1. Upon application of a person who was taken into custody for a delinquent act or was the subject of a complaint alleging delinquency or was the subject of a delinquency petition, or upon the court's own motion, the court, after hearing, shall order the records in the case including those specified in sections 232.147 and 232.149 sealed if the court finds all of the following:
a. Two years have elapsed since the final discharge of the person or since the last official action in the person's case if there was no adjudication and disposition.
b. The person has not been subsequently convicted of a felony or an aggravated or serious misdemeanor or adjudicated a delinquent child for an act which if committed by an adult would be a felony, an aggravated misdemeanor or a serious misdemeanor and no proceeding is pending seeking such conviction or adjudication.
However, if the person was adjudicated delinquent for an offense which if committed by an adult would be an aggravated misdemeanor or a felony, the court shall not order the records in the case sealed unless, upon application of the person or upon the court's own motion and after hearing, the court finds that paragraphs "a" and "b" apply and that the sealing is in the best interests of the person and the public.
2. Reasonable notice of the hearing shall be given to the person who is the subject of the records named in the motion, the county attorney, and the agencies having custody of the records named in the application or motion.
3. Notice and copies of a sealing order shall be sent to each agency or person having custody or the records named therein.
4. On entry of a sealing order:
a. All agencies and persons having custody of records which are named therein, shall send such records to the court issuing the order.
b. All index references to sealed records shall be deleted.
5. The sealed records shall no longer be deemed to exist as a matter of law, and the juvenile court and any other agency or person who received notice and a copy of the sealing order shall reply to an inquiry that no such records exist, except when such reply is made to an inquiry pursuant to subsection 6.
6. Inspection of sealed records and disclosure of their contents thereafter may be permitted only pursuant to an order of the court upon application of the person who is the subject of such records except that the court in its discretion may permit reports to be inspected by or their contents to be disclosed for research purposes to a person conducting bona fide research under whatever conditions the court deems proper.
[C79, 81, § 232.150; 82 Acts, ch 1209, § 18]
Referred to in § 216A.136, 232.55, 232.147, 232.149, 232.151, 692A.1, 692A.13
Iowa General Assembly
Search: Iowa Code 1997
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