JUVENILE CASES

(A) Juvenile Case Records That the Public May Inspect. (1) Unless access is limited or sealed pursuant to 15 M.R.S. § 3308-C(10) or Juvenile Court proceedings are suspended pursuant to 15 M.R.S. § 3318-A(5), the public may inspect the following juvenile case records: (a) Juvenile petitions that are open to public inspection pursuant to 15 M.R.S. § 3308-C(2); (b) Orders of adjudication as defined under 15 M.R.S. § 3003(19-C) that are open to public inspection pursuant to 15 M.R.S. § 3308-C(3); and (c) Competency orders that are open to public inspection pursuant to 15 M.R.S. § 3318-C(2)(C). (2) Names and identifying information of any victims, including alleged victims, shall be redacted by the prosecuting attorney when filing a juvenile petition, and by the court when issuing an order of adjudication or competency order that is accessible by the public. (3) When a juvenile petition, order of adjudication, or competency order is open to public inspection under the applicable law, it will be made available for inspection only once printed by the court clerk at a courthouse and must be returned to the court clerk after the document is inspected. (4) There is no public access to any other juvenile case records, except as allowed under subdivisions (B) and (C) of this rule. 24 (B) Juvenile Case Records that Alleged Victims May Inspect. (1) Access for Alleged Victims. Juvenile case records that are open to inspection by an alleged victim pursuant to 15 M.R.S. §§ 3308-C(5) and 3318-C(2)(A) and (B) will be printed by the clerk and provided for inspection in paper form at a courthouse, and must be returned to the court clerk after the document is inspected. (2) Alleged Victim Defined. For purposes of this rule, alleged victim of the juvenile crime includes: (a) The alleged victim; (b) If the alleged victim is a minor, the parent or parents, guardian, or legal custodian of the alleged victim; or (c) If the alleged victim cannot act on the alleged 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 of the alleged victim, or an attorney representing the alleged victim. (C) Dissemination of Whenever dissemination of juvenile case records is allowed pursuant to 15 M.R.S. §§ 3308-C(4) or (6), the method of dissemination will be in the court’s discretion. Juvenile Case Records. (D) Sealing or Impounding Public Juvenile Case Records. (1) Sealing of Juvenile Case Records of a Person Adjudicated to Have Committed a Juvenile Crime. (a) The procedure to seal juvenile case records of a person adjudicated to have committed a juvenile crime shall be governed by 15 M.R.S. § 3308-C(10). (b) Section 3308-C(10)(D) of Title 15 controls which persons have access to the sealed juvenile case records. (2) Limitation of Access to Juvenile Case Records Pre- Adjudication. The procedure for limiting access to juvenile case 25 records pre-adjudication shall be governed by Rule 10(A)(2), except as otherwise provided by 15 M.R.S. § 3308-C(2). It is the responsibility of the filer to ensure that juvenile case records to which access has been limited are submitted to the court in accordance with Rule 12. Advisory Note – June 2025 The amendments to Rule 6 align the provisions regarding the confidentiality of records in juvenile cases with the significant changes that have been made to the statutes governing the confidentiality of those records since the adoption of the rules.