Section 160. Inspecting, Copying, and Disseminating the Official Court Record

A. Inspecting. The official court record is only open to inspection by:

1) the judges, masters, juvenile probation officers, and staff of the court;

2) the attorney for the Commonwealth, the juvenile’s attorney, and the juvenile, but the persons in this category shall not be permitted to see reports revealing the names of confidential sources of information, except at the discretion of the court;

3) a public or private agency or institution providing supervision or having custody of the juvenile under order of the court;

4) a court, its probation officers, other officials or professional staff, and the attorney for the defendant for use in preparing a pre-sentence report in a criminal case in which the defendant is convicted and the defendant previously was adjudicated delinquent;

5) a judge or issuing authority for use in determining bail, provided that such inspection is limited to orders of delinquency adjudications and dispositions, orders resulting from dispositional review hearings, and histories of bench warrants and escapes;

6) the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts;

7) the judges, juvenile probation officers, and staff of courts of other jurisdictions when necessary for the discharge of their official duties;

8) officials of the Department of Corrections, a state correctional institution or other penal institution to which an individual who was previously adjudicated delinquent in a proceeding under the Juvenile Act has been com-mitted, but the persons in this category shall not be permitted to see reports revealing the names of confidential sources of information contained in social reports, except at the discretion of the court;

9) a parole board, court, or county probation official in considering an individual who was previously adjudicated delinquent in a proceeding under the Juvenile Act, but the persons in this category shall not be permitted to see reports revealing the names of confidential sources of information contained in social reports, except at the discretion of the court;

10) the State Sexual Offenders Assessment Board for use in completing assessments; and

11) with leave of court, any other person, agency, or institution having a legitimate interest in the proceedings or in the work of the unified judicial system.

B. Copying. Any person, agency, or department permitted to inspect the record pursuant to paragraph (A) may copy or be provided with a copy of the record.

C. Disseminating. Unauthorized dissemination of any information contained in the official court record to a person, agency, or department not permitted to inspect or copy the record pursuant to this rule may result in a finding of contempt of court.

D. Public availability. Upon request, a public document shall be created by the clerk of courts if the case is designated eligible for public inspection pursuant to Rule 330 or 515.

1) For cases deemed eligible pursuant to Rule 330, the public document shall contain only the following information:

a) the juvenile’s name;

b) the juvenile’s age;

c) the juvenile’s address; and

d) the offenses alleged in the juvenile’s petition.

2) For cases deemed eligible pursuant to Rule 515, the public document shall contain only the following information:

a) the juvenile’s name;

b) the juvenile’s age;

c) the juvenile’s address;

d) the offenses alleged in the juvenile’s petition;

e) the adjudication on each allegation; and

f) the disposition of the case.

Comment

Pursuant to paragraph (A)(11), the court may order that any person, agency, or department receive a copy of all or portions of the record. The court order is to state: 1) the specific information the person, agency or department may receive; 2) that the information received shall not be disseminated to any person, agency, or department not listed in the court order; and 3) that any dissemination of the information received is a violation of the court order.

See the Juvenile Act, 42 Pa.C.S. § 6307, for the statutory provisions on inspection of the juvenile’s file and 42 Pa.C.S. § 6352.1 for disclosure of treatment records.

See Rule 120 for definition of the ‘‘official court record.’’

This rule is meant to include the contents of the official court record as described in Rule 166.

When delinquency proceedings are commenced pursuant to Rule 200(4), the entire criminal court file is to be transferred with the case to juvenile court. This criminal case file is now the juvenile court file, which is the official court record, and the disclosure requirements of this rule apply.

Paragraph (C) protects the juvenile from dissemination of information contained in the official court record to unauthorized sources. Nothing in this rule is intended to preclude the juvenile or the juvenile’s attorney from discussing the case with others, such as, local newspaper reporters. However, specific information concerning the victim should not be disseminated by the juvenile or the juvenile’s attorney.

Under paragraph (D), there is one document for each eligible case that is open for public inspection. The public document should be clearly marked for employees of the clerks of courts’ office as the only document available for inspection by the general public. All other information contained in the official court record is not open for public inspection but only open to inspection to the persons enumerated in paragraph (A).

See Rule 330 for designation of public availability status in the juvenile petition. See Rule 515 for designation of public availability status in the dispositional order.

Official Note

Rule 160 adopted April 1, 2005, effective October 1, 2005. Amended December 30, 2005, effective immediately. Amended August 20, 2007, effective December 1, 2007. Amended May 12, 2008, effective immediately. Amended December 24, 2009, effective immediately. Amended May 21, 2012, effetive August 1, 2012.

Committee Explanatory Reports:

Final Report explaining the provisions of Rule 160 published with the Court’s Order at 35 Pa.B. 2214 (April 16, 2005).

Final Report explaining the revisions of Rule 160 published with the Court’s Order at 36 Pa.B. 186 (January 14, 2006).

Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 160 published with the Court’s Order at 37 Pa.B. 4866 (September 8, 2007).

Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 160 published with the Court’s Order at 38 Pa.B. 2360 (May 24, 2008).

Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 160 published with the Court’s Order at 40 Pa.B. 222 (January 9, 2010).

Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 160 published with the Court’s Order at 42 Pa.B. 3203 (June 9, 2012).

The provisions of this Rule 160 amended December 30, 2005, effective immediately, 36 Pa.B. 186; amended August 21, 2007, effective December 1, 2007, 37 Pa.B. 4866; amended May 12, 2008, effective May 12, 2008, 38 Pa.B. 2360; amended December 24, 2009, effective immediately, 40 Pa.B. 222; amended May 21, 2012, effective August 1, 2012, 42 Pa.B. 3203. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (360292) to (360293) and (347581) to (347582).