FAQ / Sealing the Juvenile Record. Whay is it?

There are a number of different protections for juvenile records. Generally, your juvenile record should never show up on your adult criminal history from the MPD or Superior Court unless you were tried as an adult. See D.C. Code ý 16-2301(3) (2001). Also, juvenile records are rarely, if ever, reported to the FBI. See 18 U.S.C. ýý 5032, 5038(f) (2000) (juvenile adjudications only reported to FBI where juvenile found to have committed two separate acts that would have been violent felonies if done by an adult or a single such act if juvenile was 13 or older or juvenile committed any acts of drug distribution). Finally, because it is extremely rare for anyone under the age of 18 to be tried in federal District Court, see 18 U.S.C. ý 5032 (2000), any juvenile record you may have in the District of Columbia will likely be at the Family Division of the D.C. Superior Court.
Because no one is allowed to see your juvenile record without your permission, you should not show your juvenile record to an employer or potential employer and you do not have to, and should not, give your permission for them to look at it.

Keywords: criminal history,