§ 14-6-203 — Jurisdiction; confidentiality of records

(a) Repealed By Laws 1997, ch. 199, § 3.
(b) Coincident with proceedings concerning a minor alleged
to be delinquent, the court has jurisdiction to:
(i) Determine questions concerning the right to legal
custody of the minor;
(ii) Order any party to the proceedings to perform
any acts, duties and responsibilities the court deems necessary;
or
(iii) Order any party to the proceedings to refrain
from any act or conduct the court deems detrimental to the best
interest and welfare of the minor or essential to the
enforcement of any lawful order of disposition of the minor made
by the court.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section,
the juvenile court has concurrent jurisdiction in all cases,
other than status offenses, in which:
(i) A minor is alleged to have committed a criminal
offense or to have violated a municipal ordinance;
(ii) An adult who is under the age of twenty-one (21)
is alleged to have committed a criminal offense or to have
violated a municipal ordinance while the adult was a minor.
(d) The juvenile court has exclusive jurisdiction in all
cases, other than status offenses, in which a minor who has not
attained the age of thirteen (13) years is alleged to have
committed a felony or a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment
for more than six (6) months.
(e) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section,
all cases over which the juvenile court has concurrent
jurisdiction shall be originally commenced in the juvenile court
but may thereafter be transferred to another court having
jurisdiction pursuant to W.S. 14-6-237.
(f) The district attorney shall establish objective
criteria, screening and assessment procedures for determining
the court for appropriate disposition in cooperation and
coordination with each municipality in the jurisdiction of the
district court. The district attorney shall serve as the single
point of entry for all minors alleged to have committed a crime.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, copies of all
charging documents, reports or citations for cases provided in
this subsection shall be forwarded to the district attorney
prior to the filing of the charge, report or citation in
municipal or city court. The following cases, excluding status
offenses, may be originally commenced either in the juvenile
court or in the district court or inferior court having
jurisdiction:
(i) Violations of municipal ordinances, except that
if a juvenile is sentenced in a municipal court to a sentence
exceeding ten (10) days of jail or detention, the municipal
court shall provide to the district attorney in the juvenile's
county of residency and the department of education a copy of
the judgment and sentence;
(ii) All misdemeanors except:
(A) Those cases within the exclusive
jurisdiction of the juvenile court; and
(B) If a juvenile is sentenced in a municipal or
circuit court to a sentence exceeding ten (10) days of jail or
detention, the municipal or circuit court shall provide to the
district attorney in the juvenile's county of residency and the
department of education a copy of the judgment and sentence.
(iii) Felony cases in which the minor has attained
the age of seventeen (17) years. The prosecuting attorney shall
consider those determinative factors set forth in W.S.
14-6-237(b)(i) through (vii) prior to commencing an action in
the district court under this paragraph;
(iv) Cases in which the minor has attained the age of
fourteen (14) years and is charged with a violent felony as
defined by W.S. 6-1-104(a)(xii);
(v) Cases in which a minor who has attained the age
of fourteen (14) years is charged with a felony and has
previously been adjudicated as a delinquent under two (2)
separately filed juvenile petitions for acts which if committed
by an adult constitute felonies.
(g) Except as provided by subsection (j) of this section,
all information, reports or records made, received or kept by
any municipal, county or state officer or employee evidencing
any legal or administrative process or disposition resulting
from a minor's misconduct are confidential and subject to the
provisions of this act. The existence of the information,
reports or records or contents thereof shall not be disclosed by
any person unless:
(i) Disclosure results from an action brought or
authorized by the district attorney in a court of public record;
(ii) The person the records concern is under eighteen
(18) years of age and, in conjunction with one (1) of his
parents or with the ratification of the court, authorizes the
disclosure;
(iii) The person the records concern is eighteen (18)
years of age or older and authorizes the disclosure;
(iv) The disclosure results from the information
being shared with or between designated employees of any court,
any law enforcement agency, any prosecutor's office, any
employee of the victim services division within the office of
the attorney general, any probation office or any employee of
the department of family services or the minor's past or present
school district who has been designated to share the information
by the department of family services or by the school district
or anyone else designated by the district attorney in
determining the appropriate court pursuant to a single point of
entry assessment under this section;
(v) The disclosure is made to a victim of a
delinquent act constituting a felony, in accordance with W.S.
14-6-501 through 14-6-509;
(vi) The disclosure is authorized by W.S. 14-6-604;
or
(vii) The disclosure is made to an administrative
employee or member of the board of trustees of the minor's
school district, authorized by the court to receive the
information, for purposes of the suspension or expulsion of the
minor pursuant to W.S. 21-4-305(c)(ii), provided:
(A) The court finds that the court action
involves matters which are relevant to the suspension or
expulsion of the minor pursuant to W.S. 21-4-305(e). Only
materials and evidence relevant to the minor's potential
suspension or expulsion shall be disclosed to an administrative
employee or member of the board of trustees of the minor's
school district; and
(B) The school district administrative employees
or board of trustee members authorized to receive the minor's
confidential information shall only disclose the information:
(I) To other members of the board of
trustees or the superintendent for purposes of W.S. 21-4-
305(c)(ii); and
(II) To the minor and his parents, legal
guardians, attorneys or guardian ad litem.
(h) Nothing contained in this act is construed to deprive
the district court of jurisdiction to determine questions of
custody, parental rights, guardianship or any other questions
involving minors, when the questions are the subject of or
incidental to suits or actions commenced in or transferred to
the district court as provided by law.
(j) Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to
require confidentiality of any matter, legal record, identity or
disposition pertaining to a minor charged or processed through
any municipal or circuit court.