When someone who was once in juvenile court testifies in a criminal case, their old juvenile record can sometimes be used to make people question whether they are telling the truth. This only applies if the juvenile case happened within the last three years, and only if it involved serious acts. If the person on trial is charged with a sex crime, their old juvenile record for a similar sex-related act can also be used to question their honesty — and if they have more than one such juvenile case, all of them can be brought up, no matter how long ago they happened.
491.078. , use to affect — , affect on credibility — multiple adjudications, , when. — 1. to the contrary, a juvenile court adjudication for any of the following acts may be used to affect the credibility of a or a in a , if such acts occurred within three years of the date of any by the witness or defendant:
(1) An act that would have been a class A or if by an adult;
(2) An act that would have been a class C or if committed by an adult, if the contains at least one other adjudication for any act that would have been a if committed by an adult.
2. In any case in which a defendant is charged with a sexual offense under the of , a juvenile court adjudication of the defendant may be used to question the credibility of the defendant if such adjudication is for an act which would have been a violation of chapter 566 if the act had been committed by an adult and if such juvenile court adjudication occurred within three years of the of the pending . If the defendant's juvenile court records contain more than one adjudication for acts which would have been violations of chapter 566 if committed by an adult, such multiple adjudications shall be admissible for regardless of when they occurred.
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Source & history notes
(L. 1995 H.B. 174, et al. § 1)
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