State-by-state guide:

District of Columbia

D.C. Code Ann. § 16-2316(e) (1998): The general public is to be excluded from juvenile proceedings. However, the court may admit such other persons, including members of the press, "as have a proper interest in the case or the work of the court on condition that they refrain from divulging information identifying the child or members of his family involved in the proceedings."

D.C. Code Ann. § 16-2331 (1998); D.C. Code Ann. § 16-2332 (1998); D.C. Code Ann. § 16-2363 (1998): Juvenile court records are to be kept confidential, but may be released to judges, attorneys, the juvenile and his parents, and probation employees. People inspecting the records cannot divulge their contents to unauthorized people. The Superior Court can allow certain people to inspect or copy the records but none of this information in the records may be published. Individuals who can inspect are listed in the statute; the media are not included in the list.

D.C. Juv. R. 55 (1998): Persons who have a professional interest in the work of the Juvenile Division may seek permission to inspect juvenile records.

D.C. Juv. R. 118 (1998): Any juvenile arrested for the commission of a delinquent act who has not been the subject of a petition may file a motion to seal the arrest records.

Access granted: Members of the press have a proper interest in attending juvenile proceedings. In re M.A.M., 124 WLR 173 (Super. Ct. 1996).

Access denied: All representatives of the media were excluded from the trial of a juvenile accused of murder after The Wall Street Journal published the name of a 14-year-old juvenile. Originally the trial court had excluded the Journal to punish it for publishing the juvenile’s name, but had granted access to The Washington Post and other media organizations. The D.C. Court of Appeals reversed that order, stating that it disagreed with the media’s arguments that the "cat was out of the bag." Rather, the court held, "Assuming that the kitten’s whiskers (or even its tail) may be showing, the rest of the body remains concealed," and remanded the case with directions that the trial court grant the juvenile’s motion to exclude the media. In re J.D.C., 594 A.2d 70 (D.C. 1991).

Court records: If a youth offender is discharged from probation prior to the expiration of the maximum probation period, his conviction records are to be physically removed from central criminal files, placed in a separate storage facility, and not disseminated to anyone other than law enforcement officials conducting legitimate criminal investigations. The court did not address the procedure for handling records when the youth is discharged from probation after the entire sentence is completed. Doe v. Webster, 606 F.2d 1226 (D.C. 1979), interpreting Federal Youth Corrections Act, 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 5005 et seq.