DE HB177

Establishes procedures for juvenile expungement petitions filed in Family Court, requiring petitioners to submit criminal history from the State Bureau of Identification and pay a reasonable filing fee.

Creates mandatory expungement for cases terminated in favor of the child with no prior/subsequent adjudications or pending charges, including misdemeanor charges, felony charges dismissed after one year, and single adjudications of delinquency after three years (excluding violent felonies and sex offenses).

Allows discretionary expungement when the court finds continued existence of records causes manifest injustice, including felony dismissals within one year, misdemeanor sex offenses after three years, multiple misdemeanor adjudications after five years, and certain violent felonies/sex offenses after five years (excepting rape, robbery, and burglary 1st degree).

Permits law enforcement access to expunged records for felony investigations and employment screenings, and allows criminal justice agencies to access records for three years to determine eligibility for diversion programs and probation options.

Requires expunged records to be removed from public files within 60 days and placed under State Bureau of Identification custody, with notification to federal Department of Justice; makes unauthorized disclosure of expunged records a Class B misdemeanor.

Effective date: January 1, 2012.