Sec. A-1. 15 MRSA §3204, as amended by PL 1989, c. 741, §10, is further amended to read:
§3204. Statements not admissible in evidence
No statements Statements of a juvenile made to a juvenile caseworker during the course of a preliminary investigation or made to a community resolution team under section 3301 may be are not admissible in evidence at an adjudicatory hearing against that juvenile if a petition based on the same facts is later filed.
Sec. A-2. 15 MRSA §3301, sub-§5, ¶B, as amended by PL 1985, c. 439, §11, is further amended to read:
B. Make whatever informal adjustment is practicable without a petition. The juvenile caseworker may effect whatever informal adjustment is agreed to by the juvenile and his the juvenile's parents, guardian or legal custodian if the juvenile is not emancipated, including a restitution contract with the victim of the crime and the performance of community service. Informal adjustments shall may extend no longer than 6 months and informal adjustments shall may not be commenced unless:
(1) The juvenile caseworker determines that the juvenile and his the juvenile's parents, guardian or legal custodian, if the juvenile is not emancipated, were advised of their constitutional rights, including the right to an adjudicatory hearing, the right to be represented by counsel and the right to have counsel appointed by the court if indigent;
(2) The facts establish prima facie jurisdiction, except that any admission made in connection with this informal adjustment cannot may not be used in evidence against the juvenile if a petition based on the same facts is later filed; and
(3) Written consent to the informal adjustment is obtained from the juvenile and his the juvenile's parents, guardian or legal custodian if the juvenile is not emancipated; or
Sec. A-3. 15 MRSA §3301, sub-§§5-A and 6-A are enacted to read:
5-A. Community resolution teams. In accordance with policy and procedures established by the Department of Corrections, the juvenile caseworker may establish a community resolution team after completing the preliminary investigation.
A. Team participants may include the team facilitator; the juvenile caseworker; the juvenile; the juvenile's parents, guardian or legal custodian; the complainant; the victim; a person designated by the victim; the law enforcement officer who notified the juvenile caseworker; and any other person who the juvenile caseworker determines is appropriate.
B. The community resolution team may agree to effect an informal adjustment or recommend to the juvenile caseworker one of the alternatives in subsection 5. If the team makes a recommendation, the juvenile caseworker shall consider the recommendation and decide which alternative to choose.
C. The Department of Corrections shall report on the progress of the community resolution teams to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice matters no later than January 1st annually.
D. The Department of Corrections shall make a final report on the effectiveness of community resolution teams to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice matters no later than March 1, 1999. Victims, the law enforcement community, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys and other parties that have been involved in community resolution teams may also address the committee at the time the Department of Corrections makes its final report.
E. This subsection is repealed May 1, 1999.
6-A. Records confidential. Except as otherwise provided in this Title, information contained in records pertaining to a juvenile against whom a juvenile petition has not been filed is confidential unless the juvenile, and the juvenile's parents, guardian or legal custodian if the juvenile is not emancipated, has given informed written consent to the disclosure of the records.
Sec. A-4. 15 MRSA §3308, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1979, c. 681, §20, is further amended to read:
2. Hearings open to public. In the case of a hearing open to the general public under section 3307, the petition, the record of the hearing and the order of adjudication shall be are open to public inspection, provided that any court subsequently sentencing the juvenile after he the juvenile has become an adult may consider only murder and Class A, Class B and Class C offenses committed by the juvenile. The petition, the record of the hearing and the order of adjudication are open to inspection by the victim regardless of whether the hearing is open to the general public under section 3307.
Sec. A-5. 15 MRSA §3308, sub-§7, ¶B, as amended by PL 1993, c. 354, §6, is further amended to read:
B. Nothing in this section precludes dissemination of any information contained in the records of juvenile court proceedings or other records described in subsection 5 by one criminal justice agency to another criminal justice agency for the purpose of the administration of criminal justice, the administration of juvenile criminal justice and for criminal justice agency employment, as long as:
(1) The person concerning whom the records are sought has been convicted of a crime as an adult;
(2) The person concerning whom the records are sought has been adjudicated as having committed a juvenile crime that, if committed by an adult, would be defined as a Class A, B or C crime by Title 17-A, the Maine Criminal Code, or by any other criminal statute outside that code;
(3) The person concerning whom the records are sought has been adjudicated as having committed a juvenile crime with the use of a dangerous weapon, as defined in Title 17-A, section 2, subsection 9;
(4) The person concerning whom the records are sought has been adjudicated as having committed 2 or more juvenile crimes that, if committed by an adult, would be defined as Class D or Class E crimes by Title 17-A, the Maine Criminal Code, or by any other criminal statute outside that code; or
(5) The person seeking the records is the prosecuting attorney in any proceeding and the person concerning whom the records are sought is a defendant in that proceeding.
Sec. A-6. 15 MRSA §3308, sub-§7, ¶C, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 354, §7, is amended to read:
C. Nothing in this section precludes dissemination of any information in the records of the Department of Corrections if the person concerning whom the records are sought, the person's legal guardian, if any, and if the person is a minor, the person's parent or legal guardian has given informed written consent to the disclosure of the records.
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