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March 25,199l 

Honorable Ronald Earle 

Travis County District Attorney 

P. 0. Box 1748 

Austin Texas 78767 

Opinion No. DM-9 

Re: Whether an individual whose juvenile 

files may not be sealed by virtue of section 

51.16(j) of the Family Code has an 

affirmative duty to disclose his prior 

crimmal history in an application for 

employment, information, or licensing 

(RQ-2188) 

Dear Mr. Earle: 

You have requested our opinion regarding whether an individual whose juvenile 

files may not be sealed has an affirmative duty to disclose his prior criminal history in an 

application for employment, information, or licensing. 

Section 51.16 of the Family Code provides for the sealing of the files and records of 

persons who are “found to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct in need of 

supervision.” Subsection (a) describes the procedure by which an individual may apply to a 

court for an order sealing his juvenile records, or by which the court may do so on its own 

motion. Subsection (h) then declares: 

A person whose files and records have been sealed under this Act 

is not required in any proceeding or in any application for employment, 

information, or licensing to state that he has been the subject of a 

proceeding under this Act; and any statement that he has never been 

found to be a delinquent child shall never be held against the person in 

any criminal or civil proceeding. 

In 1987, the legislature added’subsection (j) to section 51.16. That provision reads: 

p. 44 
Honorable Ronald Fade - Page 2 ( DM- 9 ) 

A court may not order under this section the sealing or destruction 

of files and records concerning an adjudication of delinquency based on 

the violation of a penal law of the grade of felony. 

You ask whether subsection (j) prevents an individual who was adjudicated delinquent on 

the basis of a felony charge from claiming the benefit afforded by subsection (h). You do 

not raise any question about files sealed before the effective date of subsection (j). 

A person may not claim the benefit of subsection (h) unless his “files and records 

have been sealed under this Act.” Since subsection (i) clearly prohibits a court from 

ordering the sealing of any juvenile record “concerning an adjudication of delinquency 

based on the violation of a penal law of the grade of felony,” it follows that subsection (h) 

bas no application to such records. Thus, such person may not benefit from the.provision 

of subsection (h) of section 51.16 of the Family Code that certain juvenile offenders are not 

required to state that they have ‘been the subject of a proceeding” under title 3 of the 

Family Code. 

SUMMARY 

A person who has been adjudicated delinquent on the basis of the 

violation of a penal law of the grade of felony and whose records may 

not be sealed pursuant to section 51.16(h) of the Family Code is not 

entitled to state on an application for employment, information, or 

licensing that he has not been the subject of a proceeding under title 3 

of the Family Code. 

Very truly yours, 

DAN MORALES 

Attorney General of Texas 

WILL PRYOR 

First Assistant Attorney General 

MARY KELLER 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

p. 45 
Honorable Ronald Earle - Page 3 ( DM- 9 ) 

JUDGE ZOLLIE !XEAKLEY (Ret) 

Special Assistant Attorney General 

RENEA HICKS 

Special Assistant Attorney General 

SUSAN GARRISON 

Acting Chairman, Opinion Committee 

Prepared by Rick Gilpin 

Assistant Attorney General 

p. 46