An Act To Ensure Confidentiality of Juvenile Case Records
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1597
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: HASKELL
Amends: 15 MRSA §3301, 15 MRSA §3308

Legislative Document 
No. 1597 
H.P. 1203 
House of Representatives, December 13, 2011 
An Act To Ensure Confidentiality of Juvenile Case Records 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 9, 2011.  Referred to the Committee on 
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative HASKELL of Portland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  15 MRSA §3301, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2007, c. 196, §2, is further 
amended to read: 
6.  Review by attorney for the State. If the juvenile community corrections officer 
decides not to request the attorney for the State to file a petition, the juvenile community 
corrections officer shall inform the attorney for the State, the complainant, the law 
enforcement officer and the victim of the decision and of the reasons for the decision as 
soon as practicable.  The juvenile community corrections officer shall advise the 
complainant, the law enforcement officer and the victim that they may submit their 
complaint to the attorney for the State for review. 
If the juvenile community corrections officer makes a determination pursuant to 
subsection 5, paragraph A or B and decides not to request the attorney for the State to file 
a petition for a violation of Title 22, section 2389, subsection 2 or Title 28-A, section 
2052, the juvenile community corrections officer shall inform the Secretary of State of 
the violation.  The Secretary of State shall suspend for a period of 30 days that juvenile's 
license or permit to operate a motor vehicle, right to operate a motor vehicle and right to 
apply for and obtain a license.  The suspension may not be made public or become part of 
a juvenile's driving record or motor vehicle record. 
The attorney for the State on that attorney's own motion or upon receiving a request for 
review by the law enforcement officer, the complainant or the victim, shall consider the 
facts of the case, consult with the juvenile community corrections officer who made the 
initial decision and then make a final decision as to whether to file the petition.  The 
attorney for the State shall notify the juvenile community corrections officer of the final 
decision within 30 days of being informed by the juvenile community corrections officer 
of the initial decision. If a juvenile community corrections officer has not yet made an 
initial decision, the attorney for the State may file a petition at any time more than 30 
days after the juvenile community corrections officer has been given notice pursuant to 
section 3203-A. 
Sec. 2.  15 MRSA §3308, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A, §47 and 
affected by §153 and Pt. C, §15, is further amended to read: 
6.  Records to Secretary of State. Whenever a juvenile has been adjudicated as 
having committed a juvenile crime involving the operation of a motor vehicle, the court 
shall forthwith transmit to the Secretary of State an abstract, duly certified, setting forth 
the name of the juvenile, the offense, the date of the offense, the date of the adjudicatory 
hearing and any other pertinent facts. These records are admissible in evidence in 
hearings conducted by the Secretary of State or any of the Secretary of State's deputies 
and are open to public inspection but may be used only for purposes of those hearings and 
may not be made public or become part of a juvenile's driving record or motor vehicle 
record. 
Nothing in this Part may be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary of State, 
pursuant to Title 29-A, to suspend a person's license or permit to operate a motor vehicle, 
right to operate a motor vehicle or right to apply for or obtain a license. 
SUMMARY 
This bill specifies that, when the Secretary of State receives notice from a juvenile 
community corrections officer that a juvenile has violated the law prohibiting illegal 
transportation of drugs by a minor or the law prohibiting illegal transportation of liquor 
by a minor, the Secretary of State's suspension of that juvenile's license or permit to 
operate a motor vehicle, right to operate a motor vehicle and right to apply for and obtain 
a license may not be made public or become part of a juvenile's driving record or motor 
vehicle record. 
The bill also specifies that, when a juvenile has been adjudicated as having 
committed a juvenile crime involving the operation of a motor vehicle, and the court 
transmits records containing the details of the adjudication to the Secretary of State, the 
Secretary of State may use those records only for purposes of hearings held by the 
Secretary of State and the records may not otherwise be made public or become part of a 
juvenile's driving record or motor vehicle record.