Passed by the House March 11, 2009 Yeas 96   ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate April 17, 2009 Yeas 42   ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Barbara Baker, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1954 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
State of Washington | 61st Legislature | 2009 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/23/09.
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 disposition cases vacated under
subsection (9) of this section shall be sealed no later than thirty
days after 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, he or she
may request that the court issue an order sealing the records of his or
her deferred disposition cases vacated under subsection (9) of this
section, and this request shall be granted. 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.