Maine § 3308-D. - Confidentiality of Juvenile Court proceedings

§ 3308-D.. Confidentiality of Juvenile Court proceedings

1.  Record.  A verbatim record must be made of all Juvenile Court proceedings.

2.  Certain hearings public.  Unless proceedings on a juvenile petition are suspended under section 3318‑A, subsection 5, the general public may not be excluded from any Juvenile Court hearing for which the petition is open to public inspection under section 3308‑C, subsection 2 or from any Juvenile Court hearing on a State's motion for bind-over under section 3101, subsection 4.

3.  Hearings on petitions alleging multiple juvenile crimes.  When a juvenile petition open to public inspection under section 3308‑C, subsection 2 alleges a juvenile crime that would constitute a Class D or Class E crime if the juvenile involved were an adult or a violation of section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B or C arising from the same course of conduct, the Juvenile Court may order that charges alleging conduct that would be a Class D or Class E crime if the juvenile involved were an adult or a violation of section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B or C be adjudicated in a separate hearing. When the Juvenile Court so orders, the general public must be excluded from the hearing on alleged conduct that would constitute a Class D or Class E crime if the juvenile were an adult or a violation of section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B or C.

4.  Victim presence at hearings.  Regardless of whether a Juvenile Court proceeding is open to the general public, the following persons may be present in court:

A. The victim;   [PL 2021, c. 365, §20 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 365, §37 (AFF).]

B. If the victim is a minor, the victim's parent or parents, guardian or legal custodian; or   [PL 2021, c. 365, §20 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 365, §37 (AFF).]

C. If the victim cannot act on the victim's own behalf due to death, age, physical or mental disease or disorder or intellectual disability or autism or other reason, an immediate family member, guardian, legal custodian or attorney representing the victim.   [PL 2021, c. 365, §20 (NEW); PL 2021, c. 365, §37 (AFF).]