Idaho Code 67-3004 – Fingerprinting and Identification — Shielding of Records From Disclosure

(1) The bureau shall:

(a) Obtain and file fingerprints, physical descriptions and any other available identifying data on persons who have been arrested or served a criminal summons in this state for a retainable offense;

(b) Accept fingerprints and other identifying data taken by a law enforcement agency for the purpose of identification or conducting a records review for criminal justice purposes; and

(c) Process latent fingerprints generated from crime scenes, evidence and law enforcement agencies through the automated fingerprint identification system for prospective identification.

(2) The bureau shall establish policy regarding an arrest fingerprint card and procedures for the taking of fingerprints under this section.

Terms Used In Idaho Code 67-3004

Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
Bureau: means the bureau of criminal identification in the Idaho state police. See Idaho Code 67-3001
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
Court: means any court created by the constitution and laws of the state of Idaho; and clerks of the district court. See Idaho Code 67-3001
Criminal justice agency: means a governmental agency or subdivision of a government entity that performs the administration of criminal justice pursuant to a statute, and that allocates a substantial portion of its budget to the administration of criminal justice. See Idaho Code 67-3001
Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
Department: means the Idaho state police. See Idaho Code 67-3001
Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
Fingerprints: means the fingerprint impressions submitted to and compiled by the bureau, in a manual or automated form, pursuant to section 67-3004, Idaho Code. See Idaho Code 67-3001
Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
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.
person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person;

Idaho Code 73-114

Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.

Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.

Retainable offense: means :

Idaho Code 67-3001

State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories; and the words "United States" may include the District of Columbia and territories. See Idaho Code 73-114

Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.

Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.

(3) When a person is arrested for a retainable offense, with or without a warrant, fingerprints of the person shall be taken by the law enforcement agency making the arrest. A law enforcement agency may contract or make arrangements with a jail or correctional facility or other criminal justice agency to take the required fingerprints from a person who is arrested by the law enforcement agency.

(4) If a person was arrested and is in the custody of a law enforcement agency, jail or correctional facility and a felony summons or information is filed for an offense separate from the offense for which the person is in custody, the agency, jail or correctional facility shall take the fingerprints of the person in connection with the new offense.

(5) At the initial court appearance or arraignment of a person for an offense pursuant to a felony summons or information, the court, upon notice from the prosecuting attorney, shall order a law enforcement agency to fingerprint the person if he has not been previously fingerprinted for the same offense.

(6) When a defendant is convicted or otherwise adjudicated for a felony offense for which the defendant has not been previously fingerprinted, the court shall order, upon notice from the prosecuting attorney, a law enforcement agency to fingerprint the defendant as a condition of sentence, probation or release.

(7) When a person is received by a state correctional facility, the department of correction shall ensure that legible fingerprints of the person are taken and submitted to the bureau.

(8) When the bureau receives fingerprints of a person in connection with an arrest or incarceration, the bureau shall make a reasonable effort to confirm within five (5) working days the identity of the person fingerprinted. In an emergency situation when an immediate positive identification is needed, a criminal justice agency may request the department to provide immediate identification service.

(9) If the arresting officer, the law enforcement agency that employs the officer, or the jail or correctional facility where fingerprints were taken is notified by the bureau that fingerprints taken under this section are not legible, the officer, agency or facility shall make a reasonable effort to obtain a legible set of fingerprints. If legible fingerprints cannot be obtained within a reasonable period of time, and if illegible fingerprints were taken under a court order, the officer or agency shall inform the court, which shall order the defendant to submit to fingerprinting again.

(10) Any person who was arrested or served a criminal summons and who subsequently was not charged by indictment or information within one (1) year of the arrest or summons and any person who was acquitted of all offenses arising from an arrest or criminal summons, or who has had all charges dismissed, may have the fingerprint and criminal history record taken in connection with the incident expunged pursuant to the person’s written request directed to the department and may have the official court file thereof sealed. This provision shall not apply to any dismissal granted pursuant to section 19-2604(1), Idaho Code.

67-3004. Fingerprinting and identification — shielding of records from disclosure. [effective january 1, 2024] (1) The bureau shall:

(a) Obtain and file fingerprints, physical descriptions and any other available identifying data on persons who have been arrested or served a criminal summons in this state for a retainable offense;

(b) Accept fingerprints and other identifying data taken by a law enforcement agency for the purpose of identification or conducting a records review for criminal justice purposes; and

(c) Process latent fingerprints generated from crime scenes, evidence and law enforcement agencies through the automated fingerprint identification system for prospective identification.

(2) The bureau shall establish policy regarding an arrest fingerprint card and procedures for the taking of fingerprints under this section.

(7) When a person is received by a state correctional facility, the department of correction shall ensure that legible fingerprints of the person are taken and submitted to the bureau.

(11)(a) In addition to the remedies set forth in subsection (10) of this section, any person arrested for, prosecuted for, or convicted of a misdemeanor that is not an assaultive or violent misdemeanor listed in paragraph (b) of this subsection or arrested for, prosecuted for, or convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance under section 37-2732(a), (c), or (e), Idaho Code, in this state may petition the court to have the person’s record be shielded from disclosure in accordance with rules adopted by the Idaho supreme court and within the capabilities of its record-keeping system. Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall set a date for a hearing and shall notify the prosecuting attorney of the date of the hearing. Upon receipt of such notification from the court, the prosecuting attorney shall provide to any readily identifiable crime victim whatever notifications are required under section 22, article I of the constitution of the state of Idaho. The court, in its discretion, may hear testimony at the hearing from any person who has relevant information about the petitioner.

(b) Assaultive or violent misdemeanors shall include:

(i) Assault (18-901, Idaho Code);

(ii) Battery (18-903, Idaho Code);

(iii) Domestic battery (18-918, Idaho Code);

(iv) Stalking in the second degree (18-7906, Idaho Code);

(v) Violation of a protection order or no contact order (18-7907 and 18-920, Idaho Code);

(vi) Telephone harassment (18-6710, Idaho Code);

(vii) Vehicular manslaughter (18-4006(3)(c), Idaho Code);

(viii) Excessive driving under the influence (18-8004C, Idaho Code);

(ix) Domestic assault (18-918(3)(a), Idaho Code);

(x) Battery upon law enforcement (18-915(1)(b), Idaho Code);

(xi) Injury to children (18-1501, Idaho Code);

(xii) Sexual battery (18-924, Idaho Code); and

(xiii) Indecent exposure (18-4116, Idaho Code).

(c) To be eligible to have records shielded from disclosure under this subsection, a petitioner must file a petition to shield records of the conviction no earlier than five (5) years after completing the petitioner’s sentence, including all ordered probation, parole, fines, and restitution; provided that during such five (5) year period and until the time of a hearing on the petition, the petitioner has not had any subsequent felony or misdemeanor convictions and is not on probation or parole for a subsequent conviction, has no misdemeanor or felony cases pending against him, and has no restraining orders against him in effect at the time of filing the petition to shield the records.

(d) If the court finds, after a hearing, that the petitioner is eligible to have his records shielded from disclosure pursuant to this subsection and further finds to its satisfaction that the petitioner has been held accountable and that shielding the petitioner’s record from disclosure would not compromise public safety or the safety of any victims, the court shall order all records in the petitioner’s case in the custody of the court to be shielded from disclosure and unavailable for public viewing. Upon such a shielding from disclosure of the petitioner’s records, the court shall notify the Idaho state police of the shielding and, upon receipt of the notification, the Idaho state police shall make any law enforcement investigatory reports and fingerprint records unavailable for public viewing. A special index of the shielding proceedings and records shall be kept by the court ordering the shielding of records, which shall not be available to the public unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. Except as provided in paragraphs (i) and (j) of this subsection and other than in a judicial proceeding or as part of the licensing process for peace officers, upon the entry of the order, the proceedings in the petitioner’s case shall be deemed never to have occurred, and the petitioner may lawfully reply accordingly to any inquiry in the matter.

(e) A proceeding to shield records from disclosure under the provisions of this subsection shall occur in the underlying criminal case.

(f) A court ordering records to be shielded from disclosure pursuant to this subsection shall notify the supreme court of the shielding, and the supreme court shall, within the capabilities of its record-keeping system, maintain a record of all records shielded, searchable by the name of the person whose records are shielded. To the extent not prohibited by federal law, it shall be the policy of the state of Idaho that the records shielded from disclosure shall not be available to the public but may be accessed at any time by the subject of the petition, by law enforcement personnel, and by court officers to the extent permitted by operative court rules. The record shall otherwise remain shielded from disclosure to the public. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to limit a law enforcement agency or court officer from accessing any records or databases created or maintained by law enforcement or prosecutors.

(g) A person whose records are shielded from disclosure pursuant to this subsection:

(i) Shall, upon a subsequent felony conviction and upon request by the prosecutor, have such shielding from disclosure revoked by the court as part of his sentencing; and

(ii) May, upon a subsequent misdemeanor conviction and upon request by the prosecutor, have such shielding revoked by the court as part of his sentencing.

(h) A law enforcement agency, prosecuting attorney, or the court shall not incur any civil or criminal liability for the unintentional or negligent release, or the release by a third party, of a record shielded from disclosure pursuant to this subsection.

(i) The shielding from disclosure of records under this subsection shall have no effect on the operation of sections 18-310 and 18-3316, Idaho Code.

(j) To the extent permitted by operative court rules, a POST-certified peace officer or prosecuting attorney shall have complete access to and use of all records shielded from disclosure pursuant to this subsection for purposes including but not be limited to communicating with crime victims, all in-court purposes and hearings, investigations, and enhancements.

(k) A person may have only one (1) petition granted during such person’s lifetime to have one (1) of the crimes eligible under this subsection, or more than one (1) eligible crime under this subsection if committed in a single incident or transaction, shielded from disclosure pursuant to this subsection.

(l) The procedures set forth in this subsection, including the specific processes established that affect access to court records, are subject to the rules of the Idaho supreme court.