1998 Minnesota Statutes

     260.161 Records. 

    Subdivision 1.    Records required to be kept.  (a) The 
 juvenile court judge shall keep such minutes and in such manner 
 as the court deems necessary and proper.  Except as provided in 
 paragraph (b), the court shall keep and maintain records 
 pertaining to delinquent adjudications until the person reaches 
 the age of 28 years and shall release the records on an 
 individual to another juvenile court that has jurisdiction of 
 the juvenile, to a requesting adult court for purposes of 
 sentencing, or to an adult court or juvenile court as required 
 by the right of confrontation of either the United States 
 Constitution or the Minnesota Constitution.  The juvenile court 
 shall provide, upon the request of any other juvenile court, 
 copies of the records concerning adjudications involving the 
 particular child.  The court also may provide copies of records 
 concerning delinquency adjudications, on request, to law 
 enforcement agencies, probation officers, and corrections agents 
 if the court finds that providing these records serves public 
 safety or is in the best interests of the child.  Until July 1, 
 1999, juvenile court delinquency proceeding records of 
 adjudications, court transcripts, and delinquency petitions, 
 including any probable cause attachments that have been filed or 
 police officer reports relating to a petition, must be released 
 to requesting law enforcement agencies and prosecuting 
 authorities for purposes of investigating and prosecuting 
 violations of section 609.229, provided that psychological or 
 mental health reports may not be included with those records.  
 The agency receiving the records may release the records only as 
 permitted under this section or authorized by law. 

    The court shall also keep an index in which files 
 pertaining to juvenile matters shall be indexed under the name 
 of the child.  After the name of each file shall be shown the 
 file number and, if ordered by the court, the book and page of 
 the register in which the documents pertaining to such file are 
 listed.  The court shall also keep a register properly indexed 
 in which shall be listed under the name of the child all 
 documents filed pertaining to the child and in the order filed.  
 The list shall show the name of the document and the date of 
 filing thereof.  The juvenile court legal records shall be 
 deposited in files and shall include the petition, summons, 
 notice, findings, orders, decrees, judgments, and motions and 
 such other matters as the court deems necessary and proper.  
 Unless otherwise provided by law, all court records shall be 
 open at all reasonable times to the inspection of any child to 
 whom the records relate, and to the child's parent and guardian. 

    (b) The court shall retain records of the court finding 
 that a juvenile committed an act that would be a felony or gross 
 misdemeanor level offense until the offender reaches the age of 
 28.  If the offender commits a felony as an adult, or the court 
 convicts a child as an extended jurisdiction juvenile, the court 
 shall retain the juvenile records for as long as the records 
 would have been retained if the offender had been an adult at 
 the time of the juvenile offense.  This paragraph does not apply 
 unless the juvenile was provided counsel as required by section 
 260.155, subdivision 2. 

    Subd. 1a.    Record of findings.  (a) The juvenile court 
 shall forward to the bureau of criminal apprehension the 
 following data in juvenile petitions involving felony- or gross 
 misdemeanor-level offenses: 

    (1) the name and birthdate of the juvenile, including any 
 of the juvenile's known aliases or street names; 

    (2) the act for which the juvenile was petitioned and date 
 of the offense; and 

    (3) the date and county where the petition was filed. 

    (b) Upon completion of the court proceedings, the court 
 shall forward the court's finding and case disposition to the 
 bureau.  The court shall specify whether: 

    (1) the juvenile was referred to a diversion program; 

    (2) the petition was dismissed, continued for dismissal, or 
 continued without adjudication; or 

    (3) the juvenile was adjudicated delinquent. 

    (c) The juvenile court shall forward to the bureau, the 
 sentencing guidelines commission, and the department of 
 corrections the following data on individuals convicted as 
 extended jurisdiction juveniles: 

    (1) the name and birthdate of the offender, including any 
 of the juvenile's known aliases or street names; 

    (2) the crime committed by the offender and the date of the 
 crime; 

    (3) the date and county of the conviction; and 

    (4) the case disposition. 

    The court shall notify the bureau, the sentencing 
 guidelines commission, and the department of corrections 
 whenever it executes an extended jurisdiction juvenile's adult 
 sentence under section 260.126, subdivision 5. 

    (d) The bureau, sentencing guidelines commission, and the 
 department of corrections shall retain the extended jurisdiction 
 juvenile data for as long as the data would have been retained 
 if the offender had been an adult at the time of the offense.  
 Data retained on individuals under this subdivision are private 
 data under section 13.02, except that extended jurisdiction 
 juvenile data becomes public data under section 13.87, 
 subdivision 2, when the juvenile court notifies the bureau that 
 the individual's adult sentence has been executed under section 
 260.126, subdivision 5. 

    Subd. 1b.    Disposition order; copy to school.  (a) If 
 a juvenile is enrolled in school, the juvenile's probation 
 officer shall transmit a copy of the court's disposition order 
 to the principal or chief administrative officer of the 
 juvenile's school if the juvenile has been adjudicated 
 delinquent for committing an act on the school's property or an 
 act: 

    (1) that would be a violation of section 609.185 
 (first-degree murder); 609.19 (second-degree murder); 609.195 
 (third-degree murder); 609.20 (first-degree manslaughter); 
 609.205 (second-degree manslaughter); 609.21 (criminal vehicular 
 homicide and injury); 609.221 (first-degree assault); 609.222 
 (second-degree assault); 609.223 (third-degree assault); 
 609.2231 (fourth-degree assault); 609.224 (fifth-degree 
 assault); 609.2242 (domestic assault); 609.24 (simple robbery); 
 609.245 (aggravated robbery); 609.25 (kidnapping); 609.255 
 (false imprisonment); 609.342 (first-degree criminal sexual 
 conduct); 609.343 (second-degree criminal sexual conduct); 
 609.344 (third-degree criminal sexual conduct); 609.345 
 (fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct); 609.3451 (fifth-degree 
 criminal sexual conduct); 609.498 (tampering with a witness); 
 609.561 (first-degree arson); 609.582, subdivision 1 or 2 
 (burglary); 609.713 (terroristic threats); or 609.749 
 (harassment and stalking), if committed by an adult; 

    (2) that would be a violation of section 152.021 
 (first-degree controlled substance crime); 152.022 
 (second-degree controlled substance crime); 152.023 
 (third-degree controlled substance crime); 152.024 
 (fourth-degree controlled substance crime); 152.025 
 (fifth-degree controlled substance crime); 152.0261 (importing a 
 controlled substance); or 152.027 (other controlled substance 
 offenses), if committed by an adult; or 

    (3) that involved the possession or use of a dangerous 
 weapon as defined in section 609.02, subdivision 6. 

    When a disposition order is transmitted under this 
 paragraph, the probation officer shall notify the juvenile's 
 parent or legal guardian that the disposition order has been 
 shared with the juvenile's school. 

    (b) The disposition order must be accompanied by a notice 
 to the school that the school may obtain additional information 
 from the juvenile's probation officer with the consent of the 
 juvenile or the juvenile's parents, as applicable.  The 
 disposition order must be maintained in the student's permanent 
 education record but may not be released outside of the school 
 district or educational entity, other than to another school 
 district or educational entity to which the juvenile is 
 transferring.  Notwithstanding section 138.17, the disposition 
 order must be destroyed when the juvenile graduates from the 
 school or at the end of the academic year when the juvenile 
 reaches age 23, whichever date is earlier. 

    (c) The juvenile's probation officer shall maintain a 
 record of disposition orders released under this subdivision and 
 the basis for the release. 

    (d) The criminal and juvenile justice information policy 
 group, in consultation with representatives of probation 
 officers and educators, shall prepare standard forms for use by 
 juvenile probation officers in forwarding information to schools 
 under this subdivision and in maintaining a record of the 
 information that is released.  

    (e) As used in this subdivision, "school" means a public or 
 private elementary, middle, or secondary school. 

    Subd. 2.    Public inspection of records.  (a) Legal 
 records arising from proceedings or portions of proceedings that 
 are public under section 260.155, subdivision 1, are open to 
 public inspection. 

    (b) The following records from proceedings or portions of 
 proceedings involving a child in need of protection or services 
 that are open to the public as authorized by supreme court order 
 and court rules are accessible to the public unless the court 
 determines that access should be restricted because of the 
 intensely personal nature of the information: 

    (1) the summons and petition; 

    (2) affidavits of publication and service; 

    (3) certificates of representation; 

    (4) court orders; 

    (5) hearing and trial notices, witness lists, and 
 subpoenas; 

    (6) motions and legal memoranda; 

    (7) exhibits introduced at hearings or trial that are not 
 inaccessible under paragraph (c); 

    (8) birth certificates; and 

    (9) all other documents not listed as inaccessible to the 
 public under paragraph (c). 

    (c) The following records are not accessible to the public 
 under paragraph (b): 

    (1) written, audiotaped, or videotaped information from the 
 social service agency, except to the extent the information 
 appears in the petition, court orders, or other documents that 
 are accessible under paragraph (b); 

    (2) child protection intake or screening notes; 

    (3) documents identifying reporters of maltreatment, unless 
 the names and other identifying information are redacted; 

    (4) guardian ad litem reports; 

    (5) victim statements and addresses and telephone numbers; 

    (6) documents identifying nonparty witnesses under the age 
 of 18, unless the names and other identifying information are 
 redacted; 

    (7) transcripts of testimony taken during closed hearing; 

    (8) fingerprinting materials; 

    (9) psychological, psychiatric, and chemical dependency 
 evaluations; 

    (10) presentence evaluations of juveniles and probation 
 reports; 

    (11) medical records and test results; 

    (12) reports issued by sexual predator programs; 

    (13) diversion records of juveniles; 

    (14) any document which the court, upon its own motion or 
 upon motion of a party, orders inaccessible to serve the best 
 interests of the child; and 

    (15) any other records that are not accessible to the 
 public under rules developed by the courts. 

    In addition, records that are accessible to the public 
 under paragraph (b) become inaccessible to the public if one 
 year has elapsed since either the proceeding was dismissed or 
 the court's jurisdiction over the matter was terminated. 

    (d) Except as otherwise provided by this section, none of 
 the records of the juvenile court and none of the records 
 relating to an appeal from a nonpublic juvenile court 
 proceeding, except the written appellate opinion, shall be open 
 to public inspection or their contents disclosed except: 

    (1) by order of a court; or 

    (2) as required by sections 245A.04, 611A.03, 611A.04, 
 611A.06, and 629.73. 

    (e) The victim of any alleged delinquent act may, upon the 
 victim's request, obtain the following information, unless it 
 reasonably appears that the request is prompted by a desire on 
 the part of the requester to engage in unlawful activities: 

    (1) the name and age of the juvenile; 

    (2) the act for which the juvenile was petitioned and date 
 of the offense; and 

    (3) the disposition, including but not limited to, 
 dismissal of the petition, diversion, probation and conditions 
 of probation, detention, fines, or restitution. 

    (f) The records of juvenile probation officers and county 
 home schools are records of the court for the purposes of this 
 subdivision.  Court services data relating to delinquent acts 
 that are contained in records of the juvenile court may be 
 released as allowed under section 13.84, subdivision 5a.  This 
 subdivision applies to all proceedings under this chapter, 
 including appeals from orders of the juvenile court, except that 
 this subdivision does not apply to proceedings under section 
 260.255 or 260.315 when the proceeding involves an adult 
 defendant.  The court shall maintain the confidentiality of 
 adoption files and records in accordance with the provisions of 
 laws relating to adoptions.  In juvenile court proceedings any 
 report or social history furnished to the court shall be open to 
 inspection by the attorneys of record and the guardian ad litem 
 a reasonable time before it is used in connection with any 
 proceeding before the court. 

    (g) When a judge of a juvenile court, or duly authorized 
 agent of the court, determines under a proceeding under this 
 chapter that a child has violated a state or local law, 
 ordinance, or regulation pertaining to the operation of a motor 
 vehicle on streets and highways, except parking violations, the 
 judge or agent shall immediately report the violation to the 
 commissioner of public safety.  The report must be made on a 
 form provided by the department of public safety and must 
 contain the information required under section 169.95. 

    (h) A county attorney may give a law enforcement agency 
 that referred a delinquency matter to the county attorney a 
 summary of the results of that referral, including the details 
 of any juvenile court disposition. 

    Subd. 3.    Peace officer records of children.  (a) 
 Except for records relating to an offense where proceedings are 
 public under section 260.155, subdivision 1, peace officers' 
 records of children who are or may be delinquent or who may be 
 engaged in criminal acts shall be kept separate from records of 
 persons 18 years of age or older and are private data but shall 
 be disseminated:  (1) by order of the juvenile court, (2) as 
 required by section 121A.28, (3) as authorized under section 
 13.82, subdivision 2, (4) to the child or the child's parent or 
 guardian unless disclosure of a record would interfere with an 
 ongoing investigation, (5) to the Minnesota crime victims 
 reparations board as required by section 611A.56, subdivision 2, 
 clause (f), for the purpose of processing claims for crime 
 victims reparations, or (6) as otherwise provided in this 
 subdivision.  Except as provided in paragraph (c), no 
 photographs of a child taken into custody may be taken without 
 the consent of the juvenile court unless the child is alleged to 
 have violated section 169.121 or 169.129.  Peace officers' 
 records containing data about children who are victims of crimes 
 or witnesses to crimes must be administered consistent with 
 section 13.82, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, and 10.  Any person 
 violating any of the provisions of this subdivision shall be 
 guilty of a misdemeanor. 

    In the case of computerized records maintained about 
 juveniles by peace officers, the requirement of this subdivision 
 that records about juveniles must be kept separate from adult 
 records does not mean that a law enforcement agency must keep 
 its records concerning juveniles on a separate computer system.  
 Law enforcement agencies may keep juvenile records on the same 
 computer as adult records and may use a common index to access 
 both juvenile and adult records so long as the agency has in 
 place procedures that keep juvenile records in a separate place 
 in computer storage and that comply with the special data 
 retention and other requirements associated with protecting data 
 on juveniles. 

    (b) Nothing in this subdivision prohibits the exchange of 
 information by law enforcement agencies if the exchanged 
 information is pertinent and necessary for law enforcement 
 purposes. 

    (c) A photograph may be taken of a child taken into custody 
 pursuant to section 260.165, subdivision 1, clause (b), provided 
 that the photograph must be destroyed when the child reaches the 
 age of 19 years.  The commissioner of corrections may photograph 
 juveniles whose legal custody is transferred to the 
 commissioner.  Photographs of juveniles authorized by this 
 paragraph may be used only for institution management purposes, 
 case supervision by parole agents, and to assist law enforcement 
 agencies to apprehend juvenile offenders.  The commissioner 
 shall maintain photographs of juveniles in the same manner as 
 juvenile court records and names under this section. 

    (d) Traffic investigation reports are open to inspection by 
 a person who has sustained physical harm or economic loss as a 
 result of the traffic accident.  Identifying information on 
 juveniles who are parties to traffic accidents may be disclosed 
 as authorized under section 13.82, subdivision 4, and accident 
 reports required under section 169.09 may be released under 
 section 169.09, subdivision 13, unless the information would 
 identify a juvenile who was taken into custody or who is 
 suspected of committing an offense that would be a crime if 
 committed by an adult, or would associate a juvenile with the 
 offense, and the offense is not an adult court traffic offense 
 under section 260.193. 

    (e) A law enforcement agency shall notify the principal or 
 chief administrative officer of a juvenile's school of an 
 incident occurring within the agency's jurisdiction if: 

    (1) the agency has probable cause to believe that the 
 juvenile has committed an offense that would be a crime if 
 committed as an adult, that the victim of the offense is a 
 student or staff member of the school, and that notice to the 
 school is reasonably necessary for the protection of the victim; 
 or 

    (2) the agency has probable cause to believe that the 
 juvenile has committed an offense described in subdivision 1b, 
 paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (3), that would be a crime if 
 committed by an adult, regardless of whether the victim is a 
 student or staff member of the school. 

    A law enforcement agency is not required to notify the 
 school under this paragraph if the agency determines that notice 
 would jeopardize an ongoing investigation.  Notwithstanding 
 section 138.17, data from a notice received from a law 
 enforcement agency under this paragraph must be destroyed when 
 the juvenile graduates from the school or at the end of the 
 academic year when the juvenile reaches age 23, whichever date 
 is earlier.  For purposes of this paragraph, "school" means a 
 public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school. 

    (f) In any county in which the county attorney operates or 
 authorizes the operation of a juvenile prepetition or pretrial 
 diversion program, a law enforcement agency or county attorney's 
 office may provide the juvenile diversion program with data 
 concerning a juvenile who is a participant in or is being 
 considered for participation in the program. 

    (g) Upon request of a local social service agency, peace 
 officer records of children who are or may be delinquent or who 
 may be engaged in criminal acts may be disseminated to the 
 agency to promote the best interests of the subject of the data. 

    (h) Upon written request, the prosecuting authority shall 
 release investigative data collected by a law enforcement agency 
 to the victim of a criminal act or alleged criminal act or to 
 the victim's legal representative, except as otherwise provided 
 by this paragraph.  Data shall not be released if: 

    (1) the release to the individual subject of the data would 
 be prohibited under section 13.391; or 

    (2) the prosecuting authority reasonably believes: 

    (i) that the release of that data will interfere with the 
 investigation; or 

    (ii) that the request is prompted by a desire on the part 
 of the requester to engage in unlawful activities. 

    Subd. 3a.    Attorney access to records.  An attorney 
 representing a child, parent, or guardian ad litem in a 
 proceeding under this chapter shall be given access to records, 
 local social service agency files, and reports which form the 
 basis of any recommendation made to the court.  An attorney does 
 not have access under this subdivision to the identity of a 
 person who made a report under section 626.556.  The court may 
 issue protective orders to prohibit an attorney from sharing a 
 specified record or portion of a record with a client other than 
 a guardian ad litem. 

    Subd. 3b.    County attorney referral of child in need of 
 protection or services.  In a county in which the county 
 attorney refers children who are in need of protection or 
 services to community programs, the county attorney may provide 
 a community program with data on a child who is a participant or 
 being considered for participation in the program. 

    Subd. 4.    Court record released to prosecutor.  If a 
 prosecutor has probable cause to believe that a person has 
 committed a gross misdemeanor violation of section 169.121 or 
 has violated section 169.129, and that a prior juvenile court 
 adjudication forms, in part, the basis for the current 
 violation, the prosecutor may file an application with the court 
 having jurisdiction over the criminal matter attesting to this 
 probable cause determination and seeking the relevant juvenile 
 court records.  The court shall transfer the application to the 
 juvenile court where the requested records are maintained, and 
 the juvenile court shall release to the prosecutor any records 
 relating to the person's prior juvenile traffic adjudication, 
 including a transcript, if any, of the court's advisory of the 
 right to counsel and the person's exercise or waiver of that 
 right. 

    Subd. 5.    Further release of records.  A person who 
 receives access to juvenile court or peace officer records of 
 children that are not accessible to the public may not release 
 or disclose the records to any other person except as authorized 
 by law.  This subdivision does not apply to the child who is the 
 subject of the records or the child's parent or guardian. 

    HIST: 1959 c 685 s 23; 1961 c 576 s 11; 1963 c 516 s 7; 1967 c 
 75 s 1; 1980 c 580 s 16; 1985 c 161 s 1; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 123 
 s 4; 1987 c 295 s 6; 1987 c 331 s 4; 1988 c 670 s 12; 1988 c 691 
 s 5; 1989 c 224 s 1; 1989 c 278 s 2; 1989 c 351 s 17; 1990 c 542 
 s 13; 1990 c 573 s 22; 1990 c 579 s 2; 1991 c 319 s 17; 1992 c 
 571 art 7 s 4,5; art 13 s 3; 1993 c 351 s 30,31; 1994 c 576 s 
 22-24; 1994 c 618 art 1 s 31-34; 1994 c 636 art 4 s 10-13; 1995 
 c 226 art 3 s 26; 1995 c 259 art 3 s 4; 1996 c 408 art 6 s 6; 
 1996 c 440 art 1 s 45,46; 1997 c 7 art 1 s 103; 1997 c 239 art 6 
 s 23; art 7 s 4,5; art 8 s 3-5; 1Sp1997 c 3 s 26; 1998 c 367 art 
 10 s 8; 1998 c 371 s 10; 1998 c 397 art 11 s 3; 1998 c 406 art 1 
 s 28,37; 1998 c 407 art 9 s 27