HF 617

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to government data practices; juvenile 
  1.3             records; providing for disclosure to the victim of the 
  1.4             name of the subject of a delinquent petition; 
  1.5             expanding the authority of law enforcement to exchange 
  1.6             juvenile records; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.7             section 260.161, subdivisions 2 and 3. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 260.161, 
  1.10  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [PUBLIC INSPECTION OF RECORDS.] Except as 
  1.12  otherwise provided in this section, and except for legal records 
  1.13  arising from proceedings or portions of proceedings that are 
  1.14  public under section 260.155, subdivision 1, none of the records 
  1.15  of the juvenile court and none of the records relating to an 
  1.16  appeal from a nonpublic juvenile court proceeding, except the 
  1.17  written appellate opinion, shall be open to public inspection or 
  1.18  their contents disclosed except (a) by order of a court or, (b) 
  1.19  as required by sections 245A.04, 611A.03, 611A.04, 611A.06, and 
  1.20  629.73, or (c) the name of a juvenile who is the subject of a 
  1.21  delinquency petition shall be released to the victim of the 
  1.22  alleged delinquent act upon the victim's request.  The records 
  1.23  of juvenile probation officers and county home schools are 
  1.24  records of the court for the purposes of this subdivision.  
  1.25  Court services data relating to delinquent acts that are 
  1.26  contained in records of the juvenile court may be released as 
  2.1   allowed under section 13.84, subdivision 5a.  This subdivision 
  2.2   applies to all proceedings under this chapter, including appeals 
  2.3   from orders of the juvenile court, except that this subdivision 
  2.4   does not apply to proceedings under section 260.255, 260.261, or 
  2.5   260.315 when the proceeding involves an adult defendant.  The 
  2.6   court shall maintain the confidentiality of adoption files and 
  2.7   records in accordance with the provisions of laws relating to 
  2.8   adoptions.  In juvenile court proceedings any report or social 
  2.9   history furnished to the court shall be open to inspection by 
  2.10  the attorneys of record and the guardian ad litem a reasonable 
  2.11  time before it is used in connection with any proceeding before 
  2.12  the court. 
  2.13     When a judge of a juvenile court, or duly authorized agent 
  2.14  of the court, determines under a proceeding under this chapter 
  2.15  that a child has violated a state or local law, ordinance, or 
  2.16  regulation pertaining to the operation of a motor vehicle on 
  2.17  streets and highways, except parking violations, the judge or 
  2.18  agent shall immediately report the violation to the commissioner 
  2.19  of public safety.  The report must be made on a form provided by 
  2.20  the department of public safety and must contain the information 
  2.21  required under section 169.95. 
  2.22     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 260.161, 
  2.23  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.24     Subd. 3.  [PEACE OFFICER RECORDS OF CHILDREN.] (a) Except 
  2.25  for records relating to an offense where proceedings are public 
  2.26  under section 260.155, subdivision 1, peace officers' records of 
  2.27  children who are or may be delinquent or who may be engaged in 
  2.28  criminal acts shall be kept separate from records of persons 18 
  2.29  years of age or older and are private data but shall be 
  2.30  disseminated:  (1) by order of the juvenile court, (2) as 
  2.31  required by section 126.036, (3) as authorized under section 
  2.32  13.82, subdivision 2, (4) to the child or the child's parent or 
  2.33  guardian unless disclosure of a record would interfere with an 
  2.34  ongoing investigation, or (5) as otherwise provided in this 
  2.35  subdivision.  Except as provided in paragraph (c), no 
  2.36  photographs of a child taken into custody may be taken without 
  3.1   the consent of the juvenile court unless the child is alleged to 
  3.2   have violated section 169.121 or 169.129.  Peace officers' 
  3.3   records containing data about children who are victims of crimes 
  3.4   or witnesses to crimes must be administered consistent with 
  3.5   section 13.82, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, and 10.  Any person 
  3.6   violating any of the provisions of this subdivision shall be 
  3.7   guilty of a misdemeanor. 
  3.8      In the case of computerized records maintained about 
  3.9   juveniles by peace officers, the requirement of this subdivision 
  3.10  that records about juveniles must be kept separate from adult 
  3.11  records does not mean that a law enforcement agency must keep 
  3.12  its records concerning juveniles on a separate computer system.  
  3.13  Law enforcement agencies may keep juvenile records on the same 
  3.14  computer as adult records and may use a common index to access 
  3.15  both juvenile and adult records so long as the agency has in 
  3.16  place procedures that keep juvenile records in a separate place 
  3.17  in computer storage and that comply with the special data 
  3.18  retention and other requirements associated with protecting data 
  3.19  on juveniles. 
  3.20     (b) Nothing in this subdivision prohibits the exchange of 
  3.21  information by law enforcement agencies if the exchanged 
  3.22  information is pertinent and necessary to the requesting agency 
  3.23  in initiating, furthering, or completing a criminal 
  3.24  investigation for law enforcement purposes. 
  3.25     (c) A photograph may be taken of a child taken into custody 
  3.26  pursuant to section 260.165, subdivision 1, clause (b), provided 
  3.27  that the photograph must be destroyed when the child reaches the 
  3.28  age of 19 years.  The commissioner of corrections may photograph 
  3.29  juveniles whose legal custody is transferred to the 
  3.30  commissioner.  Photographs of juveniles authorized by this 
  3.31  paragraph may be used only for institution management purposes, 
  3.32  case supervision by parole agents, and to assist law enforcement 
  3.33  agencies to apprehend juvenile offenders.  The commissioner 
  3.34  shall maintain photographs of juveniles in the same manner as 
  3.35  juvenile court records and names under this section. 
  3.36     (d) Traffic investigation reports are open to inspection by 
  4.1   a person who has sustained physical harm or economic loss as a 
  4.2   result of the traffic accident.  Identifying information on 
  4.3   juveniles who are parties to traffic accidents may be disclosed 
  4.4   as authorized under section 13.82, subdivision 4, and accident 
  4.5   reports required under section 169.09 may be released under 
  4.6   section 169.09, subdivision 13, unless the information would 
  4.7   identify a juvenile who was taken into custody or who is 
  4.8   suspected of committing an offense that would be a crime if 
  4.9   committed by an adult, or would associate a juvenile with the 
  4.10  offense, and the offense is not a minor traffic offense under 
  4.11  section 260.193. 
  4.12     (e) A law enforcement agency shall notify the principal or 
  4.13  chief administrative officer of a juvenile's school of an 
  4.14  incident occurring within the agency's jurisdiction if: 
  4.15     (1) the agency has probable cause to believe that the 
  4.16  juvenile has committed an offense that would be a crime if 
  4.17  committed as an adult, that the victim of the offense is a 
  4.18  student or staff member of the school, and that notice to the 
  4.19  school is reasonably necessary for the protection of the victim; 
  4.20  or 
  4.21     (2) the agency has probable cause to believe that the 
  4.22  juvenile has committed an offense described in subdivision 1b, 
  4.23  paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (3), that would be a crime if 
  4.24  committed by an adult, regardless of whether the victim is a 
  4.25  student or staff member of the school. 
  4.26     A law enforcement agency is not required to notify the 
  4.27  school under this paragraph if the agency determines that notice 
  4.28  would jeopardize an ongoing investigation.  Notwithstanding 
  4.29  section 138.17, data from a notice received from a law 
  4.30  enforcement agency under this paragraph must be destroyed when 
  4.31  the juvenile graduates from the school or at the end of the 
  4.32  academic year when the juvenile reaches age 23, whichever date 
  4.33  is earlier.  For purposes of this paragraph, "school" means a 
  4.34  public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school. 
  4.35     (f) In any county in which the county attorney operates or 
  4.36  authorizes the operation of a juvenile prepetition or pretrial 
  5.1   diversion program, a law enforcement agency or county attorney's 
  5.2   office may provide the juvenile diversion program with data 
  5.3   concerning a juvenile who is a participant in or is being 
  5.4   considered for participation in the program. 
  5.5      (g) Upon request of a local social service agency, peace 
  5.6   officer records of children who are or may be delinquent or who 
  5.7   may be engaged in criminal acts may be disseminated to the 
  5.8   agency to promote the best interests of the subject of the data.