Section 12-15-103

Proceedings for sealing and destruction of legal and social filesand records of courts, probation services, etc., pertaining to certain personsand effect thereof.

(a) On motion of the part of a person who has been the subjectof a delinquency petition or on the court's own motion, the court shall vacateits order and findings and order the sealing of the legal and social filesand records of the court, probation services and of any other agency in thecase if it finds that:

(1) Two years have elapsed since the final discharge of the personfrom legal custody or supervision or two years after the entry of any othercourt order not involving custody or supervision; and

(2) He has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or adjudicated delinquent prior to the filing ofthe motion and no proceeding is pending seeking such conviction or adjudication.

(b) The motion and the order may include the files and recordsspecified in Section 12-15-100.

(c) Reasonable notice of the motion shall be given to:

(1) The prosecutor;

(2) The authority granting the discharge if the final dischargewas from an institution, parole or probation; and

(3) The law enforcement officers, department and central depositoryhaving custody of the files and records specified in Section 12-15-100 andincluded in the motion.

(d) Upon the entry of the order, the proceedings in the case shallbe treated as if they never occurred and all index references shall be deletedand the court and law enforcement officers and departments shall reply andthe person may reply to any inquiry that no record exists with respect tosuch person. Inspection of the files and records included in the order maythereafter be permitted by the court only upon motion by the person who isthe subject of such records and only to those persons named in the motion;provided, however, that the court in its discretion may by special order inan individual case permit inspection by or release of information in the recordsto any clinic, hospital or agency which has the person under care.

(e) Any adjudication of delinquency or conviction of a felony ora crime involving moral turpitude subsequent to sealing shall have the effectof nullifying the sealing order.

(f) A person who has been the subject of a delinquency petitionand has met the conditions stipulated in subdivision (2) of subsection (a)of this section may, five years after reaching the age of majority, file amotion requesting the destruction of all records pertaining to his case. Ifthe court grants the motion, copies of the order shall be sent to all officesor agencies that are repositories of such records and all such offices andagencies shall comply with the order.

(g) Upon the entry of a sealing order or a destruction order, allreferences including arrest, complaint, referrals, petitions, reports andorders shall be removed from all agency, official and institutional filesand sealed or destroyed as aforesaid and a finding of delinquency shall bedeemed never to have occurred. No child who has been the subject of such asealing or destruction order shall be deemed to have been arrested ab initio within the meaning of thegeneral statutes with respect to proceedings so sealed or destroyed and, inresponse to any inquiry or on any application or in any proceeding, the personmay state that he has never been arrested, taken into custody, committed oradjudicated a delinquent with regard to the proceedings so sealed or destroyed.

(h) A person who has been the subject of a delinquency petitionshall be notified of his rights under subsections (a) and (f) of this sectionat the time of his final discharge.

(Acts 1975, No. 1205, p. 2384, §5-145.)