                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CONFIDENTIALITY OF COURT RECORDS (§ 16.1-305)

A. Social, medical and psychiatric or psychological records, including reports
or preliminary inquiries, predisposition studies and supervision records, of
neglected and abused children, children in need of services, children in need of
supervision and delinquent children shall be filed with the other papers in the
juvenile&#8217;s case file. All juvenile case files shall be filed separately
from adult files and records of the court and shall be open for inspection only
to the following:

   1. The judge, probation officers and professional staff assigned to serve the
   juvenile and domestic relations district courts;

   2. Representatives of a public or private agency or department providing
   supervision or having legal custody of the child or furnishing evaluation or
   treatment of the child ordered or requested by the court;

   3. The attorney for any party, including the attorney for the Commonwealth;

   4. Any other person, agency or institution, by order of the court, having a
   legitimate interest in the case or in the work of the court. However, for the
   purposes of an investigation conducted by a local community-based probation
   services agency, preparation of a pretrial investigation report, or of a
   presentence or postsentence report upon a finding of guilty in a circuit court
   or for the preparation of a background report for the Parole Board, adult
   probation and parole officers, including United States Probation and Pretrial
   Services Officers, any officer of a local pretrial services agency established
   or operated pursuant to Article 5 (&#xA7; 19.2-152.2 et seq.) of Chapter 9 of
   Title 19.2, and any officer of a local community-based probation services
   agency established or operated pursuant to the Comprehensive Community
   Corrections Act for Local-Responsible Offenders (&#xA7; 9.1-173 et seq.) shall
   have access to an accused&#8217;s or inmate&#8217;s records in juvenile court
   without a court order and for the purpose of preparing the discretionary
   sentencing guidelines worksheets and related risk assessment instruments as
   directed by the court pursuant to subsection C of &#xA7; 19.2-298.01, the
   attorney for the Commonwealth and any pretrial services or probation officer
   shall have access to the defendant&#8217;s records in juvenile court without a
   court order;

   5. Any attorney for the Commonwealth and any local pretrial services or
   community-based probation officer or state adult probation or parole officer
   shall have direct access to the defendant&#8217;s juvenile court delinquency
   records maintained in an electronic format by the court for the strictly
   limited purposes of preparing a pretrial investigation report, including any
   related risk assessment instrument, any presentence report, any discretionary
   sentencing guidelines worksheets, including related risk assessment
   instruments, any post-sentence investigation report or preparing for any
   transfer or sentencing hearing.
   				A copy of the court order of disposition in a delinquency case shall be
   provided to a probation officer or attorney for the Commonwealth, when
   requested for the purpose of calculating sentencing guidelines. The copies
   shall remain confidential, but reports may be prepared using the information
   contained therein as provided in &#xA7;&#xA7; 19.2-298.01 and 19.2-299.

   6. The Office of the Attorney General, for all criminal justice activities
   otherwise permitted and for purposes of performing duties required by Chapter
   9 (&#xA7; 37.2-900 et seq.) of Title 37.2.

A1. Any person, agency, or institution that may inspect juvenile case files
pursuant to subdivisions A 1 through 4 shall be authorized to have copies made
of such records, subject to any restrictions, conditions, or prohibitions that
the court may impose.

B. All or any part of the records enumerated in subsection A, or information
secured from such records, which is presented to the judge in court or otherwise
in a proceeding under this law shall also be made available to the parties to
the proceedings and their attorneys.

B1. If a juvenile 14 years of age or older at the time of the offense is
adjudicated delinquent on the basis of an act which would be a felony if
committed by an adult, all court records regarding that adjudication and any
subsequent adjudication of delinquency, other than those records specified in
subsection A, shall be open to the public. However, if a hearing was closed, the
judge may order that certain records or portions thereof remain confidential to
the extent necessary to protect any juvenile victim or juvenile witness.

C. All other juvenile records, including the docket, petitions, motions and
other papers filed with a case, transcripts of testimony, findings, verdicts,
orders and decrees shall be open to inspection only by those persons and
agencies designated in subsections A and B. However, a licensed bail bondsman
shall be entitled to know the status of a bond he has posted or provided surety
on for a juvenile under &#xA7; 16.1-258. This shall not authorize a bail
bondsman to have access to or inspect any other portion of his principal&#8217;s
juvenile court records.

D. Attested copies of papers filed in connection with an adjudication of guilty
for an offense for which the clerk is required by &#xA7; 46.2-383 to furnish an
abstract to the Department of Motor Vehicles, which shows the charge, finding,
disposition, name of the attorney for the juvenile, or waiver of attorney shall
be furnished to an attorney for the Commonwealth upon certification by the
prosecuting attorney that such papers are needed as evidence in a pending
criminal or traffic proceeding and that such papers will be only used for such
evidentiary purpose.

D1. Attested copies of papers filed in connection with an adjudication of guilt
for a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult, which show
the charge, finding, disposition, name of the attorney for the juvenile, or
waiver of attorney by the juvenile, shall be furnished to an attorney for the
Commonwealth upon his certification that such papers are needed as evidence in a
pending criminal prosecution for a violation of &#xA7; 18.2-308.2 and that such
papers will be only used for such evidentiary purpose.

E. Upon request, a copy of the court order of disposition in a delinquency case
shall be provided to the Virginia Workers&#8217; Compensation Commission solely
for purposes of determining whether to make an award to the victim of a crime,
and such information shall not be disseminated or used by the Commission for any
other purpose including but not limited to actions pursuant to &#xA7;
19.2-368.15.

F. Staff of the court services unit or the attorney for the Commonwealth shall
provide notice of the disposition in a case involving a juvenile who is
committed to state care after being adjudicated for a criminal sexual assault as
specified in Article 7 (&#xA7; 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2 to
the victim or a parent of a minor victim, upon request. Additionally, if the
victim or parent submits a written request, the Department of Juvenile Justice
shall provide advance notice of such juvenile offender&#8217;s anticipated date
of release from commitment.

G. Any record in a juvenile case file which is open for inspection by the
professional staff of the Department of Juvenile Justice pursuant to subsection
A and is maintained in an electronic format by the court, may be transmitted
electronically to the Department of Juvenile Justice. Any record so transmitted
shall be subject to the provisions of &#xA7; 16.1-300.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 16.1-162; 1956, c. 555; 1958, c. 353; 1971, Ex. Sess., c.
228; 1975, c. 334; 1977, c. 559; 1979, c. 605; 1983, c. 389; 1984, c. 34; 1988,
c. 541; 1989, c. 182; 1990, c. 258; 1992, c. 547; 1994, c. 603; 1995, c. 430;
1996, cc. 755, 870, 914; 1998, cc. 278, 521; 2002, cc. 701, 735, 741; 2003, c.
143; 2004, c. 446; 2007, c. 133; 2009, cc. 138, 308, 740; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c.
463.