by Brandi Clemmons, Assistant Juvenile Defender, Office of the Juvenile Defender, Durham, NC.
There was a great deal of legislation passed this session affecting juveniles adjudicated delinquent. You should be aware that two of the bills provide greater access to juvenile records: (1) Session Law 2009-545/Senate Bill 984, Access to Juvenile Records/Violent Offenders, and (2) Session Law 2009-372/Senate Bill 920, Probation Reform.
Session Law 2009-545/Senate Bill 984, Access to Juvenile Records/Violent Offenders: This bill makes two changes that should be helpful to defense counsel. First, the juvenile’s attorney is explicitly listed as a person authorized to examine juvenile records and obtain copies without a court order. Although this was implicit under the statutory definition of “juvenile,” it will make it easier for attorneys to access juvenile records in jurisdictions where there may have been reluctance to provide such records. Second, the bill mandates that all adjudication orders be in writing similar to disposition orders.
There are also some changes that could adversely affect your clients in some cases. For instance, the bill provides greater access to juvenile records by allowing prosecutors to share information in the records with magistrates; however, the prosecutor cannot give the magistrate a copy of the file or copies of any portion of the file. In addition, the bill allows the courts to use a juvenile’s adjudication records for pretrial release, plea negotiation decisions, and plea acceptance decisions when the adjudication was for a felony or an A1 misdemeanor and the juvenile was under 21 at the time of the adjudication and the adjudication was within 18 months before the juvenile’s 16th birthday or after his 16th birthday.
Session Law 2009-372/Senate Bill 920, Probation Reform: This bill affects clients if they are later charged as an adult and put on probation. You need to be aware of these changes so that you can explain them to your client in the juvenile proceedings. For the purposes of assessing risk related to supervision, probation officers (POs) at the Department of Correction can access an offender’s juvenile record. Without getting a court order, the PO can get copies of the file if the adjudication was for a felony. Given this, it is critical that you provide information to your clients regarding expunction. (If he or she was adjudicated for a Class F or lower felony, he or she can have the charges expunged from her record by filing a petition with the clerk 18 months after being out of juvenile court, so long as he or she has not been adjudicated or found guilty of any other crime.)
Ultimately, because these bills provide greater access to juvenile records, it is essential that juvenile defense attorneys understand how they affect juvenile clients. If you also represent adult clients, be aware that both laws allow access to “records of adjudication,” i.e., any information that describes the offense adjudicated, such as the transcript of admission or adjudication order. The law does not give unfettered access, however, to the juvenile file and its contents.
NOTE: A synopsis of legislation pertaining to juvenile delinquency was printed in the August edition of the Office of the Juvenile Defender and North Carolina Advocates for Justice Juvenile Defense Newsletter, located on our website (http://www.ncids.org/Juvenile%20Defender/JuvDef%20HomePage.htm). You may also view the summary of legislation prepared by Professor Janet Mason of the UNC School of Government, at http://www.sog.unc.edu/pubs/electronicversions/pdfs/jvlb0901.pdf.