Section 169-B:35 Juvenile Case and Court Records.
I. All case records, as defined in RSA 170-G:8-a, relative to delinquency, shall be confidential and access shall be provided pursuant to RSA 170-G:8-a.
II. Court records of proceedings under this chapter, except for those court records under RSA 169-B:36, II, shall be kept in books and files separate from all other court records. Such records shall be withheld from public inspection but shall be open to inspection by officers of the institution where the minor is committed, juvenile probation and parole officers, a parent, a guardian, a custodian, the minor's attorney, the relevant county, and others entrusted with the corrective treatment of the minor. Additional access to court records may be granted by court order or upon the written consent of the minor. Once a delinquent reaches 21 years of age, all court records and individual institutional records, including police records, shall be closed and placed in an inactive file.
III. Notwithstanding paragraphs I and II:
(a) Police officers and prosecutors involved in the investigation and prosecution of criminal acts shall be authorized to access police records concerning juvenile delinquency, including the files of persons who at the time of the inquiry are over the age of 17, and to utilize for the purposes of investigation and prosecution of criminal cases police investigative files on acts of juvenile delinquency, including information from police reports, exemplars, and forensic investigations.
(b) Prosecutors involved in the prosecution of criminal acts shall be authorized to access police records concerning juvenile delinquency or records of adjudications of delinquency, including the files of persons who at the time of the inquiry are over the age of 17, if the prosecutor has reason to believe that the individual may be a witness in a criminal case. The prosecutor may disclose the existence of an adjudication for juvenile delinquency only when such disclosure is constitutionally required or after the court having jurisdiction over the criminal prosecution orders its disclosure.
(c) [Repealed.]
(d) Pursuant to RSA 651-B, the department of safety shall disclose registration information to law enforcement agencies for juveniles if the court has found that the juvenile is required to register as a sexual offender or offender against children. In no event shall any juvenile required to register be listed on the list of sexual offenders and offenders against children made available to the public pursuant to RSA 651-B:7.
Source. 1979, 361:2. 1987, 402:14. 1993, 266:1; 355:2. 1995, 308:109, 110. 1999, 219:2. 2000, 294:10. 2001, 286:21, I, eff. Sept. 14, 2001. 2006, 327:25, eff. Jan. 1, 2007.