Bill > HB185

This bill, a recommendation from the Boyd-Graves Conference, amends Virginia law to allow for immediate appellate review by the Supreme Court of Virginia for orders related to closing court proceedings or sealing records. Specifically, if a circuit court grants or denies a motion to close a proceeding that isn't already permitted by law, or if it issues an order to close such a proceeding on its own initiative, or if it upholds or overturns a lower court's decision to close a proceeding, any person negatively affected by that order can file a petition for review with the Supreme Court within 15 days of the order being issued, following the same procedures as for reviewing injunctions.