Counsel asks court not to broadcast juvenile initial disposition hearing; judge orders feed removed

At an initial disposition hearing in Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court, Miss Saja Thomas, counsel for the Department, asked the court to stop broadcasting the proceeding on YouTube because of the nature of the allegations and the privacy of the children involved. The judge responded, “I will take that off,” and removed the livestream from the feed.

The request was made during the appearances portion of the hearing. Miss Saja Thomas said, “May I request that we don't broadcast on YouTube just due to the nature of the allegations contained in the petition and for privacy of the children who are located here.” Counsel for other parties joined the request; the judge granted it without a formal roll-call vote.

Present in the courtroom and identified during appearances were Miss Saja Thomas (counsel for the Department), Chelsea Pelham (investigator), Megan McVay (ongoing worker), Alexis Stang (filling in for attorney McFarland on behalf of the respondent father), Aaron Michaloff (identified himself for the record), and Ashley Henson Grimes (appearing on behalf of non-respondent parent Jamie Michaloff).

The court noted this was the initial disposition stage of the matter, not the adjudication. After the request and the appearances, the judge removed the broadcast from the public feed and the hearing proceeded. No formal vote tally was recorded in the transcript for the removal of the livestream.

The transcript excerpt does not include a hearing date in the record provided, and it does not show any written order or citation to a statute; the action recorded is the court's immediate decision on the livestream during the hearing.