BILL REQ. #:  H-1513.1 

Read first time 02/04/09.   Referred to Committee on Human Services.

     AN ACT Relating to sealing juvenile records; and amending RCW 13.40.127.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 13.40.127 and 2004 c 117 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A juvenile is eligible for deferred disposition unless he or she:
     (a) Is charged with a sex or violent offense;
     (b) Has a criminal history which includes any felony;
     (c) Has a prior deferred disposition or deferred adjudication; or
     (d) Has two or more adjudications.
     (2) The juvenile court may, upon motion at least fourteen days before commencement of trial and, after consulting the juvenile's custodial parent or parents or guardian and with the consent of the juvenile, continue the case for disposition for a period not to exceed one year from the date the juvenile is found guilty. The court shall consider whether the offender and the community will benefit from a deferred disposition before deferring the disposition.
     (3) Any juvenile who agrees to a deferral of disposition shall:
     (a) Stipulate to the admissibility of the facts contained in the written police report;
     (b) Acknowledge that the report will be entered and used to support a finding of guilt and to impose a disposition if the juvenile fails to comply with terms of supervision; and
     (c) Waive the following rights to: (i) A speedy disposition; and (ii) call and confront witnesses.
     The adjudicatory hearing shall be limited to a reading of the court's record.
     (4) Following the stipulation, acknowledgment, waiver, and entry of a finding or plea of guilt, the court shall defer entry of an order of disposition of the juvenile.
     (5) Any juvenile granted a deferral of disposition under this section shall be placed under community supervision. The court may impose any conditions of supervision that it deems appropriate including posting a probation bond. Payment of restitution under RCW 13.40.190 shall be a condition of community supervision under this section.
     The court may require a juvenile offender convicted of animal cruelty in the first degree to submit to a mental health evaluation to determine if the offender would benefit from treatment and such intervention would promote the safety of the community. After consideration of the results of the evaluation, as a condition of community supervision, the court may order the offender to attend treatment to address issues pertinent to the offense.
     (6) A parent who signed for a probation bond has the right to notify the counselor if the juvenile fails to comply with the bond or conditions of supervision. The counselor shall notify the court and surety of any failure to comply. A surety shall notify the court of the juvenile's failure to comply with the probation bond. The state shall bear the burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the juvenile has failed to comply with the terms of community supervision.
     (7) A juvenile's lack of compliance shall be determined by the judge upon written motion by the prosecutor or the juvenile's juvenile court community supervision counselor. If a juvenile fails to comply with terms of supervision, the court shall enter an order of disposition.
     (8) At any time following deferral of disposition the court may, following a hearing, continue the case for an additional one-year period for good cause.
     (9) At the conclusion of the period set forth in the order of deferral and upon a finding by the court of full compliance with conditions of supervision and payment of full restitution, the respondent's conviction shall be vacated and the court shall dismiss the case with prejudice, except that a conviction under RCW 16.52.205 shall not be vacated.
     (10)(a) Records of deferred dispositions vacated under subsection (9) of this section shall be automatically sealed upon the juvenile's eighteenth birthday provided that the juvenile does not have any charges pending at that time. If a juvenile has already reached his or her eighteenth birthday before the effective date of this section, and does not have any charges pending, the records of deferred dispositions vacated under subsection (9) of this section shall be sealed immediately. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude a juvenile from petitioning the court to have the records of his or her deferred dispositions sealed under RCW 13.50.050 (11) and (12).
     (b) Records sealed under this provision shall have the same legal status as records sealed under RCW 13.50.050.