http://www.pressherald.com/2017/03/16/usm-researchers-pierce-myth-that-juvenile-criminal-records-are-sealed-at-18/
This article is about the misconception that everyone has that juvenile records are automatically sealed. This leads many to believe that as a juvenile there crimes will not haunt them into adulthood when in reality in some states even when a record is sealed it can still be seen by employers.
According to the article in 24 states juvenile court records are not automatically sealed when a juvenile turns 18. I was one that thought that all juvenile records were automatically sealed when they turned 18 across the nation.
This misconcetion is a result from individuals confusing the terms "sealed" and "confidential"
According to the article "Most juvenile records are confidential, and only some of the records can be viewed by members of the public, depending on the charges.
According to Capital University, in Ohio juvenile records are sealed as long as the youth is eligible examples are no formal complaint filed, if the charge is for underage drinking a diversion program must be completed, or court dismisses compliant after trial. All juvenile records are eligible to be sealed except for those charged with aggravated murder and rape.
http://law.capital.edu/uploadedFiles/Law_School/NCALP/Fact%20Sheet%20(ML)(1).pdf
This is interesting, as I too thought that records were automatically sealed once a person turns 18, so in a way again, youth are being done a disservice as being unaware of this could get in the way of many possibilities for them later on in life.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that someone decided to do research about this. I feel that this will effect our clients as social workers working with adolescences more than we think. Also it's really lame that they would have to pay for court time and wait three years to have a file sealed, which they have to petition for, which could be denied.
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