West Virginia Code 49-5-104 – Confidentiality of juvenile records for children who become of age while a ward of the state or who have been transferred to adult criminal jurisdiction; separate and secure location; penalties; damages; accessibility of…
(a) One year after the juvenile‘s 18th birthday, or one year after personal or juvenile jurisdiction has terminated, whichever is later, the records of a juvenile proceeding conducted under this chapter, including, but not limited to, law-enforcement files and records, may be kept in a separate secure confidential place and the records may not be inspected except by order of the circuit court.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 49-5-104
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Court: means the circuit court of the county with jurisdiction of the case or the judge in vacation unless otherwise specifically provided. See West Virginia Code 49-1-207
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Juvenile: means any person under eighteen years of age or is a transitioning adult. See West Virginia Code 49-1-202
- Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Waiver: means a declaration that a certain legislative rule is inapplicable in a particular circumstance. See West Virginia Code 49-1-203
(b) The records of a juvenile proceeding in which a juvenile was transferred to criminal jurisdiction pursuant to § 49-4-710 of this code shall be kept in a separate secure confidential place and the records may not be inspected except by order of the circuit court if the juvenile is subsequently acquitted or found guilty only of an offense other than an offense upon which the waiver or order of transfer was based, or if the offense upon which the waiver or order of transfer was based is subsequently dismissed.
(c) To keep the confidentiality of juvenile records, they shall be returned to the circuit court in which the case was pending and be kept in a separate confidential file. The records shall be physically marked to show that they are to remain confidential and shall be securely kept and filed in a manner so that no one can have access to determine the identity of the juvenile, except upon order of the circuit court.
(d) Marking the juvenile records to show they are to remain confidential has the legal effect of extinguishing the offense as if it never occurred.
(e) The records of a juvenile convicted under the criminal jurisdiction of the circuit court pursuant to §49-4-710(d)(1) of this code may not be marked and kept as confidential.
(f) Any person who willfully violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or confined in jail for not more than six months, or both so fined and confined, and is liable for damages in the amount of $300 or actual damages, whichever is greater.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the records of a juvenile victim of sex trafficking within the meaning of § 61-14-1 et seq. of this code, may be immediately accessible to the juvenile victim upon written request to the circuit court in which a juvenile delinquency case was pending.