Altman v. Altman

The Georgia Supreme Court granted a discretionary appeal in this case to decide whether the trial court, after interviewing the parties’ two children in chambers without the parties or counsel present, erred in relying on information from those interviews in making a final custody determination and entering the divorce decree, erred in denying the parties and counsel access to the court reporter’s transcript of the interviews, and erred in sealing the transcript. After review, the Court concluded the trial court improperly relied on information that was not available to the parties or counsel and improperly sealed the transcript of the court’s in-chambers interviews without complying with the procedures for sealing court records set forth in the Uniform Superior Court Rules. The Court therefore reversed the trial court’s sealing order, vacated the final custody order and divorce decree, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Altman v. Altman" on Justia Law