1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to courts; juvenile court hearings; providing 
  1.3             for open hearings and records in proceedings involving 
  1.4             a child in need of protection or services and in 
  1.5             delinquency and certain other juvenile offenses; 
  1.6             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 260.155, 
  1.7             subdivision 1; and 260.161, subdivision 2. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 260.155, 
  1.10  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL.] (a) Except for hearings arising 
  1.12  under section 260.261, hearings on any matter shall be without a 
  1.13  jury and may be conducted in an informal manner, except that a 
  1.14  child who is prosecuted as an extended jurisdiction juvenile has 
  1.15  the right to a jury trial on the issue of guilt.  The rules of 
  1.16  evidence promulgated pursuant to section 480.0591 and the law of 
  1.17  evidence shall apply in adjudicatory proceedings involving a 
  1.18  child alleged to be delinquent, an extended jurisdiction 
  1.19  juvenile, or a juvenile petty offender, and hearings conducted 
  1.20  pursuant to section 260.125 except to the extent that the rules 
  1.21  themselves provide that they do not apply.  In all adjudicatory 
  1.22  proceedings involving a child alleged to be in need of 
  1.23  protection or services, the court shall admit only evidence that 
  1.24  would be admissible in a civil trial.  To be proved at trial, 
  1.25  allegations of a petition alleging a child to be in need of 
  1.26  protection or services must be proved by clear and convincing 
  2.1   evidence. 
  2.2      (b) Except for proceedings involving a child alleged to be 
  2.3   in need of protection or services and petitions for the 
  2.4   termination of parental rights, hearings may be continued or 
  2.5   adjourned from time to time.  In proceedings involving a child 
  2.6   alleged to be in need of protection or services and petitions 
  2.7   for the termination of parental rights, hearings may not be 
  2.8   continued or adjourned for more than one week unless the court 
  2.9   makes specific findings that the continuance or adjournment is 
  2.10  in the best interests of the child.  If a hearing is held on a 
  2.11  petition involving physical or sexual abuse of a child who is 
  2.12  alleged to be in need of protection or services or neglected and 
  2.13  in foster care, the court shall file the decision with the court 
  2.14  administrator as soon as possible but no later than 15 days 
  2.15  after the matter is submitted to the court.  When a continuance 
  2.16  or adjournment is ordered in any proceeding, the court may make 
  2.17  any interim orders as it deems in the best interests of the 
  2.18  minor in accordance with the provisions of sections 260.011 to 
  2.19  260.301. 
  2.20     (c) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the 
  2.21  court shall exclude the general public from hearings under this 
  2.22  chapter and shall admit only those persons who, in the 
  2.23  discretion of the court, have a direct interest in the case or 
  2.24  in the work of the court.  The court shall open the hearings to 
  2.25  the public in: 
  2.26     (1) proceedings involving a child in need of protection or 
  2.27  services; and 
  2.28     (2) delinquency proceedings, proceedings involving a 
  2.29  juvenile offense defined in section 260.015, subdivision 19, 20, 
  2.30  21, 22, or 23, or extended jurisdiction juvenile proceedings 
  2.31  where the child is alleged to have committed an offense or has 
  2.32  been proven to have committed an offense that would be a felony 
  2.33  if committed by an adult and the child was at least 16 years of 
  2.34  age at the time of the offense, except that the court may 
  2.35  exclude the public from portions of a certification hearing to 
  2.36  discuss psychological material or other evidence that would not 
  3.1   be accessible to the public in an adult proceeding. 
  3.2      (d) In all delinquency cases a person named in the charging 
  3.3   clause of the petition as a person directly damaged in person or 
  3.4   property shall be entitled, upon request, to be notified by the 
  3.5   court administrator in writing, at the named person's last known 
  3.6   address, of (1) the date of the certification or adjudicatory 
  3.7   hearings, and (2) the disposition of the case. 
  3.8      (e) Adoption hearings shall be conducted in accordance with 
  3.9   the provisions of laws relating to adoptions. 
  3.10     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 260.161, 
  3.11  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.12     Subd. 2.  [PUBLIC INSPECTION OF RECORDS.] Except as 
  3.13  otherwise provided in this section, and except for legal records 
  3.14  arising from proceedings or portions of proceedings that are 
  3.15  public under section 260.155, subdivision 1, none of the records 
  3.16  of the juvenile court and none of the records relating to an 
  3.17  appeal from a nonpublic juvenile court proceeding, except the 
  3.18  written appellate opinion, shall be open to public inspection or 
  3.19  their contents disclosed except (a) by order of a court or (b) 
  3.20  as required by sections 245A.04, 611A.03, 611A.04, 611A.06, and 
  3.21  629.73.  The records of juvenile probation officers and county 
  3.22  home schools are records of the court for the purposes of this 
  3.23  subdivision.  Court services data relating to delinquent acts 
  3.24  that are contained in records of the juvenile court may be 
  3.25  released as allowed under section 13.84, subdivision 5a.  This 
  3.26  subdivision applies to all proceedings under this chapter, 
  3.27  including appeals from orders of the juvenile court, except that 
  3.28  this subdivision does not apply to proceedings under section 
  3.29  260.255, 260.261, or 260.315 when the proceeding involves an 
  3.30  adult defendant.  The court shall maintain the confidentiality 
  3.31  of adoption files and records in accordance with the provisions 
  3.32  of laws relating to adoptions.  In juvenile court proceedings 
  3.33  any report or social history furnished to the court shall be 
  3.34  open to inspection by the attorneys of record and the guardian 
  3.35  ad litem a reasonable time before it is used in connection with 
  3.36  any proceeding before the court. 
  4.1      When a judge of a juvenile court, or duly authorized agent 
  4.2   of the court, determines under a proceeding under this chapter 
  4.3   that a child has violated a state or local law, ordinance, or 
  4.4   regulation pertaining to the operation of a motor vehicle on 
  4.5   streets and highways, except parking violations, the judge or 
  4.6   agent shall immediately report the violation to the commissioner 
  4.7   of public safety.  The report must be made on a form provided by 
  4.8   the department of public safety and must contain the information 
  4.9   required under section 169.95.