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Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.693 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19990407 Primary Sponsor:Waldrep All Sponsors:Waldrep, Alexander and Land Drafted Document Number:l:\s-res\rlw\001juve.whb.doc Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Judiciary Committee 11 SJ Subject:Minors, juvenile criminal records, release of information to school officials under certain conditions, School Districts History Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ ______________________________________ _______ ____________ Senate 19990407 Introduced, read first time, 11 SJ referred to Committee Versions of This Bill
TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-8510, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE MAINTENANCE, RELEASE, AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF JUVENILE RECORDS PURSUANT TO THE JUVENILE JUSTICE CODE, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE RELEASE OF INFORMATION AMONG THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE, SOLICITORS' OFFICES, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES; TO AUTHORIZE THE TRANSMISSION OF RECORDS OF ADJUDICATION AND PENDING CRIMINAL CASES TO A SCHOOL OFFICIAL IF THE JUVENILE IS OR MAY BE A STUDENT AT THE SCHOOL; TO AUTHORIZE FINGERPRINTING OF ALL JUVENILES OTHER THAN THOSE CHARGED WITH A STATUS OFFENSE; TO REVISE WHAT JUVENILE FINGERPRINT RECORDS MUST BE DESTROYED; AND TO AUTHORIZE SHARING OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE, SOLICITORS' OFFICES, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND VARIOUS HUMAN SERVICES AGENCIES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 20-7-8510 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 384 of 1998, is further amended to read:
"Section 20-7-8510. (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 Official juvenile records maintained by the court, the Department of Juvenile Justice, solicitors' offices, the Attorney General, or any other law enforcement agency may be transmitted between these agencies without a court order or consent of the judge if requested for a legitimate criminal justice purpose as defined below, and these records always must be available to the legal counsel of the juvenile. All records of adjudication and pending criminal cases may be transmitted to an appropriate administrative official of any school or school administrative office, upon request or inquiry, without a court order or consent of the judge, if the juvenile is a student at a school, or may be a student at a school, operating under the authority of the requesting official. Except as provided in subsection (B), all information obtained and social records prepared in the discharge of official duty by an employee of the court or Department of Juvenile Justice are confidential and must not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone, other than the judge or others entitled under this article 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 are necessary to defend against an action initiated by a juvenile.
(B) The Department of Juvenile Justice, if requested, shall provide the victim of a crime 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 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 provided to or made public by a newspaper or radio or television station except as authorized by order of the court or unless the juvenile has been bound over to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offense if committed by an adult or the juvenile has been adjudicated delinquent in family court for:
(1) a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(2) grand larceny of a motor vehicle;
(3) a crime in which a deadly weapon was used; or
(4) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44.
(C) A juvenile charged with committing an offense must 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 a weapon was used; or
(4) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44.
In addition, a juvenile under criminal investigation may be fingerprinted by a law enforcement agency upon an order from a family court judge for the offenses enumerated above.
A juvenile under criminal investigation or charged with committing an offense other than those enumerated above in this subsection or a status offense may not be fingerprinted by law enforcement except upon order of a family court judge. A juvenile charged with an offense other than those enumerated above in this subsection may be fingerprinted by law enforcement at intake or booking without a court order or consent of the judge if the offense is not a status offense. A juvenile charged with a status offense must not be fingerprinted except upon order of a family court judge. The fingerprint records of a juvenile must be kept separate from the fingerprint records of adults. The fingerprint records of a juvenile must be transmitted to the files of the State Law Enforcement Division. A copy of the fingerprint records may be maintained by the agency responsible for intake of or booking the juvenile at the local level. The fingerprint records of a juvenile must not be transmitted to the files of 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, for grand larceny of a motor vehicle, for a crime in which a weapon was used, or for distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44. The fingerprint records of a juvenile who is not adjudicated delinquent for having committed an offense other than a violent offense, as defined in Section 16-1-60 for grand larceny of a motor vehicle, for a crime in which a weapon was used, or for distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44, upon notification to law enforcement, must be destroyed or otherwise expunged by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the law enforcement agency who took the juvenile into custody.
The fingerprints and any record created by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division as a result of the receipt of fingerprints of a juvenile pursuant to this subsection must not be disclosed for any purpose not specifically authorized by law or by a court order. The fingerprints of a juvenile adjudicated as delinquent for the commission of any of these crimes and any record created as a result of such information must be made available for criminal justice purposes. For the purposes of this section, 'criminal justice purposes' means the performance of any activity directly involving the detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused or convicted persons or criminal offenders, or the collection, storage, and dissemination of criminal history record information.
The Department of Juvenile Justice may fingerprint and photograph a juvenile upon the filing of a petition, release from detention, release on house arrest, or commitment to a juvenile correctional institution. A law enforcement agency that takes a juvenile into custody may photograph the juvenile at intake, booking, or anytime before a hearing. Fingerprints and photographs taken by the department or a law enforcement agency remain confidential and must 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, assisting the Missing Persons Information Center in the location or identification of a missing or runaway child, in locating and identifying a child who fails to appear in court as summoned or who is the subject of a house arrest order, or except as otherwise provided in this section.
(D) Law enforcement agencies shall maintain admission and release records on juveniles held in either secure or nonsecure custody, or both, which must include the times and dates of admission and release from secure and nonsecure custody and, if appropriate, the times and dates of transfer from one custody status to another.
(E) 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.
(F) The provisions of this section do not prohibit the distribution of information pursuant to the provisions of Article 7, Chapter 3 of Title 23.
(G)(1) Directory information on a juvenile who has been charged with or adjudicated delinquent for an offense enumerated in subsection (B) may be made available by the Department of Juvenile Justice, solicitors' offices, and other law enforcement agencies, upon request, to state human services agencies including, but not limited to, the Department of Social Services, Department of Mental Health, the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and other public or private agencies that provide services directly to children.
(2) A human services agency, enumerated in subsection (G)(1), may provide directory information on a juvenile who is enrolled in or who has applied for enrollment in a truancy prevention program, intervention program, or any other preadjudicatory diversion program administered by the human services agency to the Department of Juvenile Justice, solicitors' offices, and truant officers.
(3) For purpose of this section, 'directory information includes the juvenile's name, address, phone number, parent or guardian information, and agency contact information.
(4) Information disseminated or provided pursuant to this subsection is confidential and must not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone other than a judge or others entitled under this article to receive this information."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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