Current Status Introducing Body:House Bill Number:3329 Primary Sponsor:Sheheen Committee Number:11 Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Juvenile criminal records Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Judiciary Computer Document Number:436/12833AC.93 Introduced Date:19930202 Date of Last Amendment:19940209 Last History Body:Senate Last History Date:19940215 Last History Type:Introduced, read first time, referred to Committee Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Sheheen Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved
____ ______ ____________ ______________________________ ___ ____________
3329 Senate 19940215 Introduced, read first time, 11
referred to Committee
3329 House 19940210 Read third time, sent to
Senate
3329 House 19940209 Amended, read second time
3329 House 19940203 Committee Report: Favorable 25
with amendment
3329 House 19930202 Introduced, read first time, 25
referred to Committee
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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AMENDED
February 9, 1994
H. 3329
S. Printed 2/9/94--H.
Read the first time February 2, 1993.
TO AMEND SECTIONS 20-7-600, 20-7-770, 20-7-780, AND 20-7-3300, ALL AS AMENDED, AND SECTION 20-7-1335, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF JUVENILE CRIMINAL RECORDS, SO AS TO REMOVE THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF THESE RECORDS FOR VIOLENT CRIMES, FOR CRIMES IN WHICH AN ILLEGAL WEAPON WAS USED, AND FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE "NARCOTICS AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES" ARTICLE; TO ALLOW FINGERPRINTING AND THE RELEASE TO THE PUBLIC OF THE NAME, IDENTITY, AND PICTURE OF A JUVENILE CHARGED WITH THESE CRIMES; AND TO PROHIBIT EXPUNGEMENT OF THESE RECORDS.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 20-7-600(D) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 571 of 1990, is further amended to read:
"(D) Peace officers' records of children must be kept separate from records of adults, must not be open to public inspection, and may be open to inspection only by governmental agencies authorized by the judge; however, the record of a child is open to public inspection if the record pertains to a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60 or to a crime in which an illegal weapon was used or to distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Title 44, Chapter 53, Article 3, or to an alcohol related offense for which the penalty is more than one year."
SECTION 2. Section 20-7-770 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181, Section 285 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 20-7-770. Notwithstanding the right of a person to petition the family court pursuant to Section 20-7-780 for the release of a person's record of juvenile adjudications, upon the request of the Attorney General or a circuit solicitor which is made pursuant to a current criminal investigation or prosecution, the Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide the requesting party with a copy of the juvenile criminal record of a person adjudicated as a juvenile for the commission of a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60, for a crime in which an illegal weapon was used, for distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Title 44, Chapter 53, Article 3, or for an alcohol related offense for which the penalty is more than one year. A person with a record for an adjudicated violent crime must have his juvenile criminal record maintained by the Department of Juvenile Justice for at least ten years after the date of the violent offense adjudication. The juvenile record of a person must be maintained by the Department of Juvenile Justice for the same period as for offenses committed by an adult when the offense is one for which the record must be provided pursuant to this section."
SECTION 3. Section 20-7-780 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181, Section 286 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 20-7-780. (A) The court shall make and keep records of all cases brought before it and shall devise and cause to be printed forms for social and legal records and other papers as may be required. The official juvenile records of the courts and the Department of Juvenile Justice are open to inspection only by consent of the judge to persons having a legitimate interest but always must be available to the legal counsel of the juvenile. All information obtained and social records prepared in the discharge of official duty by an employee of the court or Department of Juvenile Justice is confidential and must not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone, other than the judge or others entitled under this chapter to receive this information unless otherwise ordered by the judge. However, these records are open to inspection without the consent of the judge where the records:
(1) are necessary to defend against an action initiated by a juvenile.; or
(2) pertain to:
(a) a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(b) a crime in which an illegal weapon was used;
(c) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Title 44, Chapter 53, Article 3; or
(d) an alcohol related offense for which the penalty is more than one year.
(B) The When a juvenile is charged with a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60 or with a crime in which an illegal weapon was used, the Department of Juvenile Justice, if requested, shall provide the victim of a violent the crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60, with the name and other basic descriptive information about the juvenile charged with the crime and with information about the juvenile justice system, the status and disposition of the delinquency action, including hearing dates, times, and locations, and with information concerning services available to victims of juvenile crime. The name, identity, or picture of a child under the jurisdiction of the court, pursuant to this chapter, must not be made public by a newspaper, radio, or television station except as authorized by order of the court or if the juvenile is charged with a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60 or with a crime in which an illegal weapon was used or with distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Title 44, Chapter 53, Article 3 or to an already related offense for which the penalty is more than one year.
(C) A juvenile charged with committing a violent an offense as defined in Section 16-1-60, or charged with committing grand larceny of a motor vehicle, may be fingerprinted by the law enforcement agency who takes the juvenile into custody if the juvenile is charged with:
(1) a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(2) grand larceny of a motor vehicle;
(3) a crime in which an illegal weapon was used; or
(4) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Title 44, Chapter 53, Article 3; or
(5) an alcohol related offense for which the penalty is more than one year.
A juvenile charged with committing a nonviolent an offense other than those enumerated above in this subsection or a status offense must may not be fingerprinted by law enforcement except upon order of a family court judge. The fingerprint records of a juvenile must may be kept separate from the fingerprint records of adults. The fingerprint records of a juvenile must may not be transmitted to the files of the State Law Enforcement Division or to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or otherwise distributed or provided to another law enforcement agency unless the juvenile is adjudicated delinquent for having committed a violent offense, as defined in Section 16-1-60, or for grand larceny of a motor vehicle, for a crime in which an illegal weapon was used, for distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Title 44, Chapter 53, Article 3, or for an alcohol related offense for which the penalty is more than one year. The fingerprint records of a juvenile who is not adjudicated delinquent for having committed a violent offense, as defined in Section 16-1-60, or for grand larceny of a motor vehicle, for a crime in which an illegal weapon was used, for distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Title 44, Chapter 53, Article 3, or for an alcohol related offense for which the penalty is more than one year, upon notification to law enforcement, must be destroyed or otherwise expunged by the law enforcement agency who took the juvenile into custody. The Department of Juvenile Justice may fingerprint and photograph a juvenile upon commitment to a juvenile correctional institution. Fingerprints and photographs taken by the Department of Juvenile Justice remain confidential and must may not be transmitted to the State Law Enforcement Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or another agency or person, except for the purpose of aiding the department in apprehending an escapee from the department or assisting the Missing Persons Information Center in the location or identification of a missing or runaway child or except as otherwise provided for in this section."
SECTION 4. Section 20-7-1335 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 108 of 1987, is amended to read:
"Section 20-7-1335. (A) A juvenile not previously adjudicated delinquent for committing an offense which would have been a crime if committed by an adult, who has been taken into custody, or charged with, or adjudicated delinquent for having committed a status offense or a nonviolent criminal offense, not prohibited in subsection (C) from being expunged, may petition the family court for an order destroying all official records relating to his being taken into custody, the charges filed against him, his the adjudication, and the disposition. The granting of the order is discretionary with the court. However, the court may not grant the order unless it finds that the person who is seeking to have his these records destroyed is at least eighteen years of age, has fully and successfully completed any dispositional sentence imposed upon him, and has neither been charged nor is not currently charged with committing any additional criminal offenses.
(B) For purposes of this section, an adjudication is considered a previous adjudication only if it occurred prior to before the date the subsequent offense was committed.
(C) Under no circumstances is a person allowed to expunge from his record an adjudication for having committed a violent crime, as that term is defined in Section 16-1-60, for a criminal offense in which an illegal weapon was used, for distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Title 44, Chapter 53, Article 3, or for an alcohol related offense for which the penalty is more than one year unless the person is not more than twenty-five years of age and has not been adjudicated delinquent or convicted of an offense described in this subsection within the preceding six years.
(D) If the order is granted by the court, no evidence of the records may be retained by any a law enforcement agency or by any a municipal, county, or state agency or department. The effect of the order is to restore the person in the contemplation of the law to the status he the person occupied before he was being taken into custody. No person to whom the order has been entered may be held thereafter under any provision of any law to be guilty of perjury or otherwise giving false statement by reason of his the person's failure to recite or acknowledge the charge or adjudication in response to an inquiry made of him the person for any purpose."
SECTION 5. Section 20-7-3300 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181, Section 328 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 20-7-3300. (A) Records and information of the department pertaining to juveniles are confidential as provided in Section 20-7-780. However, where necessary and appropriate to ensure the provision and coordination of services and assistance to a juvenile under the custody or supervision of the department, the director must establish policies by which the department may transmit information and records to another department, or agency, or school district of state or local government, or to a school district or to a private institution or facility licensed by the State as a child serving organization, where the information is required for admission or enrollment of the juvenile into a program of services, treatment, training, or education. If requested, records a juvenile has been adjudicated and committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice for having committed a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60, for a crime in which an illegal weapon was used, for distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Title 44, Chapter 53, Article 3, or for an alcohol related offense for which the penalty is more than one year, the record and information provided to a public or private school by the Department of Juvenile Justice must include in the case of an individual who has been adjudicated for having committed a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60, the unlawful use of possession of a weapon, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, or the unlawful sale of drugs whether or not it is considered to be drug trafficking, a copy of, and, if requested, information pertaining to that person's juvenile criminal record. A request for information must be in writing from the principal of the school the juvenile is attending or seeking to attend and must contain the juvenile's name, address, and social security number as contained in the records of the school district. If a juvenile has been adjudicated and committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice for such an offense, the person's juvenile criminal record must be provided by the Department of Juvenile Justice to the principal of the school which the juvenile is eligible to attend immediately upon the person's release from the Department of Juvenile Justice. Each school district is responsible for developing a policy for schools to follow within the district which ensures that the confidential nature of these records and of the other information received is maintained. This policy must include at a minimum the retention of the juvenile's criminal record, and other information relating to his criminal record, in the juvenile's school disciplinary file, or in some other confidential location, restricting access to the file and to its contents to school personnel as considered necessary and appropriate to meet and adequately address the educational needs of the juvenile and for the destruction of these records upon the juvenile's completion of secondary school, or upon reaching twenty-one years of age."
SECTION 6. All references in this act to a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60 of the 1976 Code is the definition existing on this act's effective date or the definition as may be amended after this act's effective date.
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.