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A.P. v. M.E.E.12/30/2004
ivileged evidence for in camera review. Courts are authorized to receive the contested data under seal, to review it privately, to decide the extent and nature of any lawful disclosure, and to tell the disappointed party that the claim of confidentiality has been sustained in whole or part, as the case may be. The court then preserves the in camera record for later appellate review.
We return the circuit court record to the trial court in its sealed condition so that the trial court may determine the most expeditious procedure for identifying and sealing particular documents.
5. The Identity of the Parties
The petitioners, adult intervenors, and minor beneficiaries are identified by name in the body of the petition for declaratory relief, but they have proceeded in this matter under designation by initials. The privilege of suing or defending under pseudonyms should not be assumed or granted automatically even if an opposing party does not object. The use of pseudonyms is disfavored, and the judge has an independent duty to determine whether exceptional circumstances justify such a departure from the normal method of proceeding in courts. 735 ILCS 5/2-401(e) (West 2002) ("Upon application and for good cause shown the parties may appear under fictitious names"). Section 2-401 of the Code of Civil Procedure, in providing that a "party shall set forth in the body of his or her pleading the names of all parties for and against whom relief is sought," represents the principle that civil judicial proceedings are to be conducted in public. 735 ILCS 5/2-401(c) (West 2002). Identifying the parties to a proceeding is an important dimension of publicness; the public has a right to know who is utilizing the courts that its tax dollars support. Coe v. County of Cook, 162 F.3d 491, 498 (7th Cir. 1998); Doe v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin, 112 F.3d 869, 872 (7th Cir. 1997). There are exceptions; fictitious names are allowed when necessary to protect the privacy of children, rape victims, and other particularly vulnerable parties or witnesses.
In discussing the option of redacting the minors' names instead of sealing the court files, the trial court concluded that redaction would not protect them because their identities would still be ascertainable, but failed to state why that would be so. Perhaps their status as contingent trust beneficiaries would result in disclosure if the identities of their parents, the adult beneficiaries, were disclosed. We will not, however, speculate on possible arguments or unstated findings the trial court could have relied upon to support its sealing order. See Skolnick, 191 Ill. 2d at 237. In any event, redacting the names of the adult and minor beneficiaries could serve to protect the minors' privacy interests without resorting to the overly broad measure of sealing entire documents or concealing the identities of other adult parties. On remand, the trial court may determine that protection of the minor and unborn beneficiaries may warrant the use of initials or pseudonyms by the minor and adult beneficiaries.
III. CONCLUSION
We hold that the trial court abused its discretion by sealing the entire court files. We reverse the orders of the trial court sealing the court files and remand this cause and return the sealed circuit court record for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
McNULTY and O'MARA FROSSARD, JJ., concur.
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