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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AMENDED
May 31, 2000
H. 4003
Introduced by Reps. Allen, Martin, Knotts, Rhoad, Simrill, J. Smith, Allison, Altman, Bailey, Bales, Barrett, Battle, Carnell, Clyburn, Cooper, Davenport, Emory, Gamble, Gilham, Gourdine, Harrison, Hayes, M. Hines, Hinson, Inabinett, Keegan, Kelley, Kirsh, Law, Lee, Lloyd, Littlejohn, Lourie, Maddox, Mason, McCraw, McGee, McKay, W. McLeod, Meacham-Richardson, Miller, Ott, Phillips, Pinckney, Rodgers, Rutherford, Sandifer, R. Smith, Stille, Stuart, Taylor, Townsend, Walker, Webb, Whatley, Whipper, Wilder, Witherspoon, Young-Brickell and Robinson
S. Printed 5/31/00--H.
Read the first time May 2, 2000.
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 A JUVENILE CHARGED WITH AN OFFENSE OTHER THAN A STATUS OFFENSE; AND TO AUTHORIZE SHARING OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE, SOLICITORS' OFFICES, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND VARIOUS HUMAN SERVICES AGENCIES.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 20-7-6605 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 20-7-6605. When used in this article and unless otherwise defined or the specific context indicates otherwise:
(1) 'Child' means a person less than seventeen years of age. 'Child' does not mean a person sixteen years of age or older who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more. However, a person sixteen years of age who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more may be remanded to the family court for disposition of the charge at the discretion of the solicitor. An additional or accompanying charge associated with the charges contained in this item must be heard by the court with jurisdiction over the offenses contained in this item.
(2) 'Court' means the family court.
(3) 'Department' means the Department of Juvenile Justice.
(4) 'Guardian' means a person who legally has the care and management of a child.
(5) 'Judge' means the judge of the family court.
(6) 'Parent' means biological parent, adoptive parents, step-parent, or person with legal custody.
(7) 'Parole board' means the Board of Juvenile Parole under the Department of Juvenile Justice.
(8) 'Status offense' means an offense which would not be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult including, but not limited to, incorrigibility or beyond the control of parents, truancy, running away, playing or loitering in a billiard room, playing a pinball machine, or gaining admission to a theater by false identification.
(9) 'Criminal justice purpose' means:
(a) the performance of any activity directly involving the detection, apprehension, capture from escape or elopement, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, supervision, or rehabilitation of accused or adjudicated persons or criminal offenders; or
(b) the collection, storage, and dissemination of child offense history records."
SECTION 2. Section 20-7-7205 (C) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 383 of 1996, is amended to read:
"(C) When a child is taken into custody by a law enforcement officer for an offense which would be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult, not including a traffic or wildlife violation over which courts other than the family court have concurrent jurisdiction as provided in Section 20-7-410 any offense, the law enforcement officer also shall notify the principal of the school in which the child is enrolled, if any, of the nature of the offense. This information may be used by the principal for monitoring and supervisory purposes but otherwise must be kept confidential by the principal in the same manner required by Section 20-7-8510 (E)."
SECTION 3. Section 20-7-8505 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 20-7-8505. Records and information of the department pertaining to juveniles shall be confidential as provided in Section 20-7-8510; provided, however, that 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 such information and records to another department or agency of state or local government, a school district, or a private institution or facility licensed by the State as a child-serving organization, where such is required for admission or enrollment of the juvenile into a program of services, treatment, training, or education. Records and information provided to a public or private school by the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Corrections, or the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services 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, for a crime in which a weapon as defined in Section 59-63-370 was used, for assault and battery against school personnel, as defined in Section 16-3-612, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature committed on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in an official capacity, or for distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44, notice as set forth in Section 59-63-370. The person's juvenile criminal record must be provided by the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Corrections, or the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services to the principal of any school to which the person is seeking enrollment, upon the principal's request. 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 deemed 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. The court shall make and keep records of all cases brought before it. The records of the court are confidential and open to inspection only by court order to persons having a legitimate interest in the records and to the extent necessary to respond to that legitimate interest. These records must always be available to the legal counsel of the child and are open to inspection without a court order where the records are necessary to defend against an action initiated by a child."
SECTION 4. Section 20-7-8510 of the 1976 Code is 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 always must be available to the legal counsel of the juvenile. Except as provided in subsection (B) herein, all information obtained and social records prepared in the discharge of official duty by an employee of the court or Department of Juvenile Justice department are confidential and must not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone, other than the judge, the child's attorney, or others entitled under this article or any other article to receive this information, unless otherwise ordered by the judge court. The court may order the records be disclosed to a person having a legitimate interest and to the extent necessary to respond to that legitimate interest. However, these records are open to inspection without the consent of the judge a court order where the records are necessary to defend against an action initiated by a juvenile child.
(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.
The director of the department must develop policies providing for the transmission of necessary and appropriate information to ensure the provision and coordination of services or assistance to a child under the custody or supervision of the department. This information must include that which is required for the admission or enrollment of a child into a program of services, treatment, training, or education. The information may be provided to another department or agency of state or local government, a school district, or a private institution or facility licensed by the State as a child-serving organization. This information may be summarized in accordance with agency policy.
(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) rand larceny of a motor vehicle;
(3) crime in which a weapon was used; or
(4) istribution 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. 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. 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 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. Fingerprints and photographs taken by the department 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.
The director is authorized to enter into interagency agreements for purposes of sharing information about children under the supervision or in the custody of the department. The agencies entering into these agreements must maintain the confidentiality of the information.
(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.
Reports and recommendations produced by the department for the court for the purpose of a dispositional hearing must be disseminated by the agency to the court, the solicitor, and the child's attorney.
(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.
(1) The department must notify the principal of a school in which a child is enrolled, intends to be enrolled, or was last enrolled upon final disposition of a case in which the child is charged with any of the following offenses:
(a) a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(b) a crime in which a weapon, as defined in Section 59-63-370, was used;
(c) assault and battery against school personnel, as defined in Section 16-3-612;
(d) assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature committed on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in an official capacity; or
(e) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs, as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44.
(2) The principal of a school may request from the department the child offense history of any child enrolled in or who has applied for enrollment in that school. Upon such request, the department must provide the child offense history to the principal.
(3) Each school district is responsible for developing a policy for schools within the district to follow to ensure that the confidential nature of a child offense history and other information received is maintained. This policy must provide for, but is not limited to:
(a) the retention of the child offense history and other information relating to the child offense history in the child's school disciplinary file or in some other confidential location;
(b) the destruction of the child offense history upon the child's completion of secondary school or upon reaching twenty-one years of age; and
(c) limiting access to the child's school disciplinary file to school personnel. This access must only occur when necessary and appropriate to meet and adequately address the educational needs of the child.
(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. When requested, the department must provide the victim of a crime with the name of the child and the following information retained by the department concerning the child charged with the crime:
(1) other basic descriptive information, including but not limited to, a photograph;
(2) information about the juvenile justice system;
(3) the status and disposition of the delinquency action including hearing dates, times, and locations;
(4) services available to victims of child crime; and
(5) recommendations produced by the department for the court for the purpose of a dispositional hearing.
(G) The department or the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, or both, must provide to the Attorney General, a solicitor, or a law enforcement agency, upon request, a copy of a child offense history for criminal justice purposes. This information must not be disseminated except as authorized in Section 20-7-8515. The department and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division must maintain the child offense history of a person for the same period as for offenses committed by an adult.
(H) Other information retained by the department may be provided to the Attorney General, a solicitor, or a State or Federal law enforcement agency pursuant to an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution.
(I) The department may fingerprint and photograph a child upon the filing of a petition, release from detention, release on house arrest, or commitment to a juvenile correctional institution. Fingerprints and photographs taken by the department 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:
(1) aiding the department in apprehending an escapee from the department;
(2) assisting the Missing Persons Information Center in the location or identification of a missing or runaway child;
(3) locating and identifying a child who fails to appear in court as summoned;
(4) locating a child who is the subject of a house arrest order; or
(5) as otherwise provided in this section.
(J) Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive any statutory or common law privileges attached to the department's internal reports or to information contained in the file of a child under the supervision or custody of the department."
SECTION 5. Section 20-7-8515 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 20-7-8515. Notwithstanding the right of a person to petition the family court pursuant to Section 20-7-8510 for the release of a person's record of juvenile adjudications, upon the request of the Attorney General, a circuit solicitor, or a law enforcement officer which is made pursuant to a current criminal investigation or prosecution, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division or the Department of Juvenile Justice, or both if requested, 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 crime. This information shall not be disseminated except as authorized in Section 20-7-8510. The juvenile record of a person must be maintained by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Department of Juvenile Justice for the same period as for offenses committed by an adult.
(A) Except as provided herein, law enforcement records and information identifying children pursuant to this article are confidential and may not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone, other than those entitled under this article to receive the information.
(B) Law enforcement records of children must be kept separate from records of adults. Information identifying a child must not be open to public inspection, but the remainder of these records are public records.
(C) Law enforcement agencies must maintain admission and release records on children held in secure custody, nonsecure custody, or both. The records 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.
(D) Law enforcement information or records of children created pursuant to the provisions of this article may be shared among State or Federal law enforcement agencies, solicitors' offices, the Attorney General, the department, the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon for criminal justice purposes without a court order.
(E) Incident reports in which a child is the subject are to be provided to the victim of a crime pursuant to Section 16-3-1520. Incident reports, including information identifying a child, must be provided by law enforcement to the principal of the school in which the child is enrolled when the child has been charged with any of the following offenses:
(1) a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(2) an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more if committed by an adult;
(3) a crime in which a weapon, as defined in Section 59-63-370, was used;
(4) assault and battery against school personnel, as defined in Section 16-3-612;
(5) assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature committed on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in an official capacity; or
(6) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs, as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44.
Incident reports involving other offenses must be provided upon request of the principal. This information must be maintained by the principal in the manner set forth in Section 20-7-8510(E) and must be forwarded with the child's permanent school records if the child transfers to another school or school district.
(F) A child charged with any offense may be photographed by the law enforcement agency that takes the child into custody. If the child is taken into secure custody and detained, the detention facility must photograph the child upon admission. These photographs may only be disseminated for criminal justice purposes or to assist the Missing Persons Information Center in the location or identification of a missing or runaway child.
(G) A child charged with an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if committed by an adult must be fingerprinted by the law enforcement agency that takes the child into custody. If the child is taken into secure custody and detained, the detention facility must fingerprint the child upon admission. In addition, a law enforcement agency may petition the court for an order to fingerprint a child when:
(1) the child is charged with any other offense; or
(2) the law enforcement agency has probable cause to suspect the child of committing any offense.
(H) The fingerprint records of a child must be kept separate from the fingerprint records of adults. The fingerprint records of a child must be transmitted to the files of the State Law Enforcement Division.
(I) The fingerprint records of a child may be transmitted by the State Law Enforcement Division to the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation only when the child has been adjudicated delinquent for having committed an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if committed by an adult.
(J) The fingerprint records of a child adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if committed by an adult must be provided by the State Law Enforcement Division or the law enforcement agency who took the child into custody to a law enforcement agency upon request by that agency for criminal justice purposes or to assist the Missing Person Information Center in the location or identification of a missing or runaway child.
(K) The fingerprints and any record created by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division as a result of the receipt of fingerprints of a child pursuant to this section must not be disclosed for any purpose not specifically authorized by law or court order.
(L) Upon notification that a child has not been adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if committed by an adult, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the law enforcement agency who took the child into custody must destroy the fingerprints and all records created as a result of such information."
SECTION 6. Section 20-7-8520 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 20-7-8520. (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, charged with or adjudicated delinquent for having committed a status offense or a nonviolent criminal offense may petition the family court for an order destroying all official records relating to being taken into custody, the charges filed against the juvenile, the adjudication, and 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 the records destroyed is at least eighteen years of age, has fully and successfully completed any dispositional sentence imposed, and has neither been charged nor is currently charged with committing any additional criminal offenses. The name, identity, or picture of a child under the jurisdiction of the court, pursuant to this chapter, must not be provided to a newspaper or radio or television station unless:
(1) authorized by court order;
(2) the solicitor has petitioned the court to waive the child to circuit court;
(3) the child has been bound over to a court which would have jurisdiction of the offense if committed by an adult; or
(4) the child has been adjudicated delinquent in court for one of the following offenses:
(a) a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(b) grand larceny of a motor vehicle;
(c) a crime in which a weapon, as defined in Section 59-63-370, was used; or
(d) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs, as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44.
(B) Under no circumstances is a person allowed to expunge from the record an adjudication for having committed a violent crime, as that term is defined in Section 16-1-60. When a child is bound over to the jurisdiction of the circuit court, the provisions of this section pertaining to the confidentiality of fingerprints and identity do not apply.
(C) If the order is granted by the court, no evidence of the records may be retained by any law enforcement agency or by any 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 the person occupied before 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 failing to recite or acknowledge the charge or adjudication in response to an inquiry made of the person for any purpose. The provisions of this section do not prohibit the distribution of information pursuant to the provisions of Article 7, Chapter 3 of Title 23.
(D) For purposes of this section, an adjudication is considered a previous adjudication only if it occurred prior to the date the subsequent offense was committed."
SECTION 7. Chapter 7 of Title 20 is amended by adding:
"Section 20-7-8525. (A) A person who has been taken into custody for, charged with, or adjudicated delinquent for having committed a status or a nonviolent offense may petition the court for an order destroying all official records relating to:
(1) being taken into custody;
(2) the charges filed against the child;
(3) the adjudication; and
(4) disposition.
The granting of the order is in the court's discretion. However, a person may not petition the court if he has a prior adjudication for an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if committed by an adult. In addition, the court must not grant the order unless it finds that the person who is seeking to have the records destroyed is at least eighteen years of age, has successfully completed any dispositional sentence imposed, and has not been subsequently charged with any criminal offense.
(B) An adjudication for a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60, must not be expunged.
(C) If the expungement order is granted by the court, no evidence of the records may be retained by any law enforcement agency or by any municipal, county, state agency, or department. The effect of the order is to restore the person in the contemplation of the law to the status the person occupied before 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 failing to recite or acknowledge the charge or adjudication in response to an inquiry made of the person for any purpose.
(D) For purposes of this section, an adjudication is considered a previous adjudication only if it occurred prior to the date the subsequent offense was committed."
SECTION 8. Chapter 9, Title 24 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 24-9-50. (A) Each local governmental entity responsible for a municipal, county, regional, or multijurisdictional detention facility shall report to the Department of Corrections, at the times and in the form required by the department, data and information prescribed by the department:
(1) for the classification and management of inmates who receive sentences greater than three months; and
(2) on the classification and management of inmates who are in pretrial status and inmates who receive sentences to be served locally;
(B) Data and information authorized in the Minimum Standards for Local Detention Facilities in South Carolina for the operation and management of a statewide jail information system shall be reported to the department by each local governmental entity.
(C) To the greatest extent possible, reports should be submitted through a means of electronic data transfer approved by the department. If it is not possible for a local governmental entity to submit reports through the approved means of electronic data transfer, it shall certify such to the department. The department and the respective local governmental entity shall determine a suitable alternative means for submission of reports until such time as the local governmental entity is able to electronically transfer data in the manner approved by the department."
SECTION 9. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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