HF 1509

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 02/09/2023 11:36am

A bill for an act
relating to corrections; eliminating public hearings for 16- and 17-year-old juveniles
in delinquency proceedings; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 260B.163,
subdivision 1.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 260B.163, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

General.

(a) Except for hearings arising under section 260B.425, hearings
on any matter shall be without a jury and may be conducted in an informal manner, except
that a child who is prosecuted as an extended jurisdiction juvenile has the right to a jury
trial on the issue of guilt. The rules of evidence promulgated pursuant to section 480.0591
and the law of evidence shall apply in adjudicatory proceedings involving a child alleged
to be delinquent, an extended jurisdiction juvenile, or a juvenile petty offender, and hearings
conducted pursuant to section 260B.125 except to the extent that the rules themselves provide
that they do not apply.

(b) When a continuance or adjournment is ordered in any proceeding, the court may
make any interim orders as it deems in the best interests of the minor in accordance with
the provisions of sections 260B.001 to 260B.421.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the court shall exclude the general
public from hearings under this chapter and shall admit only those persons who, in the
discretion of the court, have a direct interest in the case or in the work of the court. The
court shall permit the victim of a child's delinquent act to attend any related delinquency
proceeding, except that the court may exclude the victim:

(1) as a witness under the Rules of Criminal Procedure; and

(2) from portions of a certification hearing to discuss psychological material or other
evidence that would not be accessible to the public.

The court shall open the hearings to the public in deleted text begin delinquency or deleted text end extended jurisdiction
juvenile proceedings where the child is alleged to have committed an offense or has been
proven to have committed an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult and
the child was at least 16 years of age at the time of the offense, except that the court may
exclude the public from portions of a certification hearing to discuss psychological material
or other evidence that would not be accessible to the public in an adult proceeding.

(d) In all delinquency cases a person named in the charging clause of the petition as a
person directly damaged in person or property shall be entitled, upon request, to be notified
by the court administrator in writing, at the named person's last known address, of (1) the
date of the certification or adjudicatory hearings, and (2) the disposition of the case.