Users' questions

Can I see my juvenile record?

Can I see my juvenile record?

However, many people may still be able to view your juvenile record, such as court officials, the State’s Attorney’s Office, law enforcement, and other state government agencies. To limit people from being able to see your juvenile record, you may be able to get your record sealed or expunged.

Can a juvenile case be expunged?

Most states let you seal or expunge records of certain juvenile offenses, essentially wiping them off the books. Former juvenile offenders may be able to get a fresh start of sorts by filing a petition in court seeking expungement (sealing) of a juvenile court conviction.

Do juvenile records disappear?

An expunged juvenile record is physically and digitally destroyed. All documents in relation to the juvenile’s arrest, detention, sentencing, and probation must be permanently deleted from the archives of the court, law enforcement, and any other person or agency that provided services to a child under a court order.

Can police see expunged cases?

Police cannot see expunged records. That’s because when a court expunges your records, your files are destroyed or returned to you. It’s like you never had a criminal record in the first place.

What Happens if a juvenile is found guilty?

The potential punishments in juvenile courts can be vast, and are ultimately decided by the judge, if the juvenile is found guilty or admits to the charges. For the juvenile, these punishments can include incarceration, being placed on probation, ordered to complete community service work, counseling, and fines.

Can a juvenile court record be unsealed later?

The record will be unsealed if you are charged and sentenced later. The whole purpose of sealing your record is to give a youthful but reformed offender a chance to begin anew. That purpose is not served when the juvenile commits another crime.

What does it mean to have a juvenile criminal record?

In general, a juvenile crime record can be described as a criminal record that is associated with a specific child or minor. Briefly, juvenile crimes refer to crimes that are committed by children or minors (i.e., juveniles) who are under the age of majority.

How is public access to juvenile records changing?

An increasing number of States are responding to this need by allowing public access to and victim participation in juvenile proceedings, broadening access to juvenile records, fingerprinting and photographing delinquent youth, and altering expungement laws for juvenile records.

Are there exceptions to the confidentiality of juvenile records?

Some states have exceptions to the general confidentiality provided juvenile records when the juvenile is charged with a particularly violent crime or a crime that would be a felony if committed by an adult. States that currently have this exception are Arkansas, California, Colorado,…

The record will be unsealed if you are charged and sentenced later. The whole purpose of sealing your record is to give a youthful but reformed offender a chance to begin anew. That purpose is not served when the juvenile commits another crime.

Are there any juvenile court records that are public?

Though most juvenile court records are still kept private but there are some high profile cases which have shaken the entire base of the country, one such case was the March 1998 shooting tragedy in Jonesboro, Ark which has forced the juvenile justice system to make some juvenile criminal court records public for the welfare of the society.

How old do you have to be to get access to juvenile crime records?

For instance, Tennessee will permit access in cases where a juvenile is at least 14 years of age (or older) and is charged with a serious crime. Colorado provides access to juvenile crime records if the minor is 12 years of age or older and the minor was charged with a violent crime.

When did you have contact with the juvenile justice system?

If you were arrested or involved in a court case or had contact with the juvenile justice system when you were under 18, the courts, police, schools, or other public agencies may have records about what you did.