GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

H	2

HOUSE BILL 873
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/28/97

Short Title:  Age of Undisciplined Juveniles.   	(Public)

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Sponsors:

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Referred to:

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April 7, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO RAISE THE AGE OF UNDISCIPLINED JUVENILES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 7A-517(20) reads as rewritten:
"(20)	Juvenile. –Except as provided in subdivisions (12) and (28) of this section, any person who has not reached his eighteenth birthday and is not married, emancipated, or a member of the armed services of the United States.  A juvenile who is married, emancipated, or a member of the armed forces, shall be prosecuted as an adult for the commission of a criminal offense.  Wherever the term ‘juvenile' is used with reference to rights and privileges, that term encompasses the attorney for the juvenile as well."
Section 2.  G.S. 7A-517(28) reads as rewritten:
"(28)	Undisciplined Juvenile. –
a.	A juvenile less than 16 years of age who is unlawfully absent from school; or who is regularly disobedient to the juvenile's parent, guardian, or custodian and beyond their disciplinary control; or who is regularly found in places where it is unlawful for a juvenile to be; or who has run away from home; or
b.	A juvenile more than 16 years of age and less than 18 years of age who is beyond the disciplinary control of the juvenile's parent, guardian, or custodian."
Section 3.  G.S. 7A-676(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Any person who has attained the age of 18 years may file a petition in the court where the person was adjudicated undisciplined for expunction of all records of that adjudication."
Section 4.  G.S. 7A-676(h) reads as rewritten:
"(h)	Any person who was alleged to be delinquent as a juvenile and has attained the age of 16 years, or was alleged to be undisciplined as a juvenile and has attained the age of 18 years, may file a petition in the court in which the person was alleged to be delinquent or undisciplined for expunction of all juvenile records of the person's having been alleged to be delinquent or undisciplined if the court dismissed the juvenile petition without an adjudication that the person was delinquent or undisciplined.  The petition shall be served on the chief court counselor in the district where the juvenile petition was filed.  The chief court counselor shall have 10 days thereafter in which to file a written objection in the court.  If no objection is filed, the judge may grant the petition without a hearing.  If an objection is filed or the judge so directs, a hearing shall be scheduled and the chief court counselor shall be notified as to the date of the hearing.  If the judge finds at the hearing that the petitioner satisfies the conditions specified herein, the judge shall order the clerk of superior court and the appropriate law enforcement agencies to expunge their records of the allegations of delinquent or undisciplined acts including all references to arrests, complaints, referrals, juvenile petitions, and orders.  The clerk of superior court shall forward a certified copy of the order of expunction to the sheriff, chief of police, or other appropriate law enforcement agency, and to the chief court counselor, and these specified officials shall immediately destroy all records relating to the allegations that the juvenile was delinquent or undisciplined."
Section 5.  This act becomes effective October 1, 1997, and applies to acts occurring on or after that date.