d 168 (Wash. 2014).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Hundtofte v. Encarnación, 330 P.3d 168 (Wash. 2014). “¶35 Washington law recognizes several other areas in which the public has no right of access. Records of juvenile *17 justice or care agencies are deemed confidential at the juvenile court level pursuant to RCW 13.”
In re the Welfare of S.I., 337 P.3d 1114 (Wash. Ct. App. 2014). “A statute declaring rights of parents applies to both a dependency proceeding and a termination proceeding.”
In re the Dependency of Q.L.M., 20 P.3d 465 (Wash. Ct. App. 2001). “While dependency proceedings are generally closed to the public under RCW 13.34.115, the Supreme Court has rejected a broad reading of this statute, holding that appeals of dependency matters are not closed.”
Welfare Of O.C. & D.C. (Wash. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 5× “Absent a prior order specifically closing the dependency hearings to the public, making the recordings confidential under RCW 13.34.115, or sealing transcripts of the dependency hearings, such transcripts would not be confidential under chapter 13.”
In The Matter Of The Parental Rights To M.a.a.k. (Wash. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 2× “6 requires attorney to disclose client's plan of perjury to the court if necessary to avoid 8 See RCW 13.34.115. 16 No. 87781-0-I/17 assisting such criminal act.”
Dependency of QLM v. DSHS, 20 P.3d 465 (Wash. Ct. App. 2001). “[19] RCW 13.50.100. [20] RCW 13.50.100(3). [21] RCW 13.”
Hundtofte v. Encarnacion (Wash. 2014). “Records of juvenile justice or care agencies are deemed confidential at the juvenile court level pursuant to RCW 13.50.100 (including juvenile nonoffender, juvenile dependency, truancy, at-risk youth, child in need of services, termination of parental rights, and developmental…”
— Wash. Rev. Code § 13.34.115(1) — 2 cases
Welfare Of O.C. & D.C. (Wash. Ct. App. 2023). “Absent a prior order specifically closing the dependency hearings to the public, making the recordings confidential under RCW 13.34.115, or sealing transcripts of the dependency hearings, such transcripts would not be confidential under chapter 13.”
In The Matter Of The Parental Rights To M.a.a.k. (Wash. Ct. App. 2026). “6 requires attorney to disclose client's plan of perjury to the court if necessary to avoid 8 See RCW 13.34.115. 16 No. 87781-0-I/17 assisting such criminal act.”
— Wash. Rev. Code § 13.34.115(2) — 1 case
Welfare Of O.C. & D.C. (Wash. Ct. App. 2023). “Absent a prior order specifically closing the dependency hearings to the public, making the recordings confidential under RCW 13.34.115, or sealing transcripts of the dependency hearings, such transcripts would not be confidential under chapter 13.”
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.