Request By:
Honorable Paul D. Gudgel
District Court Judge
Fayette County Courthouse
Lexington, Kentucky 40507
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Robert L. Chenoweth, Assistant Attorney General
All too long ago you asked the Office of the Attorney General to consider a problem concerning juvenile court records in Fayette County. As background to this problem you stated that in many cases a child before the now district court sitting in juvenile session (juvenile court) is represented by Legal Aid. You further related that it is common practice for the Legal Aid attorney, or an intern from that office, to ask to inspect and review the child's file or his cumulative file, if one exists, from prior court contacts. You stated it is also a common practice for these legal aid personnel to make copies of certain parts of the file for their own file to aid preparation for the juvenile court hearing. You listed the following documents as being contained in practically each child's juvenile court file:
1. Copy of petition or petitions.
2. Police Case summary.
3. The complaint and offense report.
4. Preliminary investigation forms.
5. Psychological or psychiatric reports concerning the child.
6. Reports from the social workers and from the Department for Human Resources concerning the child and his family.
7. Intake forms including prior Court contacts.
8. Petition and reports from each prior contact with the Court.
9. Summary and transcripts from all formal hearings.
10. Orders from these prior hearings.
The first specific question you have presented to our office is whether the district court is permitted to allow copying by the legal aid personnel of the various documents referred to above. You noted concern in this regard that the legal aid office is in effect amassing a duplicate record on many juveniles who have appeared before the juvenile court.
Before responding to your first question we reiterate that which you are perfectly well aware of, which is that juvenile court procedures and records are, with limited exceptions, to be confidential in nature. We strongly believe that the district court judge sitting in juvenile session has total jurisdiction and authority over matters arising in regard to a child before the juvenile court. See generally OAG 77-26 and OAG 75-77, copies enclosed, recognizing the statutory changes which have been made since these opinions were written.
Concerning your first question, we see no legal problem with the attorney for a juvenile, or the attorney's staff personnel, having access to the child's juvenile court file regarding the matter about which a child's case is pending before the juvenile court. The attorney must have ready access to documents relating to current, outstanding matters regarding a child before the juvenile court in order to prepare an adequate defense for the child-client. KRS 208.340(2) requires the police records to be made available to the "legal representative of the child involved." KRS 208.060(4) requires that "the parties or their counsel shall be afforded an opportunity to examine and controvert the report and cross-examine the individuals making the report." See KRS 208.140 and note
Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541 (1966). Reposed in such a situation is an ethical attorney-client confidentiality so that this information seen or photocopied may not be presented to others by the child's attorney without permission of the child. See Canon 4 of the Code of Professional Responsibility. We do believe that the district court should establish a practice of only authorizing inspection and/or copying of a cumulative juvenile court file upon written release of the juvenile involved.
In your second question you have asked of any right available to the child and/or his or her parents to see the child's juvenile court file. We believe the answer is yes as to the child and his or her parent, legal guardian or custodian. In several of the important sections of the juvenile court laws may be seen the importance placed on involvement of the child's family. See KRS 208.060(1), (3) and (4); KRS 208.200(1)(a); KRS 208.235, and KRS 208.340(1), (2). We believe this access should be to current as well as cumulative juvenile court files.
In your last two questions you have asked first whether the Juvenile Unit of the Metro Police Department may adopt a plan of entering the current juvenile record files into the court-jail-police computer system for three objectives which were stated by you to be as follows:
1. To establish a system that will enable the Juvenile Unit to procure and make available to the Courts, Intake, and Administrative Police Personnel, a quarterly recidivism report.
2. To establish a future crime forecast as well as an investigative aid in crime prevention and detection.
3. To insure a systematic recall or purge of the Juvenile Record System in relation to the overage or Court ordered expungement.
Secondly, you ask whether permission could be given by the court to entry of juvenile court record files in the data processing records. We believe the answer to each of your last two questions must be at least a qualified no. Under KRS 208.198, the law enforcement agencies are to receive notification of the disposition and notification of the conditions of placement of juvenile court cases but we do not see this statute as authorizing entire juvenile court record files to be released to the police for a computer system for data processing records without a release from the juvenile involved. While possibly some of the information desired for such systems could be gleaned from the juvenile court files absent identifiers, we believe prudence dictates careful consideration of such a plan.