State-by-state guide:

Oklahoma

Children’s Code Provisions (governing family law issues such as abuse, neglect, custody):

Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 7003-4.1 (1998): Juvenile hearings are private unless the court orders a public hearing; however, only persons determined to have a direct interest in the case may be admitted.

Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 7005-1.2 (1999): Court records are confidential unless the court determines that disclosure is "necessary for the protection of a legitimate public or private interest."

Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 7005-1.3 (1998): Any person who furnishes any unauthorized juvenile record or discloses any information from a confidential record for commercial, political or any other unauthorized purpose is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Juvenile Code Provisions (governing delinquency proceedings):

Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 7307-1.2 (1999): In general, juvenile records are confidential. However, records are open to the public if a juvenile is certified as an adult and the juvenile: violated a traffic regulation of the motor vehicle code, the juvenile is 14 and has previously been adjudicated delinquent; the juvenile committed an act that would be felony if an adult had committed that act; or the juvenile violated the Prevention of Youth Access to Tobacco Act. Furthermore, when a delinquent child has escaped or run away from a training school or other institutional placement for delinquents, the name and description of the child may be released to the public "as necessary and appropriate for the protection of the public and the apprehension of the delinquent child." In addition, the judge has the discretion to open records to the public, provided that an order authorizing the inspection, release, disclosure, correction or expungement of confidential records shall be entered by the court only if a compelling reason exists and such inspection, release or disclosure is necessary for the protection of a legitimate public or private interest.

Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 7307-1.7 (1998); Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 7307-1.8 (1998): The court may order the records of a person alleged to be delinquent to be sealed if 1 year has elapsed from the later of dismissal or final discharge from court supervision; the person has not been found guilty of another criminal offense; and no other criminal charges are pending. The records may also be sealed if the case has been dismissed or no adjudication has occurred. When the court finds that there is a compelling reason, the record may be unsealed in the interest of justice. Any person or agency having a legitimate interest in a delinquency case or proceeding may petition the court for an order unsealing a juvenile court record. Morever, if any record ordered to be sealed is not unsealed within 10 years of the order, the record must be destroyed at the end of a 19 year period. In addition, a juvenile may ask the court to expunge his open court record if he is 21 years of age or older, he has no pending criminal charges, and he has paid all of his fines. Upon a finding that the harm to the privacy of the person in interest outweighs the public interest in retaining the records, the court may order the records, or any part thereof except basic identification information, to be expunged. If the court finds that neither expungement of the records nor maintaining of the records unsealed by the agency would serve the ends of justice, the court may enter an appropriate order limiting access to the records.

Forbidding publication: A newspaper challenged constitutionality of federal statute, 18 U.S.C. 5038(d), which forbids releasing to the public the name or identity of a juvenile who is taken into custody. Federal District Court held the statute applies only to court personnel and not to the media. Oklahoma Publishing Co. v. United States, 515 F. Supp 1255 (D Okla. 1981).

Forbidding publication: The U.S. Supreme Court held that First and Fourteenth amendments are violated by Oklahoma trial judge’s order prohibiting the media from publishing juvenile defendant’s name and picture which had been publicly revealed and widely disseminated prior to the judge’s order. Oklahoma Publishing v. District Court, 430 U.S. 308 (1977).