H.B. 356

1

EXPUNGEMENT OF JUVENILE RECORDS
2 1999 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: Brent H. Goodfellow
5 AN ACT RELATING TO THE JUDICIAL CODE; PROVIDING FOR THE EXPUNGEMENT
6 OF ALL REFERENCES TO THE PETITIONER IN THE RECORDS UPON THE GRANTING
7 OF AN EXPUNGEMENT, BUT NOT THE DESTRUCTION OR SEALING OF THE
8 RECORDS.
9 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
10 AMENDS:
11 78-3a-905, as last amended by Chapter 365, Laws of Utah 1997
12 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
13 Section 1. Section 78-3a-905 is amended to read:
14 78-3a-905. Expungement of juvenile court record -- Petition -- Procedure.
15 (1) (a) Any person who has been adjudicated under this chapter may, after the expiration
16 of one year from the date of termination of the continuing jurisdiction of the juvenile court or, in
17 case he was committed to a secure youth corrections facility, one year from the date of his
18 unconditional release from the facility, petition the court for the expungement of his record in the
19 juvenile court.
20 (b) (i) Upon the filing of a petition, the court shall set a date for a hearing and shall notify
21 the county attorney or, if within the prosecution district, district attorney, and the agency with
22 custody of the records of the pendency of the petition and of the date of the hearing.
23 (ii) The county attorney or district attorney and any other person who may have relevant
24 information about the petitioner may testify at the hearing.
25 (2) (a) If the court finds upon the hearing that the petitioner has not been convicted of a
26 felony or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude since the termination of the court's
27 jurisdiction or his unconditional release from a secure youth corrections facility and that no

28 proceeding involving [the] a felony or misdemeanor is pending or being instituted against him, and
29 if the court further finds that the rehabilitation of the petitioner has been attained to the satisfaction
30 of the court, it shall order sealed all records in the petitioner's case in the custody of the juvenile
31 court and any records in the custody of any other agency or official pertaining to the petitioner's
32 adjudicated juvenile court cases, except fingerprint records. Fingerprint records shall be retained
33 in the custody of the juvenile court and any other agency or official. Copies of the order shall be
34 sent to each agency or official named in the order and any entity notified of the original
35 adjudication under Subsection 78-3a-118 (1)(b). To avoid destruction or sealing of the records in
36 whole or in part, the agency or entity receiving the expungement order shall only expunge all
37 references to the petitioner's name in the records pertaining to the adjudicated juvenile court cases.
38 The petitioner, based on good cause, may petition the court to expunge the records in whole or in
39 part.
40 (b) Upon the entry of the order, the proceedings in the petitioner's case shall be considered
41 never to have occurred and the petitioner may properly reply accordingly upon any inquiry in the
42 matter. Inspection of the records may thereafter only be permitted by the court upon petition by
43 the person who is the subject of the records, and only to persons named in the petition.




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-5-99 7:11 AM

A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel