§ 784. Use of police records. All police records relating to the arrest and disposition of any person under this article shall be kept in files separate and apart from the arrests of adults and shall be withheld from public inspection, but such records shall be open to inspection upon good cause shown by the parent, guardian, next friend or attorney of that person upon the written order of a judge of the family court in the county in which the order was made.
Police records of a PINS arrest/disposition are kept separate from adult arrest records and withheld from public inspection, but may be opened on good cause by written order of a Family Court judge to the person's parent/guardian/next friend/attorney. ★
★ Exam hits:
PINS = under 18, on 4 grounds: truant, ungovernable, PL § 230.00, or sexually exploited child (last one needs the child's consent). Family Court has exclusive original jurisdiction; age is fixed when the conduct arose; dismiss if started after the 18th birthday.
No jail, no lockup, no secure OR non-secure detention for PINS (§ 720). Placement only in certified foster/safe-house/boarding settings; barred if the sole basis is truancy; 16+ needs special circumstances.
Diversion is a hard filing gate (§ 735): the clerk shall not accept a petition without the § 735(g) documentation; no petition may be filed while diversion is ongoing; statements to the lead agency are inadmissible.
Two burdens of proof: fact-finding = beyond a reasonable doubt (§ 744, uncorroborated confession insufficient); disposition = preponderance (§ 745).
Key day-counts: summons served ≥ 24 hours before appearance (§ 737); fact-finding within 3 days if placed (§ 747); pre-dispositional placement ≤ 3 days without probable cause, +3 more for special circumstances (§ 739); warrant expires in 6 months, one 6-month extension (§ 738); § 761/762 motions 7 days' notice / 2-day answer (§ 763); terminate-placement needs agency denial or 30 days no answer (§ 764), denied petition can't renew for 90 days (§ 768).
ACD (§ 749): up to 6 months, then deemed dismissed in the interest of justice.
Duration caps: suspended judgment 1 yr (+1 exceptional) (§ 755); probation 1 yr (+1 exceptional) (§ 757); placement initial 60 days (§ 756), extensions 6 then 4 months (§ 756-a); never past the 21st birthday, no placement past 18 without consent.
Restitution capped at $1,000, kids over 12–under 18 (§ 758-a).
Not a conviction, not a criminal (§ 781); no forfeiture (§ 782); willful violation of an order of protection = jail up to 6 months (§ 780).
Records: automatic expungement on termination in the respondent's favor and again at the 21st birthday; police records kept separate and shielded from public view (§§ 783, 784).
Verbatim statute: FCA - Article 7
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
In print
This provision appears in Volume 5 — The JG-22 Family Court Act and in Volume 1 — The JG-22 in Plain English.