Yes, the public can attend court hearings in almost every situation. American courts operate under a strong presumption of openness rooted in the First Amendment right of access and the Sixth Amendment guarantee of a public trial, which means you can generally walk into a courthouse, pass security, and sit in the gallery for hearings ranging from arraignments to appellate arguments without needing permission, a reason, or any connection to the case. A handful of proceeding types are closed by rule or by judicial order, and a few practical restrictions apply once you’re inside, but the baseline is access.
Hearings You Can Walk In and Watch
Most of what happens in a criminal or civil courtroom is open. That includes:
- Arraignments, where the defendant hears the charges and enters a plea.
- Preliminary hearings, where a judge decides whether the case moves forward.
- Jury selection, also called voir dire.
- Motion hearings on legal issues like whether evidence should be excluded.
- Trials, both bench trials decided by a judge and jury trials.
- Sentencing hearings.
- Appellate oral arguments.
You don’t sign in. You don’t explain why you’re there. Seating in the gallery is first-come, first-served. Popular cases fill up, and courts occasionally issue numbered tickets or rotate spectators, but nothing about the routine process requires you to justify your presence.
The Supreme Court laid down the constitutional foundation for this in Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, holding that the right to attend criminal trials is implicit in the First Amendment.1Justia. Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555 (1980) Later decisions extended that access right to jury selection and to preliminary hearings and most pretrial motions.2Freedom Forum. Does the First Amendment Guarantee Public Access to Trials and Court Proceedings The Supreme Court has never formally extended the doctrine to civil proceedings, but nearly every lower court applies the same logic, so civil hearings are also open in practice.
When Hearings Are Closed to the Public
Closure is the exception, and a judge who orders it has to clear a demanding legal bar: an overriding interest at stake, a closure no broader than necessary, consideration of less restrictive alternatives, and findings on the record.3Cornell Law School. Waller v. Georgia Skip any of those steps and the closure can be reversed on appeal.
The categories where closure regularly happens:
- Juvenile cases. Juvenile court hearings and records are confidential in most jurisdictions because the system aims at rehabilitation rather than punishment.4Justia. Confidentiality of Juvenile Records and Legal Exceptions
- Grand jury proceedings. Grand juries are secret by rule. Jurors, court reporters, interpreters, and prosecutors cannot disclose what happens inside.5Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 6 – The Grand Jury
- Family court matters. Adoptions, custody disputes, and some divorce hearings are typically closed to protect the families involved.
- National security cases. A judge can close part or all of a proceeding when classified information is at issue.
- Sensitive witness testimony. Courts may clear the gallery during testimony from a child victim, a sexual assault survivor, or a confidential informant, then reopen once that witness is done.
- Trade secrets. Civil cases involving proprietary formulas, source code, or confidential financial data can be closed for the portions that touch that material.
Even in these categories, closure is supposed to be as narrow as possible. Shutting an entire trial because of a single sensitive witness goes too far; clearing the room for that witness’s testimony alone is the usual approach.
If You’re a Witness, You May Be Excluded
There’s one situation where a specific spectator can be told to leave. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 615, either side can ask the judge to sequester witnesses so they don’t hear each other’s testimony.6Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 615 – Excluding Witnesses If you’ve been subpoenaed to testify, you may not be allowed in the gallery until you’re done. The general public is not affected.
Objecting When a Judge Closes the Courtroom
If a judge announces the courtroom is being cleared while you’re sitting there, you have a right to object. Federal courts and most state courts require notice and an opportunity to be heard before a proceeding is closed, and several federal circuits have held that skipping that step invalidates the closure order. Media organizations regularly file emergency motions to intervene, and some states allow expedited appeals of closure orders within 72 hours.
Watching a Hearing Remotely
Some hearings can be observed by phone or video, but access depends heavily on the level of court and the type of case.
In the federal system, the public can access live audio of certain civil and bankruptcy proceedings when no witness is testifying, subject to the judge’s discretion.7United States Courts. Remote Public Access to Proceedings Federal criminal proceedings are essentially unavailable remotely because Rule 53 prohibits broadcasting from the courtroom, and courts read livestreaming as a form of broadcasting.8Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 53 – Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited Federal appellate courts each decide on their own whether to publish audio or video of oral arguments.
State courts vary widely. Many still offer video or telephone access to routine hearings, and information about how to connect is usually on the court’s website or in the notice sent to the parties. If you want to observe a specific state proceeding remotely, call the clerk’s office. The rule against recording applies just as strongly to virtual attendance: capturing audio, video, or screenshots of a livestreamed hearing is prohibited unless the court has specifically authorized it.
Cameras, Phones, and Recording
Federal trial courts prohibit cameras. Rule 53 bars photography and broadcasting during federal judicial proceedings, which is why courtroom sketch artists still exist.8Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 53 – Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited Only the Second and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals allow media cameras at the appellate level.
State courts are more permissive. Nearly every state allows cameras somewhere in the court system, though the details vary and the trial judge usually keeps discretion to limit or prohibit them in sensitive cases.
None of this affects you as a spectator with a phone. Recording any proceeding on your own device, federal or state, is not allowed unless the judge has expressly given permission. Doing it anyway can result in contempt of court, which carries potential fines and jail time. Silence your phone before you go in and keep it in your pocket.
Finding a Hearing to Attend
Most federal, state, and local courts publish their calendars online. You can search by case number, party name, or judge, or browse by date to see what’s on the schedule. Court dockets use shorthand that takes a minute to decode: “hrg” for hearing, “sent” for sentencing, “PTC” for pretrial conference, “o/a” for oral argument.
For federal cases, the PACER system provides electronic access to docket sheets and filings. Access costs $0.10 per page with a cap of $3.00 per document, and if your quarterly charges total $30 or less, the fees are waived.9PACER: Federal Court Records. How Much Does It Cost to Access Documents Using PACER Casual users usually pay nothing.
When the online listing is confusing or incomplete, call the clerk of court. Clerks handle scheduling and can tell you when a hearing is set, whether it’s open, and which courtroom to go to.
What to Expect at the Courthouse
Security screening is standard at every entrance. You’ll walk through a metal detector, and your bag goes through the X-ray. Many federal courthouses require government-issued photo ID. Arrive early enough to clear the line before your hearing starts.
Leave problem items at home. Weapons are obviously prohibited, and courthouses often restrict things you might not expect. The Supreme Court, for example, bans all food and beverages including unopened water, bags larger than 18 by 14 by 8.5 inches, and any knives or pointed objects.10Supreme Court of the United States. Entering the Building and Prohibited Items A small notepad and pen is usually the safest way to take notes, since electronic devices are restricted in most courtrooms.
Dress the way you’d dress for a job interview. Business casual is fine. Shorts, tank tops, and hats are not, and some courthouses will turn you away for inappropriate clothing.
Inside the courtroom, silence is the rule. Don’t whisper, react to testimony, or make faces at the jury. Stand when the judge enters and exits. Sit in the gallery, behind the bar that separates spectators from participants, and don’t cross that railing unless you’re part of the case. If you need to leave, wait for a natural pause and go quietly.
Getting a Transcript After the Hearing
Attending a hearing is free. Buying a written record of it is not. Federal transcripts are prepared by official court reporters at maximum per-page rates set by the Judicial Conference:11United States Courts. Federal Court Reporting Program
- Ordinary, 30-day delivery: up to $4.40 per page.
- Expedited, 7-day delivery: up to $5.85 per page.
- Daily, next-day delivery: up to $7.30 per page.
- Hourly, 2-hour delivery: up to $8.70 per page.
A full day of testimony can run 200 or more pages, so an ordinary transcript of a single hearing day can approach $900. You order by contacting the court reporter listed on the docket. For the first 90 days after a transcript is filed, it’s only available through that reporter; after that it appears on public terminals in the courthouse and eventually on PACER. State court rates vary but tend to fall in the same range, and fee waivers may be available if you have a legal interest in the case.