Sealing of Juvenile Records - Tarrant County Criminal Lawyers, Fort Worth Criminal Attorneys

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Kennedy & Kennedy Attorneys at Law | Criminal Defense Lawyers | Arlington, Fort Worth, TX | Tarrant County
Representing individuals charged with criminal offenses

Sealing of Juvenile Records

Early intervention in a criminal case can often make the difference between facing misdemeanor or felony charges, or indeed whether or not any charges are filed at all. Please do not hesitate to contact our office and schedule a consultation to discuss the specific facts of your case.

Section 58.003 of the Texas Family Code allows for the sealing of juvenile records. If the record is eligible for sealing, you must file an application for the sealing of records in a juvenile court of the county in which the juvenile proceedings occurred. Once a juvenile record is sealed by the court, the record is removed from the criminal history database.

Do I have a Juvenile File or Record?
If you have been arrested, detained, taken into custody, adjudicated for delinquent conduct, or charged with a criminal offense (Class A or B misdemeanor or any felony) that was committed when you were at least 10 years old but younger than 17 years old, you probably have a juvenile file and record. You may also have a juvenile record if you were charged with certain Class C misdemeanor offenses if the justice or municipal court in which your case was initially filed transferred your case to a juvenile court.

Why should I Seal a Juvenile Record?
The Juvenile Justice File and Record is a permanent record that is not automatically destroyed or erased. A juvenile record can be accessed by police, sheriff's officers, prosecutors, probation officers, correctional officers, the District Attorney’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other criminal and juvenile justice officials in the State of Texas and elsewhere. The juvenile record may also be available to employers, educational institutions, licensing agencies, and other organizations when the person applies for employment or educational programs.

How do I Seal a Juvenile Record?
If you have been arrested, detained, taken into custody, or charged with a criminal offense (Class A or B misdemeanor or any felony) that was committed when you were at least 10 years old but younger than 17 years old, please contact our office at 817-460-7171 or 817-461-2800 metro immediately to schedule a consultation with an attorney to discuss how we may be able to have your juvenile records sealed or destroyed.

Sec. 58.003. SEALING OF RECORDS, TEXAS FAMILY CODE
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), on the application of a person who has been found to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision, or a person taken into custody to determine whether the person engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision, on the juvenile court's own motion the court shall order the sealing of the records in the case if the court finds that:

(1) two years have elapsed since final discharge of the person or since the last official action in the person's case if there was no adjudication; and
(2) since the time specified in Subdivision (1), the person has not been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or found to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision and no proceeding is pending seeking conviction or adjudication.

(b) A court may not order the sealing of the records of a person who has received a determinate sentence for engaging in delinquent conduct that violated a penal law listed in Section 53.045 or engaging in habitual felony conduct as described by Section 51.031.

(c) Subject to Subsection (b), a court may order the sealing of records concerning a person adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct that violated a penal law of the grade of felony only if:

(1) the person is 21 years of age or older;
(2) the person was not transferred by a juvenile court under Section 54.02 to a criminal court for prosecution;
(3) the records have not been used as evidence in the punishment phase of a criminal proceeding under Section 3(a), Article 37.07, Code of Criminal Procedure; and
(4) the person has not been convicted of a penal law of the grade of felony after becoming age 17.

(d) The court may grant the relief authorized in Subsection (a) at any time after final discharge of the person or after the last official action in the case if there was no adjudication. If the child is referred to the juvenile court for conduct constituting any offense and at the adjudication hearing the child is found to be not guilty of each offense alleged, the court shall immediately order the sealing of all files and records relating to the case.

(e) Reasonable notice of the hearing shall be given to:

(1) the person who made the application or who is the subject of the records named in the motion;
(2) the prosecuting attorney for the juvenile court;
(3) the authority granting the discharge if the final discharge was from an institution or from parole;
(4) the public or private agency or institution having custody of records named in the application or motion; and
(5) the law enforcement agency having custody of files or records named in the application or motion.

(f) A copy of the sealing order shall be sent to each agency or official named in the order.

(g) On entry of the order:

(1) all law enforcement, prosecuting attorney, clerk of court, and juvenile court records ordered sealed shall be sent before the 61st day after the date the order is received to the court issuing the order;
(2) all records of a public or private agency or institution ordered sealed shall be sent before the 61st day after the date the order is received to the court issuing the order;
(3) all index references to the records ordered sealed shall be deleted before the 61st day after the date the order is received, and verification of the deletion shall be sent before the 61st day after the date of the deletion to the court issuing the order;
(4) the juvenile court, clerk of court, prosecuting attorney, public or private agency or institution, and law enforcement officers and agencies shall properly reply that no record exists with respect to the person on inquiry in any matter; and
(5) the adjudication shall be vacated and the proceeding dismissed and treated for all purposes other than a subsequent capital prosecution, including the purpose of showing a prior finding of delinquent conduct, as if it had never occurred.

(g-1) Any records collected or maintained by the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, including statistical data submitted under Section 141.044, Human Resources Code, are not subject to a sealing order issued under this section.

(h) Inspection of the sealed records may be permitted by an order of the juvenile court on the petition of the person who is the subject of the records and only by those persons named in the order.

(i) On the final discharge of a child or on the last official action in the case if there is no adjudication, the child shall be given a written explanation of the child's rights under this section and a copy of the provisions of this section.

(j) A person whose records have been sealed under this section is not required in any proceeding or in any application for employment, information, or licensing to state that the person has been the subject of a proceeding under this title and any statement that the person has never been found to be a delinquent child shall never be held against the person in any criminal or civil proceeding.

(k) A prosecuting attorney may, on application to the juvenile court, reopen at any time the files and records of a person adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct that violated a penal law of the grade of felony sealed by the court under this section for the purposes of Sections 12.42(a)-(c) and (e), Penal Code.

(l) On the motion of a person in whose name records are kept or on the court's own motion, the court may order the destruction of records that have been sealed under this section if:

(1) the records relate to conduct that did not violate a penal law of the grade of felony or a misdemeanor punishable by confinement in jail;
(2) five years have elapsed since the person's 16th birthday; and
(3) the person has not been convicted of a felony.

(m) On request of the Department of Public Safety, a juvenile court shall reopen and allow the department to inspect the files and records of the juvenile court relating to an applicant for a license to carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code.

(n) A record created or maintained under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, may not be sealed under this section if the person who is the subject of the record has a continuing obligation to register under that chapter.

(o) An agency or official named in the order that cannot seal the records because the information required in the order under Subsection (p) is incorrect or insufficient shall notify the court issuing the order before the 61st day after the date the agency or official receives the order. The court shall notify the person who made the application or who is the subject of the records named in the motion, or the attorney for that person, before the 61st day after the date the court receives the notice that the agency or official cannot seal the records because there is incorrect or insufficient information in the order.

(p) A person who is eligible to seal records may file an application for the sealing of records in a juvenile court of the county in which the proceedings occurred. The application and sealing order entered on the application must include the following information or an explanation for why one or more of the following is not included:

(1) the applicant's:

(A) full name;
(B) sex;
(C) race or ethnicity;
(D) date of birth;
(E) driver's license or identification card number; and
(F) social security number;

(2) the offense charged against the applicant or for which the applicant was referred to the juvenile justice system;
(3) the date on which and the county where the offense was alleged to have been committed; and
(4) if a petition was filed in the juvenile court, the cause number assigned to the petition and the court and county in which the petition was filed.

Tarrant County Juvenile Sealing of Records Lawyers
If you have been arrested, detained, taken into custody, or charged with a criminal offense (Class A or B misdemeanor or any felony) that was committed when you were at least 10 years old but younger than 17 years old, please contact our office at 817-460-7171 or 817-461-2800 metro immediately to schedule a consultation with an attorney to discuss how we may be able to have your juvenile records sealed or destroyed.

TARRANT COUNTY CRIMINAL LAWYERS
Criminal Defense Attorneys Serving Arlington, Fort Worth & All of Tarrant County
Law Offices of Kennedy & Kennedy
303 West Abram Street
Arlington, Texas (TX) 76010
(817) 460-7171 Metro (817) 461-2800

The Law Offices of Kennedy & Kennedy is located in Arlington, Texas and our attorneys provide criminal defense representation for clients in Tarrant County, Arlington, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Grapevine, Southlake, Colleyville, Keller, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Watauga, Richland Hills, North Richland Hills, Pantego, Dalworthington Gardens, Haltom City, Benbrook, White Settlement, Crowley, Saginaw, Haslet, Everman, Kennedale, Blue Mound, Grand Prairie, Burleson, River Oaks, Sansom Park, and Lake Worth.