Bill Text: IA HF2232 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the confidentiality of juvenile court records in delinquency proceedings.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-01 - Withdrawn. H.J. 374. [HF2232 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF2232-Introduced.html

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House File 2232 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  KAUFMANN and JACOBY

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the confidentiality of juvenile court
  2    records in delinquency proceedings.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 232.19, subsection 4, Code 2016, is
  1  2 amended by striking the subsection.
  1  3    Sec. 2.  Section 232.147, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended
  1  4 by striking the subsection.
  1  5    Sec. 3.  Section 232.147, subsection 3, unnumbered paragraph
  1  6 1, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
  1  7    Official juvenile court records in all cases except those
  1  8 alleging delinquency shall be confidential and are not public
  1  9 records but may be inspected and their contents shall be
  1 10 disclosed to the following without court order:
  1 11    Sec. 4.  Section 232.149, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended
  1 12 to read as follows:
  1 13    2.  Records and files of a criminal or juvenile justice
  1 14 agency concerning a child involved in a delinquent act are
  1 15 public records, except that release of criminal history data,
  1 16 intelligence data, and law enforcement investigatory files is
  1 17 subject to the provisions of section 22.7 and chapter 692,
  1 18 and juvenile court social records, as defined in section
  1 19 232.2, subsection 31, shall be deemed confidential criminal
  1 20 identification files under section 22.7, subsection 9
  1 21 confidential. The records are subject to sealing under section
  1 22 232.150 unless the juvenile court waives its jurisdiction over
  1 23 the child so that the child may be prosecuted as an adult for
  1 24 a public offense.
  1 25    Sec. 5.  Section 232.149A, Code 2016, is amended to read as
  1 26 follows:
  1 27    232.149A  Confidentiality Public records orders.
  1 28    1.  Notwithstanding any other provision of the Code to
  1 29 the contrary A rebuttable presumption exists that official
  1 30 juvenile court records in delinquency proceedings shall remain
  1 31 confidential. However, upon application of a any person who
  1 32 was taken into custody for a delinquent act or was the subject
  1 33 of a complaint alleging delinquency or was the subject of a
  1 34 delinquency petition, or upon the court's own motion, the court
  1 35 after a hearing held prior to disposition, shall order official
  2  1 juvenile court records in the case delinquency proceedings to
  2  2 be kept confidential and no longer made public records under
  2  3 sections 232.147 and 232.149, if the court finds both of the
  2  4 following apply:
  2  5    a.  The case has been dismissed and the person is no longer
  2  6 subject to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
  2  7    b.  Making that making the records confidential public is in
  2  8 the best interests of the person child and the public.
  2  9    2.  The records subject to a confidentiality public records
  2 10  order may be sealed at a later date if section 232.150 applies.
  2 11    3.  Official juvenile court records subject to a
  2 12 confidentiality order which are confidential under section
  2 13 232.147 may be inspected and their contents shall be disclosed
  2 14 to the following without court order:
  2 15    a.  The judge and professional court staff, including
  2 16 juvenile court officers.
  2 17    b.  The child and the child's counsel.
  2 18    c.  The child's parent, guardian, or custodian, court
  2 19 appointed special advocate, and guardian ad litem, and
  2 20 the members of the child advocacy board created in section
  2 21 237.16 or a local citizen foster care review board created in
  2 22 accordance with section 237.19 who are assigning or reviewing
  2 23 the child's case.
  2 24    d.  The county attorney and the county attorney's assistants.
  2 25    e.  An agency, association, facility, or institution which
  2 26 has custody of the child, or is legally responsible for the
  2 27 care, treatment, or supervision of the child, including but not
  2 28 limited to the department of human services.
  2 29    f.  A court, court professional staff, and adult probation
  2 30 officers in connection with the preparation of a presentence
  2 31 report concerning a person who had been the subject of a
  2 32 juvenile court proceeding.
  2 33    g.  The child's foster parent or an individual providing
  2 34 preadoptive care to the child.
  2 35    h.  A state or local law enforcement agency.
  3  1    i.  The state public defender.
  3  2    4.  If the child has been discharged from the jurisdiction
  3  3 of the juvenile court due to reaching the age of eighteen and
  3  4 restitution remains unpaid, the name of the court, the title
  3  5 of the action, and the court's file number shall not be kept
  3  6 confidential, and the restitution amount shall be a judgment
  3  7 and lien as provided in sections 910.7A, 910.8, 910.10, and
  3  8 915.28 until the restitution is paid.
  3  9    5.  Pursuant to court order, official juvenile court records
  3 10 subject to a confidentiality order which are confidential under
  3 11 section 232.147 may be inspected by and their contents may be
  3 12 disclosed to:
  3 13    a.  A person conducting bona fide research for research
  3 14 purposes under whatever conditions the court may deem proper,
  3 15 provided that no personal identifying data shall be disclosed
  3 16 to such a person.
  3 17    b.  Persons who have a direct interest in a proceeding or in
  3 18 the work of the court.
  3 19    6.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
  3 20 upon application of any person and order of the court at any
  3 21 time prior to the termination of juvenile court jurisdiction
  3 22 over the child, the court, after a hearing, may order the
  3 23 official juvenile court records in delinquency proceedings to
  3 24 be public records if any of the following apply:
  3 25    a.  The child has been subsequently convicted of a felony
  3 26 or an aggravated or serious misdemeanor or adjudicated a
  3 27 delinquent child for an act which if committed by an adult
  3 28 would be a felony or an aggravated or serious misdemeanor.
  3 29    b.  The child was placed on youthful offender status,
  3 30 transferred back to the district court after the youthful
  3 31 offender's eighteenth birthday, and sentenced for the offense
  3 32 which precipitated the youthful offender placement.
  3 33    Sec. 6.  REPEAL.  Section 915.25, Code 2016, is repealed.
  3 34    Sec. 7.  APPLICABILITY.  The sections of this Act amending
  3 35 or repealing sections 232.19, 232.147, 232.149, 232.149A, and
  4  1 915.25 apply to juvenile delinquency proceedings which are
  4  2 pending or arise on or after July 1, 2016.
  4  3                           EXPLANATION
  4  4 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  4  5 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  4  6    This bill relates to the confidentiality of juvenile court
  4  7 records in delinquency proceedings.
  4  8    Under current law, juvenile court records in cases alleging
  4  9 delinquency are public records unless a judge grants a request
  4 10 to make the records confidential or seals the records.
  4 11    The bill amends current law and provides that juvenile
  4 12 court records in cases alleging delinquency are confidential
  4 13 unless a judge grants a request to make the juvenile court
  4 14 records public if the court finds, after a hearing held prior
  4 15 to disposition, that making the records public is in the
  4 16 best interests of the juvenile and the public. A rebuttable
  4 17 presumption exists that the juvenile court delinquency records
  4 18 shall remain confidential. Even if a child's juvenile court
  4 19 delinquency records are confidential, a court may, after a
  4 20 hearing, order such records to be made public records if the
  4 21 child is subsequently convicted of a felony or an aggravated
  4 22 or serious misdemeanor or adjudicated a delinquent child for
  4 23 an act which if committed by an adult would be a felony or
  4 24 an aggravated or serious misdemeanor, or if the child was
  4 25 placed on youthful offender status, transferred back to the
  4 26 district court after the youthful offender's 18th birthday,
  4 27 and sentenced for the offense which precipitated the youthful
  4 28 offender placement. If a judge orders such records to be
  4 29 public, the records may still be sealed at a later date
  4 30 pursuant to Code section 232.150.
  4 31    The bill provides that juvenile court records in cases
  4 32 alleging delinquency may be, without a court order, inspected
  4 33 by and disclosed to the judge and professional court staff, the
  4 34 child and the child's counsel, the child's parent, guardian, or
  4 35 custodian, court=appointed special advocate, and guardian ad
  5  1 litem, and the members of the child advocacy board created in
  5  2 Code section 237.16 or a local citizen foster care review board
  5  3 created in accordance with Code section 237.19, the county
  5  4 attorney and the county attorney's assistants, an agency,
  5  5 association, facility, or institution which has custody of the
  5  6 child, or is legally responsible for the care, treatment, or
  5  7 supervision of the child, a court, court professional staff,
  5  8 and adult probation officers in connection with the preparation
  5  9 of a presentence report concerning a person who prior thereto
  5 10 had been the subject of a juvenile court proceeding, the
  5 11 child's foster parent or an individual providing preadoptive
  5 12 care to the child, a law enforcement agency, and the state
  5 13 public defender.
  5 14    Under current law, records and files of a criminal or
  5 15 juvenile justice agency concerning a child involved in
  5 16 a delinquent act are public records, subject to certain
  5 17 exemptions. The bill provides that such records and files are
  5 18 confidential.
  5 19    Under current law, a complaint which alleges that a child
  5 20 who is at least 10 years of age has committed a delinquent
  5 21 act, which if committed by an adult would be a public offense,
  5 22 is a public record and is not confidential under Code section
  5 23 232.147. The bill repeals Code section 915.25 and provides
  5 24 that such a complaint is subject to Code section 232.147, and
  5 25 therefore is confidential.
  5 26    The bill retains certain existing exemptions to
  5 27 confidentiality of juvenile court records. Pursuant to Code
  5 28 section 692A.121(8), records concerning sex offense convictions
  5 29 which  are committed by minors may be released in the same
  5 30 manner as records of convictions of adults. Pursuant to Code
  5 31 section 915.10A, information concerning a juvenile charged
  5 32 with a felony offense may be released pursuant to an automated
  5 33 victim notification system.  Under the bill, these exemptions
  5 34 to confidentiality are not amended and therefore still apply to
  5 35 juvenile court records.
  6  1 The bill applies to juvenile delinquency proceedings which
  6  2 are pending or arise on or after July 1, 2016.
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