Effect of nolle pros
When a criminal case gets dropped, thrown out, or the person is found not guilty, the court records about that case get sealed — meaning the public can't see them anymore. If a person is found not guilty because of mental illness, only certain agencies like law enforcement and child care places can still see those records. There is one exception: if the charges were for certain sex crimes or child abuse crimes and the judge suspended the sentence, the victim of that crime can ask to see the records to use in their own court case.
610.105. Effect of — dismissal — sentence on — not guilty due to , effect — available to victim in certain cases. — 1. If the person arrested is charged but the case is subsequently , dismissed, or the accused is found not guilty or in the court in which the is , official records pertaining to the case shall thereafter be when such case is ly terminated except as provided in 2 of this section and section 610.120 and except that the court's or or the final action taken by the in such matters may be accessed. If the accused is found not guilty due to mental disease or defect section 552.030, official records pertaining to the case shall thereafter be closed records upon such findings, except that the may be accessed only by law agencies, child-care agencies, facilities as defined in section 198.006, and in-home services agencies as defined in section 192.2400, in the manner established by section 610.120.
2. If the person arrested is charged with an found in , section 568.045, 568.050, 568.060, 568.065, 573.200*, 573.205*, or 568.175, and an imposition of sentence is suspended in the court in which the action is prosecuted, the official records pertaining to the case shall be made available to the victim for the purpose of using the records in his or her own judicial , or if the victim is a to the victim's parents or , upon request.
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Source & history notes
(L. 1973 S.B. 1 § 7, A.L. 1981 H.B. 554, A.L. 1993 H.B. 170, A.L. 1998 H.B. 1095, A.L. 2001 S.B. 267, A.L. 2006 H.B. 1053) *Section 568.080 was transferred to section 573.200 and section 568.090 was transferred to section 573.205 by S.B. 491, 2014, effective 1-01-17.
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