21.4Access to Juvenile Diversion Records¹

The Juvenile Diversion Act, MCL 722.821 et se   q., requires the Family Division “in the county in which a diverted minor resides or is found” to “keep a separate diversion record for that minor.” MCL 722.827. Such a record is a “[c]onfidential file,” MCR 3.903(A)(3)(a)(i),² and is therefore open only to a person with a “legitimate interest,” MCR 3.925(D)(2).

MCL 712A.28(2) and MCL 712A.28(3) provide that “[d]iversion records are open only as provided in the juvenile diversion act.” See also MCL 712A.28(1). Under the Juvenile Diversion Act, a diversion record is “open to a law enforcement agency or court intake worker for only the purpose of deciding whether to divert a minor,” MCL 722.828(2), and is otherwise open “only by order of the court to a person who has a legitimate interest,” MCL 722.828(1). A diversion record must “not be used by any person, including a court official or law enforcement official, for any purpose except in making a decision on whether to divert a minor.” MCL 722.829(1).

MCR 8.119(D) provides, in part:

“Documents and other materials made nonpublic or confidential by court rule, statute, or order of the court [sealing a record] pursuant to [MCR 8.119](I)^[3] must be designated accordingly and maintained to allow only authorized access. In the event of transfer or appeal of a case, every rule, statute, or order of the court under [MCR 8.119](I) that makes a document or other materials in that case nonpublic or confidential applies uniformly to every court in Michigan, irrespective of the court in which the document or other materials were originally filed.”