§ 375.3 Expungement of court records

Here's a plain-English summary of this rule:

This rule says that even though there are specific laws about sealing and handling family court records, judges still have their own basic authority to order records completely erased or destroyed. This power exists separately from any other rules about record-keeping.

In simple terms, sealing a record usually means it's hidden from public view but still exists somewhere in the system. Expungement goes further. It means the record is wiped out entirely, as if it never happened. This rule confirms that judges don't need special permission from this particular set of laws to expunge records. That power was already theirs to begin with.

For someone involved in a family court case, this means there may be a path to get records fully erased, not just sealed, in certain situations. If you're trying to clean up your record from an old family court matter, this rule is one reason why asking a judge directly about expungement (rather than just sealing) could be worth exploring with a lawyer.