1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to court records; requiring prosecuting authorities to seek protective order 
1.3 	for certain evidence clearly offensive to common sensibilities; clarifying the 
1.4 	classification of certain inactive criminal investigative data;amending Minnesota 
1.5 	Statutes 2024, section 13.82, subdivision 7; proposing coding for new law in 
1.6 	Minnesota Statutes, chapter 634.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13.82, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
1.9 		Subd. 7.Criminal investigative data. Except for the data defined in subdivisions 2, 3, 
1.10 	and 6, investigative data collected or created by a law enforcement agency in order to prepare 
1.11 	a case against a person, whether known or unknown, for the commission of a crime or other 
1.12 	offense for which the agency has primary investigative responsibility are confidential or 
1.13 	protected nonpublic while the investigation is active. Inactive investigative data are public 
1.14 	unless the release of the data would jeopardize another ongoing investigation or would 
1.15 	reveal the identity of individuals protected under subdivision 17. Images and recordings, 
1.16 	including photographs, video, and audio records, which are part of inactive investigative 
1.17 	files and which are clearly offensive to common sensibilities are classified as private or 
1.18 	nonpublic data regardless of whether they were presented as evidence in court, provided 
1.19 	that the existence of the images and recordings shall be disclosed to any person requesting 
1.20 	access to the inactive investigative file. An investigation becomes inactive upon the 
1.21 	occurrence of any of the following events:
1.22 	(a) a decision by the agency or appropriate prosecutorial authority not to pursue the case;
2.1 	(b) expiration of the time to bring a charge or file a complaint under the applicable statute 
2.2 	of limitations, or 30 years after the commission of the offense, whichever comes earliest; 
2.3 	or
2.4 	(c) exhaustion of or expiration of all rights of appeal by a person convicted on the basis 
2.5 	of the investigative data.
2.6 	Any investigative data presented as evidence in court shall be public. Data determined 
2.7 	to be inactive under clause (a) may become active if the agency or appropriate prosecutorial 
2.8 	authority decides to renew the investigation.
2.9 	During the time when an investigation is active, any person may bring an action in the 
2.10 	district court located in the county where the data are being maintained to authorize disclosure 
2.11 	of investigative data. The court may order that all or part of the data relating to a particular 
2.12 	investigation be released to the public or to the person bringing the action. In making the 
2.13 	determination as to whether investigative data shall be disclosed, the court shall consider 
2.14 	whether the benefit to the person bringing the action or to the public outweighs any harm 
2.15 	to the public, to the agency or to any person identified in the data. The data in dispute shall 
2.16 	be examined by the court in camera.

2.17 	Sec. 2. [634.355] EVIDENCE CLEARLY OFFENSIVE TO COMMON 
2.18 	SENSIBILITIES.
2.19 	(a) This section may be cited as the "Jay Boughton Minor Protection Evidence Access 
2.20 	Act."
2.21 	(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given:
2.22 	(1) "victim" has the meaning given in section 611A.01, paragraph (b); and
2.23 	(2) "crime of violence" has the meaning given in section 629.725, paragraph (b).
2.24 	(c) In a criminal proceeding for a crime of violence, when a party introduces or plans 
2.25 	to introduce evidence that is clearly offensive to common sensibilities, the public release 
2.26 	of which could reasonably be foreseen to cause either a significant disruption to the privacy 
2.27 	of or severe emotional distress to a victim or a third party, the prosecuting authority in the 
2.28 	proceeding must seek an appropriate protective order from the court to protect the evidence 
2.29 	from unnecessary public disclosure. In determining whether evidence warrants seeking a 
2.30 	protective order under this paragraph, a prosecuting authority must give special consideration 
2.31 	to a victim or third party who is a minor.
3.1 	(d) In a criminal proceeding for a crime of violence, a prosecuting authority must seek 
3.2 	an appropriate protective order from the court to protect the following evidence from 
3.3 	unnecessary public disclosure:
3.4 	(1) the audio recording of a 911 system call placed by a minor victim or the minor family 
3.5 	member of a victim for the purpose of requesting service from a law enforcement, fire, or 
3.6 	medical agency; or
3.7 	(2) video footage that (i) shows a minor victim or the minor family member of a victim, 
3.8 	and (ii) was captured by either a portable recording system, as defined by section 13.825, 
3.9 	or a video camera installed in a law enforcement vehicle.
3.10 	(e) This section does not affect the right of a defendant in a criminal proceeding to obtain 
3.11 	access to evidence under the Rules of Criminal Procedure, provided that a protective order 
3.12 	from the court may prohibit further dissemination of the evidence by the defendant.

3.13 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2026, and applies to proceedings 
3.14 	commenced on or after that date.