Juvenile Rehabilitation and Release Act Exposed

The Juvenile Rehabilitation and Release Act does not include adoption or approval information. ALEC has attempted to distance itself from this piece of legislation after the launch of ALECexposed.org in 2011, but it has done nothing to get it repealed in the states where it previously pushed for it to be made into law.

ALEC Bill Text

This bill requires that a juvenile in the custody of the appropriate state juvenile agency prove that he or she has been rehabilitated and no longer presents a threat to public safety prior to release from the jurisdiction of the state juvenile agency. The bill also sets forth the conditions upon which a juvenile record may be adjudicated.

Section 1.

A. If a juvenile is committed under the Probate Court Juvenile Trial and Sentencing Act for an offense that, if committed by an adult, would be a violation or attempted criminal violation, the {Insert Appropriate State Juvenile Court} shall conduct a review hearing to determine whether the juvenile has been rehabilitated and whether the juvenile presents a serious risk to public safety. If the court determines that the juvenile has not been rehabilitated or that the juvenile presents a serious risk to public safety, jurisdiction over the juvenile shall be continued. In making this determination, the court shall consider all of the following:

1. The extent and nature of the juvenile’s participation in education, counseling, or work programs.

2. The juvenile’s willingness to accept responsibility for prior behavior.

3. The juvenile’& behavior in his or her current placement

4. The juvenile’s prior record and character and his or her physical and mental maturity.

5. The juvenile’s potential for violent conduct as demonstrated by prior behavior.

6. The recommendations of the institution, agency, or facility charged with the child’s cart for the juvenile’s release or continued custody.

7. Other information the prosecuting attorney or juvenile may submit,

B. The juvenile has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she has been rehabilitated and does not present a serious risk to public safety.

C. Unless adjourned for good cause, a review hearing shall be scheduled and held as near as possible to, but before, the juvenile’s nineteenth birthday. If the institution, agency, or facility to which the juvenile was committed believes the juvenile has been rehabilitated and does not present a serious risk to,public safety, the institution, agency, or facility may petition the court to conduct a review hearing any time before the juvenile becomes [Insert Appropriate Age, 19 is recommended} years of age or, if the court has continued jurisdiction under subsection (l), any time before the juvenile becomes 21 years of age.

D. Not less than 14 days before a review hearing is to be conducted, the prosecuting attorney, the juvenile, and, if addresses arc known, the juvenile’s parent or guardian shall be notified. The notice shall state that the court may extend jurisdiction over the juvenile and shall advise the juvenile and the juvenile’s parent or guardian of the right to legal counsel. If legal counsel has not been retained or appointed to represent the juvenile, the court shall appoint legal counsel and may assess the cost of providing counsel as costs against the juvenile or those responsible for the juvenile’s support, or both, if the persons to be assessed are financially able to comply.

E. The institution, agency, or facility charged with the care of the juvenile shall prepare a commitment report for use by the court at a review hearing held under this section.

F. This section does not apply to a juvenile convicted under this chapter for committing a crime.

Section 2. Adjudication

A. Except as provided in subsection (B), a person who has been adjudicated’ of not more than I juvenile offense and who has no felony convictions may file an application with the adjudicating court for the entry of an order setting aside the adjudication. A person may have only 1 adjudication set aside under this section.

B. A person shall not apply under this section to have set aside, and a judge shall not under this section set aside, any of the following:

1. An adjudication for an offense that if committed by an adult would be a felony for which the maximum punishment is life imprisonment.

2. An adjudication for a traffic offense, that involves the operation of a vehicle and at the time of the violation is a felony or misdemeanor.

C. An application under this section shall not be filed until the expiration of 5 years following imposition of the disposition for the adjudication that the applicant seeks to set aside, or 5 years following completion of any term of detention for that adjudication, or when the person becomes 24 years of age, whichever occurs later. In some states, expungement will mean expungement from public record only, in other states, the record will be completely expunged.

D. An application under this section is invalid unless it contains the following information and is signed under oath by the person whose adjudication is to be set aside:

1. The full name and current address of the applicant

2. A certified record of the adjudication that is to be set aside.

3. A statement that the applicant has not been adjudicated of a juvenile offense other than the one that is sought to be set aside as a result of this application.

4. A statement that the applicant has not been convicted of any felony offense

5. A statement as to whether the applicant has previously filed an application to set aside this or any other adjudication and, if so, the disposition of the application,

6. A statement is to whether the applicant has any other criminal charge pending against him or her in any court in the United States or in any other country.

7. A consent to the use of the nonpublic record created under subsection (M), to the extent authorized by subsection (M).

E. The applicant shall submit a copy of the application to the department of state police. The state police shall compare those fingerprints with the records of the department, including the nonpublic record created under subsection (M), and shall forward a complete set, of fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation for a comparison with the records available to that agency. The state police shall report to the court in which the application is filed the information contained in the department’s records with respect lo any pending charges against the applicant, any record of adjudication or conviction of the applicant, and the setting aside of any adjudication or conviction of the applicant and shall report to the court any similar information obtained from the federal bureau of investigation. The court shall not act upon the application until the department of state police reports the information required by this subsection to the court.

F. The copy of the application submitted to the department of state police pursuant to subsection (E) shall be accompanied by a fee of {Insert Appropriate Fair Amount} payable to the state. The department of state police shall use the fee to defray the expenses incurred in processing the application.

G. A copy of the application shall be served upon the attorney general and, if applicable, upon the office of the prosecuting attorney who prosecuted the offense. The attorney general and the prosecuting attorney shall have an opportunity to contest the application. If the adjudication was for an offense that if committed by an adult would be an assaultive crime or serious misdemeanor, and if the name of the victim is known to the prosecuting attorney, the prosecuting attorney shall give the victim of that offense written notice of the application and forward a copy of the application to the victim. The notice shall be sent by first-class mail to the victim’s last known address. The victim has the right to appear at any proceeding under this section concerning that adjudication and to make a written or oral statement.

I. Except as provided in subsection (J), if the court determines that the circumstances and behavior of the applicant from the date of the applicant’s adjudication to the filing of the application warrant setting aside the adjudication and that setting aside the adjudication is consistent with the public welfare, the court may enter an order setting aside the adjudication. Except as provided in subsection (J), the setting aside of an adjudication under this section is a privilege and conditional, and is not a right.

J. Notwithstanding subsection (I), the court shall set aside the adjudication of a person who was adjudicated for an offense that if committed by an adult would be a violation or an attempted violation, if the person files an application with the court and otherwise meets the requirements of this section.

K. Upon the entry of an order under this section, the applicant is considered not to have been previously adjudicated, except as provided in subsection (M) and as follows:

1. The applications not entitled to the remission of any fine, costs, or other money paid as a consequence of an adjudication that is set aside.

2.This section does not affect the right of the applicant to rely upon the adjudication to bar subsequent proceedings for the same offense.

3. This section does not affect the right of a victim of an offense to prosecute or defend a civil action for damages.

4. This section does not create a right to commence an action for damages for detention under the disposition that the applicant served before the adjudication is set aside pursuant to this section.

L. Upon the entry of an order under this section, the court shall send a copy of the order to the arresting agency and the department of state police.

M. The department of state police shall retain a nonpublic record of the order setting aside an adjudication and of the record of the arrest, fingerprints, adjudication, and disposition of the applicant in the case to which the order applies. Except as provided in subsection (N), this nonpublic record shall he made available only to a court of competent jurisdiction, an agency of the judicial branch of state government, a law enforcement agency, a prosecuting attorney, the attorney general, or the governor upon request and only for the following purposes:

1. Consideration in a licensing function conducted by an agency of the judicial branch of state government.

2. Consideration by a law enforcement agency if a person whose adjudication has been set aside applies for employment with the law enforcement agency.

3. To show that a person who has filed an application to set aside an adjudication has previously had an adjudication set aside under this section.

4. The court’s consideration in determining the sentence to be imposed upon conviction for a subsequent offense that is punishable as a felony or by imprisonment for more than 1 year.

5. Consideration by the governor, if a person whose adjudication has been set aside applies for a pardon for another offense.

N. A copy of the nonpublic record created under subsection (M) shall be provided to the person whose adjudication is set aside under this section upon payment of a fee determined and charged by the department of state police.

O. Except as provided in subsection (M), a person, other than the applicant, who knows or should have known that an adjudication was set aside under this section, who divulges, uses, or publishes information concerning an adjudication set aside under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.