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D.C. Circuit upheld the Federal Youth Corrections Act, providing minors’ conviction records to be “automatically set aside” in certain circumstances, and requiring that such records be physically removed from central criminal files, placed in separate storage facility, and not disseminated to anyone, public or private. Doe v. Webster, 606 F.2d 1226 (D.C. Cir. 1979).
The First Circuit held that proceedings conducted pursuant to the federal Juvenile Delinquency Act may be closed only on a case-by-case basis, when necessary to preserve legitimate confidentiality interests and reasonable alternatives to closure must be considered. U.S. v. Three Juveniles, 61 F.3d 86 (1st Cir. 1995).
In Maine, whether a juvenile hearing is open to the public depends on the nature of the crime committed. Any proceeding on a juvenile crime that would constitute murder or a felony (Class A, Class B or Class C crimes if the juvenile were an adult) is open to the public. 15 M.R.S.A. § 3307(2). Any proceeding involving a misdemeanor is closed unless the proceeding would constitute a Class D crime if the juvenile were an adult and the juvenile is a repeat offender (i.e., if it is the second or subsequent Class D crime not arising from the same underlying transaction). Id.
