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December 1998 Administration of Justice Bulletin No. 98/03 Fingerprints and Photographs without Nontestimonial Identification Order New G.S. 7B-2102 requires a law enforcement officer or agency to fingerprint and photograph a juve- nile when all of the following circumstances exist. 1. The juvenile was ten years of age or older when he or she allegedly committed a nondl- vertible offense (murder, first- or second- degree rape, first- or second-degree sexaml offense, arson, a felony offense under Andcle 5 of G.S. Chapter 90, first-degree burglary, crime against nature, or a felony involving the willful infliction of serious bodily iajuty or committed by use oft deadly weapon). 2. A complaint has been prepared for filing as a petition. 3. The juvenile is ia the physical custody of law enforcement or of the Office of Juvenile Justice. Unless fingerprints and a photograph were taken under that provision and have not been destroyed, a law enforcement officer or agency also must photo- graph and t-mgerprmt a juvenile who has been adjudi- cated delinquent, if the juvenile was ten years of age or older when he or she committed an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult. This provision existed in former law, but applied only in cases ia- volving Class A through E felonies~ If a juvenile's f'mgerprints and photograph are taken before adjudication, under the first provision, the5' must be destroyed at the earliest of the following events. · Neither the intake counselor nor the prosecu- tor files a petition against the juvenile within one year after the fingerprints a~fl photograph were taken. · The court does not f'md probable cause. · The juvenile is not adjudicated delinquent of any offense that would be a felony or misde- meanor if committed by an adult. The chief court counselor is responsible for noti- $'ing the local custodian of records when one of these events occurs. Fingerprints and photographs taken under either provision must be in proper format for transfer to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. If the juvenile is adjudicated delinquent for a felony, the fingerprints must be trans- ferred to the SBI and placed ia the Automated Fiager- print Identification System. The fingerprints and photographs then may be used for all investigative and comparison purposes. They are not public records, may not be included ia the clerk's record, and must be maintained separately from any juvenile record and withheld from public inspection. They are not eligible for expunction. Nontestimon iai Identification Order for Blood Specimen With the following exception, provisions for con- ducting nontestimomal identification procedures on juveniles are substan6ally unchanged. Under new G.S. 7B-2105, the sworn affidavit supporting a request to obtain a blood specimen from a juvenile must establish that there is "probable cause to believe"--not, as with requests to conduct other procedures, just reasonable grounds to suspect--that the juvenile named or de- scribed ia the affidavit committed the offense. Notice of Hearings Under new G.S. 7B-1807, unless the party is noti- fied in open court or the court orders otherwise, the clerk must give five days' written notice of the date and time of all scheduled hearings to all parties, including both of the juvenile's parents, the juvenile's guardian or custodian, and any person who has assumed the status and obtigation of a parent without being awarded legal custody of the juvenile. Open Hearings Like former law. the new code (i) requires that a hearing involving a delinquent or undisciplined juve- nile be open to the public if the juvenile requests that it be open. and (2) does not give the juvenile a right to a closed hearing. The new code, i~ fact, makes open hearings the standard. The judge may exclude the pub- lic from a hearing or part ora hearing only for good cause and only if the juvenile has not requested an open hearing. In deciding whether to close a hearing or part oft hearing, the court must consider the circum- stances of the case, including the following: 1. the nature of the allegations; 2. the juvenile's age and maturity; 3. the benefit to the juvenile of confidentiality; 4. the benefit to the public of an open hearing; and 5. the ex'tent to which the confidentiality of the juvenile's file will be compromised by an open hearing. 15