16.1-305 - Confidentiality of court records.
§ 16.1-305. Confidentiality of court records.
A. Social, medical and psychiatric or psychological records, includingreports or preliminary inquiries, predisposition studies and supervisionrecords, of neglected and abused children, children in need of services,children in need of supervision and delinquent children shall be filed withthe other papers in the juvenile's case file. All juvenile case files shallbe filed separately from adult files and records of the court and shall beopen for inspection only to the following:
1. The judge, probation officers and professional staff assigned to serve thejuvenile and domestic relations district courts;
2. Representatives of a public or private agency or department providingsupervision or having legal custody of the child or furnishing evaluation ortreatment of the child ordered or requested by the court;
3. The attorney for any party, including the attorney for the Commonwealth;
4. Any other person, agency or institution, by order of the court, having alegitimate interest in the case or in the work of the court. However, for thepurposes of an investigation conducted by a local community-based probationservices agency, preparation of a pretrial investigation report, or of apresentence or postsentence report upon a finding of guilty in a circuitcourt or for the preparation of a background report for the Parole Board,adult probation and parole officers, including United States Probation andPretrial Services Officers, any officer of a local pretrial services agencyestablished or operated pursuant to Article 5 (§ 19.2-152.2 et seq.) ofChapter 9 of Title 19.2, and any officer of a local community-based probationservices agency established or operated pursuant to the ComprehensiveCommunity Corrections Act for Local-Responsible Offenders (§ 9.1-173 et seq.)shall have access to an accused's or inmate's records in juvenile courtwithout a court order and for the purpose of preparing the discretionarysentencing guidelines worksheets and related risk assessment instruments asdirected by the court pursuant to subsection C of § 19.2-298.01, the attorneyfor the Commonwealth and any pretrial services or probation officer shallhave access to the defendant's records in juvenile court without a courtorder;
5. Any attorney for the Commonwealth and any local pretrial services orcommunity-based probation officer or state adult probation or parole officershall have direct access to the defendant's juvenile court delinquencyrecords maintained in an electronic format by the court for the strictlylimited purposes of preparing a pretrial investigation report, including anyrelated risk assessment instrument, any presentence report, any discretionarysentencing guidelines worksheets, including related risk assessmentinstruments, any post-sentence investigation report or preparing for anytransfer or sentencing hearing.
A copy of the court order of disposition in a delinquency case shall beprovided to a probation officer or attorney for the Commonwealth, whenrequested for the purpose of calculating sentencing guidelines. The copiesshall remain confidential, but reports may be prepared using the informationcontained therein as provided in §§ 19.2-298.01 and 19.2-299.
6. The Office of the Attorney General, for all criminal justice activitiesotherwise permitted and for purposes of performing duties required by Chapter9 (§ 37.2-900 et seq.) of Title 37.2.
A1. Any person, agency, or institution that may inspect juvenile case filespursuant to subdivisions A 1 through A 4 shall be authorized to have copiesmade of such records, subject to any restrictions, conditions, orprohibitions that the court may impose.
B. All or any part of the records enumerated in subsection A, or informationsecured from such records, which is presented to the judge in court orotherwise in a proceeding under this law shall also be made available to theparties to the proceedings and their attorneys.
B1. If a juvenile 14 years of age or older at the time of the offense isadjudicated delinquent on the basis of an act which would be a felony ifcommitted by an adult, all court records regarding that adjudication and anysubsequent adjudication of delinquency, other than those records specified insubsection A, shall be open to the public. However, if a hearing was closed,the judge may order that certain records or portions thereof remainconfidential to the extent necessary to protect any juvenile victim orjuvenile witness.
C. All other juvenile records, including the docket, petitions, motions andother papers filed with a case, transcripts of testimony, findings, verdicts,orders and decrees shall be open to inspection only by those persons andagencies designated in subsections A and B of this section. However, alicensed bail bondsman shall be entitled to know the status of a bond he hasposted or provided surety on for a juvenile under § 16.1-258. This shall notauthorize a bail bondsman to have access to or inspect any other portion ofhis principal's juvenile court records.
D. Attested copies of papers filed in connection with an adjudication ofguilty for an offense for which the clerk is required by § 46.2-383 tofurnish an abstract to the Department of Motor Vehicles, which shows thecharge, finding, disposition, name of the attorney for the juvenile, orwaiver of attorney shall be furnished to an attorney for the Commonwealthupon certification by the prosecuting attorney that such papers are needed asevidence in a pending criminal, traffic, or habitual offender proceeding andthat such papers will be only used for such evidentiary purpose.
D1. Attested copies of papers filed in connection with an adjudication ofguilt for a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult,which show the charge, finding, disposition, name of the attorney for thejuvenile, or waiver of attorney by the juvenile, shall be furnished to anattorney for the Commonwealth upon his certification that such papers areneeded as evidence in a pending criminal prosecution for a violation of §18.2-308.2 and that such papers will be only used for such evidentiarypurpose.
E. Upon request, a copy of the court order of disposition in a delinquencycase shall be provided to the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commissionsolely for purposes of determining whether to make an award to the victim ofa crime, and such information shall not be disseminated or used by theCommission for any other purpose including but not limited to actionspursuant to § 19.2-368.15.
F. Staff of the court services unit or the attorney for the Commonwealthshall provide notice of the disposition in a case involving a juvenile who iscommitted to state care after being adjudicated for a criminal sexual assaultas specified in Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2 tothe victim or a parent of a minor victim, upon request. Additionally, if thevictim or parent submits a written request, the Department of JuvenileJustice shall provide advance notice of such juvenile offender's anticipateddate of release from commitment.
G. Any record in a juvenile case file which is open for inspection by theprofessional staff of the Department of Juvenile Justice pursuant tosubsection A and is maintained in an electronic format by the court, may betransmitted electronically to the Department of Juvenile Justice. Any recordso transmitted shall be subject to the provisions of § 16.1-300.
(Code 1950, § 16.1-162; 1956, c. 555; 1958, c. 353; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 228;1975, c. 334; 1977, c. 559; 1979, c. 605; 1983, c. 389; 1984, c. 34; 1988, c.541; 1989, c. 182; 1990, c. 258; 1992, c. 547; 1994, c. 603; 1995, c. 430;1996, cc. 755, 870, 914; 1998, cc. 278, 521; 2002, cc. 701, 735, 741; 2003,c. 143; 2004, c. 446; 2007, c. 133; 2009, cc. 138, 308, 740.)