Media access to juvenile proceedings: Balancing the tightrope between privacy rights and freedom of the press

• We discuss the right of media access to various state court juvenile proceedings.
• We analyze the various tests used to determine openness or closure of juvenile proceedings to media and the press.
• We analyze restrictions imposed on the grant of media access to juvenile proceedings.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been invoked as the basis for the grant of media access to adult trials. Because the U.S. Supreme Court has not determined that the First Amendment right of public access similarly applies to juvenile delinquency proceedings, juvenile courts are faced with the issue of balancing the juvenile's privacy rights with the media's right to access information. This article undertakes research on media access to juvenile delinquency proceedings, including, the standards, limits, and conditions for such access through analyzing decisions of United States federal and state courts.