DE HB177

Establishes procedures for expunging juvenile arrest records and adjudications of delinquency in Delaware Family Court, effective January 1, 2012.

Requires mandatory expungement for cases terminated in favor of the child (dismissed, nolle prosequi, or acquitted) if petitioner has no prior/subsequent adjudications and no pending charges; requires one-year waiting period for felonies and three-year waiting period for single adjudications of non-violent, non-sex offenses.

Allows discretionary expungement by court order if continued existence of records would cause manifest injustice, including cases with felony charges resolved less than one year prior, single misdemeanor sex offense adjudications after three years, two misdemeanor adjudications after five years, or certain violent felony/sex offense adjudications after five years.

Restricts disclosure of expunged records to law enforcement investigating felonies or employment applicants for law enforcement positions, and permits limited access by criminal justice agencies to determine eligibility for diversion programs; violation is a class B misdemeanor.

Requires copies of expungement orders to be forwarded to the federal Department of Justice and places control of expunged records with the State Bureau of Identification.