All hearings and proceedings conducted pursuant to this subchapter shall be held by a judge, without a jury. All hearings and proceedings conducted pursuant to this subchapter shall be recorded by appropriate means. Except in hearings to declare a person in contempt of court, the general public shall be excluded from hearings and proceedings arising pursuant to this subchapter. Only persons necessary to such hearings and proceedings shall be admitted, but the court may, pursuant to rules of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, admit such other persons as have a proper interest in the case or the work of the Division on the condition that they refrain from divulging information identifying the child involved in the proceedings or members of his or her family. If the court finds it is in the child’s best interests, the child may be temporarily excluded from any proceeding. Under no circumstances, however, may counsel in the case be excluded.
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