BILL ANALYSIS
AB 337
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 31, 2009
Counsel: Gabriel Caswell
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Jose Solorio, Chair
AB 337 (Torres) - As Introduced: February 18, 2009
SUMMARY : Requires that courts provide to every person who has
reached 18 years of age and who is eligible to have his or her
records sealed with a written notification with a clear
explanation of that person's rights to have his or her records
sealed and destroyed.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides in any case in which a petition has been filed with a
juvenile court to commence proceedings to adjudge a person a
ward of the court, in any case in which a person is cited to
appear before a probation officer or is taken before a
probation officer for temporary custody, or in any case in
which a minor is taken before any officer of a law enforcement
agency, the person or the county probation officer may, five
years or more after the jurisdiction of the juvenile court has
terminated as to the person, or, in a case in which no
petition is filed, five years or more after the person was
cited to appear before a probation officer or was taken before
a probation officer for temporary custody or was taken before
any officer of a law enforcement agency, or, in any case, at
any time after the person has reached the age of 18 years,
petition the court for sealing of the records, including
records of arrest, relating to the person's case, in the
custody of the juvenile court and probation officer and any
other agencies, including law enforcement agencies, and public
officials as the petitioner alleges, in his or her petition,
to have custody of the records. [Welfare and Institutions
Code (WIC) Section 781(a).]
2)States that the court shall notify the district attorney of
the county and the county probation officer, if he or she is
not the petitioner, and the district attorney or probation
officer or any of their deputies or any other person having
relevant evidence may testify at the hearing on the petition.
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If, after hearing, the court finds that since the termination
of jurisdiction or temporary custody action, as the case may
be, he or she has not been convicted of a felony or of any
misdemeanor involving moral turpitude and that rehabilitation
has been attained to the satisfaction of the court, it shall
order all records, papers, and exhibits in the person's case
in the custody of the juvenile court sealed, including the
juvenile court record, minute book entries, and entries on
dockets, and any other records relating to the case in the
custody of the other agencies and officials as are named in
the order. [WIC Section 781(a).]
3)Provides in any case in which a ward of the juvenile court is
subject to specified registration requirements, a court, in
ordering the sealing of the juvenile records of the person,
also shall provide in the order that the person is relieved
from the registration requirement and for the destruction of
all registration information in the custody of the Department
of Justice and other agencies and officials. Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, the court shall not order the
person's records sealed in any case in which the person has
been found by the juvenile court to have committed an offense
listed in WIC Section 707(b) when he or she had attained 14
years of age or older. [Welfare and Institutions Code Section
781(a).]
4)States that once the court has ordered the person's records
sealed, the proceedings in the case shall be deemed never to
have occurred, and the person may properly reply accordingly
to any inquiry about the events, the records of which are
ordered sealed. The court shall send a copy of the order to
each agency and official named therein, directing the agency
to seal its records and stating the date thereafter to destroy
the sealed records. Each such agency and official shall seal
the records in its custody as directed by the order, shall
advise the court of its compliance, and thereupon shall seal
the copy of the court's order for sealing of records that it,
he, or she received. The person who is the subject of records
sealed pursuant to this section may petition the superior
court to permit inspection of the records by persons named in
the petition, and the superior court may so order. Otherwise,
except as provided in subdivision (b), the records shall not
be open to inspection. [WIC Section 781(a).]
5)States that in any action or proceeding based upon defamation,
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a court, upon a showing of good cause, may order any records
sealed under this section to be opened and admitted into
evidence. The records shall be confidential and shall be
available for inspection only by the court, jury, parties,
counsel for the parties, and any other person who is
authorized by the court to inspect them. Upon the judgment in
the action or proceeding becoming final, the court shall order
the records sealed. [WIC Section 781(b).]
6)States that the sealing provisions do not apply to Department
of Motor Vehicle (DMV) records of any convictions for offenses
under the Vehicle Code or any local ordinance relating to the
operation, stopping and standing, or parking of a vehicle
where the record of any such conviction would be a public
record under Vehicle Code Section 1808. However, if a court
orders a case record containing any such conviction to be
sealed under this section, and if the DMV maintains a public
record of such a conviction, the court shall notify the DMV of
the sealing and the DMV shall advise the court of its receipt
of the notice. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
subsequent to the notification, the DMV shall allow access to
its record of convictions only to the subject of the record
and to insurers which have been granted requestor code numbers
by the DMV. Any insurer to which such a record of conviction
is disclosed, when such a conviction record has otherwise been
sealed under this section, shall be given notice of the
sealing when the record is disclosed to the insurer. The
insurer may use the information contained in the record for
purposes of determining eligibility for insurance and
insurance rates for the subject of the record, and the
information shall not be used for any other purpose nor shall
it be disclosed by an insurer to any person or party not
having access to the record.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Records of the
most serious offenses in juvenile court are open to the
public. Offenses not considered serious are eligible to be
sealed. Currently commercial brokers and others, including
credit companies, potential employers, and prospective
landlords, are able to obtain information and hold it against
people who may have committed minor offenses in their youth.
AB 337
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Worse, much of the information may be incomplete or even
wrong, failing to reflect that a case has been dismissed, or
the fact that a youth successfully completed probation and had
his or her petition dismissed. Thus, collateral consequences
of juvenile behavior continue into adulthood: employers may
deny jobs or promotions, landlords may refuse to rent, and
people otherwise able and willing to be productive citizens
may be shut out of gainful activities.
"Although minor offenses can legally be sealed under current
law, many youth and young people do not understand their
rights, and do not understand the process they must undertake
to file a petition in court and ask for relief. This is
especially true for youth who have no guiding adult, mentor or
caretaker in their lives to assist them, many of whom
emancipated out of the foster care system."
2)Destruction and Sealing of Records if Juveniles Generally :
Juvenile court records must generally be destroyed when the
person of record reaches the age of 38 unless good cause is
shown for maintaining those records. The person of record may
also petition to destroy records retained by other agencies.
The request shall be granted unless good cause is shown for
retention of the records. (WIC Section 826.) When records
are destroyed under this section, the proceedings "shall be
deemed never to have occurred, and the person may reply
accordingly to an inquiry." [WIC Section 826(a) and (b).]
Courts have held that the phrase "never to have occurred"
means that the juvenile proceeding is deemed not to have
existed. [Parmett v. Superior Court (Christal B.), (1989) 212
CA3d 1261, at 1267.]
In order to seal a juvenile court record, a petition must be
filed by either the subject or the probation department. (WIC
Section 781.) Juvenile court jurisdiction must have lapsed
five years previously or the person must be age 18. The
records are not sealed if the person of record has been
convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral
turpitude. No offenses listed in WIC Section 707(b) may be
sealed the juvenile was 14 years age or older if at the time
of the offense. Additionally, there can be no pending civil
litigation involving the incident.
3)Argument in Support : According to the American Federation of
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State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), "AFSCME
believes that minors who committed juvenile offenses should
not be punished due to their records. Many racial and ethnic
minorities who have a higher likelihood of juvenile offenses
are not able to find jobs when they become adults due to their
prior juvenile record, regardless of their behavior as adults.
This does not create equal employment opportunities for
minorities within the state which continues the crime rate
cycle of many juvenile cases."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County
and Municipal Employees
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744