Advocates: Keep most juvenile records sealed

DES MOINES - Criminal records of children and teenagers who have minor scrapes with the law should be kept from the public, advocates suggested Wednesday to a work group assigned by the governor to address potential criminal justice policy reforms.

The group heard from Drake University law professor Jerry Foxhoven and Youth Law Center director Mike Sorci, both suggesting laws should be changed to shield most juvenile criminal records.

A work group member cautioned such a proposal probably would be met with resistance from media and other open-government advocates.

Foxhoven and Sorci said many with minor juvenile records find it difficult to gain employment even decades after their transgressions, which he said can be a 'scarlet letter.”

Foxhoven said that can lead to further troubles, pointing to studies that show most people jailed are unemployed or underemployed.

'It doesn't do them a lot of good if we tag them with a record that follows them for the rest of their lives,” Foxhoven said. He suggested juvenile records be withheld from the public but remain available to law enforcement and court officials. He said a provision could be written to allow a judge to decide whether a particular file should be made public or a county attorney to petition a judge to make a file public.

Work group member and Muscatine County Attorney Alan Ostergren warned that would be a heavy lift for lawmakers.

'That's a huge policy choice to make, which is going to be deeply controversial, even if we as a group recommend it,” Ostergren said.

Sorci said juvenile records can be a roadblock to rehabilitation.

'There is some disagreement about the public's right to know what's going on in our courts vs. what we know is in the best interest of the child, to actually allow them to make mistakes as a child,” Sorci said. 'We know that stigmatizing children, labeling children as delinquents has a self-fulfilling prophecy effect.”

Iowa Freedom of Information Council director Kathleen Richardson said the debate about juvenile records has ebbed over time. Iowa law formerly kept all juvenile records confidential, Richardson said, before significant changes were made in the 1980s to make more public.

'The whole issue of juvenile records and information involving juveniles involved in the criminal justice system is one that's really a reflection of how society views juveniles at the time,” Richardson said.

'The Iowa Freedom of Information Council and the journalism organizations like the Iowa Newspaper Association, I suspect that they would not necessarily be in favor of that if it goes forward,” she said.

Sen. Steve Sodders, chairman of the Senate's Judiciary Committee, said he would be willing to explore a criminal justice reform proposal.

'I'm open to any idea that comes our way if it goes to anything I'm trying to do,” Sodders said.