NCJ Number
221496
Date Published
2007
Length
75 pages
Annotation
This guide assists defense attorneys for juvenile offenders in Pennsylvania in facilitating opportunities for their clients to experience positive development as adults by having their juvenile records expunged.
Abstract
Records of juvenile crime can follow an individual through his/her adulthood and have adverse impacts on opportunities to join the military, pursue higher education, or obtain employment. In Pennsylvania, expungement of juvenile records varies from county to county. Each county has its own procedure and forms required for petitioning the court for an expungement. This guide provides defense attorneys for juveniles with an overview of the current State law regarding records of youth in the juvenile justice system. A model of best practices is presented in order to ensure that youths' records are accessible only to a limited number of authorized parties and that the expungement process is not unduly difficult. Part I outlines the role of a juvenile defender beyond the disposition stage of a delinquency hearing. Part II specifies what is contained in juvenile court records and law enforcement records maintained by the Pennsylvania State Police. Part III is an overview of the consequences of having a juvenile court or police record. Part IV defines the expungement process, i.e., the steps that must be followed and paperwork filed to petition the court for an expungement. Appendixes contain model county expungement policies, sample notification letters, sample expungement petitions and orders, and a sample expungement affidavit prepared by the Pennsylvania State Police.