AG 1999 01 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

December 1998 Administration of Justice Bulletin No. 98/03 If the court finds that a parent is able to do so, the court may order the parent to 1. pay a reasonable sum for the support of the juvenile; 2. pay a fee for probation supervision or resi- denQal facility costs; 3. assign private insmance coverage to cover medical costs while the juvenile is in deten- tion~ training school, or other out-of-home placement: 4. pay court-appointed attorneys' fees. In addition~ the code retains former provisions relating to the court's authority to order a parent to cooperate with, participate in, undergo, or pay for vari- ous .types of evaluation and treatment in specified cir- cumstances. On motion of the court counselor or prosecutor or the court's own motion, the court may issue an order directing a parent, guardian, or custodian to appear and show cause why that person should not be found in civil or criminal contempt for willfully failing to com- ply with an order of the court. Juvenile Records Many provisions relating to the records of delin- quent and undisciplined juveniles, including rules for the use of delinquency records in subsequent criminal proceedings, are unchanged. However, efforts to bal- ance appropriate confidentiality and appropriate dis- closure resulted in some significant changes. In several instances, a person's authority to obtain copies of rec- ords that the person has a right to inspect is clarified. The Clerk's Record The court may direct the clerk to "seal" any por- tion of a juvenile's record, so that it may be examined only by court order. Otherwise, the clerk's record may be examined by. and copies of written parts of the record may be obtained by, i. the juvenile; 2. thejuvenile's parent, guardian, or custodian. or that person's authorized representative; 3. the prosecutor: 4. court counselors. Electronic or mechanical recordings of hearings that are part nfa record may be transcribed only when notice of appeal has been given, and they may be copied electronically or mechanically only by order of the court. A prosecutor may share information from a juve- nile's record with law enforcement officers sworn in this state, but may not allow them to photocopy any part of the record. In making pretrial release and plea negotiating decisions, law enforcement, the magistrate, and the prosecutor may use ajuvenile's record of an adjudication of delinquency for a felony offense. Law Enforcement Records The following persons may examine and obtain copies of law enforcement records and files concerning a juvenile without a court order: 1. the juvenile; 2. the juvenile's parent, guardian, or custodian. or that person's authorized representative; 3. the district attorney or prosecutor:' 4. court counselors: 5. law erfforcement officers sworn in this'state. Office of Juvenile Justice (O J J) Records The following persons may examine and obtain copies of OJJ records and files concerning a juvenile without a court order: 1. the juvenile: 2. the juvenile's parom, guardian, or custodian, or that person's authorized representative; 3. professionals in the agency who are directly involved in thejuvenile's case; and 4. court counselors. Expunction The new code raises from sixteen to eighteen the age at which a person may apply for expunction of a record that the person (t) was adjudicated undisci- plined or delinquent or (2) was alleged, but not adjudi- cated, to be undisciplined. To obtain ex'punction of a delinquency record, a person also must show that at least eighteen months have elapsed since the person was released from juvenile court jurisdiction. No records maintained by the court counselor or by a resi- dential facility operated by the Office of Juvenile Ins- tice may be destroyed until the juvenile reaches age eighteen or until eighteen months have elapsed since the person was released from juvenile court jurisdic- tion, whichever is later. As soon as practicable after each term of court the clerk of court must file with the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) the names of persons granted an expunction of juvenile records. The AOC must main- tain a confidential file of those names, which may be 23