2018 Wyoming Statutes
TITLE 14 - CHILDREN
CHAPTER 6 - JUVENILES
ARTICLE 2 - JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT
SECTION 14-6-203 - Jurisdiction; confidentiality of records.
14-6-203. Jurisdiction; confidentiality of records.
(a) Repealed By Laws 1997, ch. 199, § 3.
(b) Coincident with proceedings concerning a minor alleged to be delinquent, the court has jurisdiction to:
(i) Determine questions concerning the right to legal custody of the minor;
(ii) Order any party to the proceedings to perform any acts, duties and responsibilities the court deems necessary; or
(iii) Order any party to the proceedings to refrain from any act or conduct the court deems detrimental to the best interest and welfare of the minor or essential to the enforcement of any lawful order of disposition of the minor made by the court.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the juvenile court has concurrent jurisdiction in all cases, other than status offenses, in which a minor is alleged to have committed a criminal offense or to have violated a municipal ordinance.
(d) The juvenile court has exclusive jurisdiction in all cases, other than status offenses, in which a minor who has not attained the age of thirteen (13) years is alleged to have committed a felony or a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for more than six (6) months.
(e) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, all cases over which the juvenile court has concurrent jurisdiction shall be originally commenced in the juvenile court but may thereafter be transferred to another court having jurisdiction pursuant to W.S. 14-6-237.
(f) The district attorney shall establish objective criteria, screening and assessment procedures for determining the court for appropriate disposition in cooperation and coordination with each municipality in the jurisdiction of the district court. The district attorney shall serve as the single point of entry for all minors alleged to have committed a crime. Except as otherwise provided in this section, copies of all charging documents, reports or citations for cases provided in this subsection shall be forwarded to the district attorney prior to the filing of the charge, report or citation in municipal or city court. The following cases, excluding status offenses, may be originally commenced either in the juvenile court or in the district court or inferior court having jurisdiction:
(i) Violations of municipal ordinances, except that if a juvenile is sentenced in a municipal court to a sentence exceeding ten (10) days of jail or detention, the municipal court shall provide to the district attorney in the juvenile's county of residency and the department of education a copy of the judgment and sentence;
(ii) All misdemeanors except:
(A) Those cases within the exclusive jurisdiction of the juvenile court; and
(B) If a juvenile is sentenced in a municipal or circuit court to a sentence exceeding ten (10) days of jail or detention, the municipal or circuit court shall provide to the district attorney in the juvenile's county of residency and the department of education a copy of the judgment and sentence.
(iii) Felony cases in which the minor has attained the age of seventeen (17) years. The prosecuting attorney shall consider those determinative factors set forth in W.S. 14-6-237(b)(i) through (vii) prior to commencing an action in the district court under this paragraph;
(iv) Cases in which the minor has attained the age of fourteen (14) years and is charged with a violent felony as defined by W.S. 6-1-104(a)(xii);
(v) Cases in which a minor who has attained the age of fourteen (14) years is charged with a felony and has previously been adjudicated as a delinquent under two (2) separately filed juvenile petitions for acts which if committed by an adult constitute felonies.
(g) Except as provided by subsection (j) of this section, all information, reports or records made, received or kept by any municipal, county or state officer or employee evidencing any legal or administrative process or disposition resulting from a minor's misconduct are confidential and subject to the provisions of this act. The existence of the information, reports or records or contents thereof shall not be disclosed by any person unless:
(i) Disclosure results from an action brought or authorized by the district attorney in a court of public record;
(ii) The person the records concern is under eighteen (18) years of age and, in conjunction with one (1) of his parents or with the ratification of the court, authorizes the disclosure;
(iii) The person the records concern is eighteen (18) years of age or older and authorizes the disclosure;
(iv) The disclosure results from the information being shared with or between designated employees of any court, any law enforcement agency, any prosecutor's office, any employee of the victim services division within the office of the attorney general, any probation office or any employee of the department of family services or the minor's past or present school district who has been designated to share the information by the department of family services or by the school district or anyone else designated by the district attorney in determining the appropriate court pursuant to a single point of entry assessment under this section;
(v) The disclosure is made to a victim of a delinquent act constituting a felony, in accordance with W.S. 14-6-501 through 14-6-509;
(vi) The disclosure is authorized by W.S. 7-19-504; or
(vii) The disclosure is made to an administrative employee or member of the board of trustees of the minor's school district, authorized by the court to receive the information, for purposes of the suspension or expulsion of the minor pursuant to W.S. 21-4-305(d), provided:
(A) The court finds that the court action involves matters which are relevant to the suspension or expulsion of the minor pursuant to W.S. 21-4-305(e). Only materials and evidence relevant to the minor's potential suspension or expulsion shall be disclosed to an administrative employee or member of the board of trustees of the minor's school district; and
(B) The school district administrative employees or board of trustee members authorized to receive the minor's confidential information shall only disclose the information:
(I) To other members of the board of trustees or the superintendent for purposes of W.S. 21-4-305(d); and
(II) To the minor and his parents, legal guardians, attorneys or guardian ad litem.
(h) Nothing contained in this act is construed to deprive the district court of jurisdiction to determine questions of custody, parental rights, guardianship or any other questions involving minors, when the questions are the subject of or incidental to suits or actions commenced in or transferred to the district court as provided by law.
(j) Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to require confidentiality of any matter, legal record, identity or disposition pertaining to a minor charged or processed through any municipal or circuit court.
