Removal from Sex Offender Registry

Juvenile offenders who are now registered but are not required to register under the new law can petition the court for removal. This basically means a juvenile who was under 14 at the time of the offense, those adjudicated for indecent exposure, and those adjudicated for any non-Tier III offense.

Tier III Juvenile offenders are required to register for life and may petition the court for removal after 25 years if certain conditions are met including no conviction for a felony or certain other offenses, and probation was successfully completed.

The Michigan State Police in accordance with the law that was revised in 2011 have removed juvenile offenders from the Public Sex Offender Registry and have removed completely juvenile offenders who were under 14 years of age at the time of the offense. [However, some offenders who were under 14 years old at the time of the offense but were charged after they turned 14 may have been missed therefore a petition may be necessary to get removed from the Registry.] All juveniles who were adjudicated for Tier I or II offenses have been removed.

Effect of a Juvenile Record on Adult Sentencing Guidelines

Adult felony sentences are determined by using the Michigan Sentencing Guidelines. The Sentencing Guidelines score points based upon Prior Record Variables (PRV) and Offense Variables (OV) in a grid. Each grid has a range, in months, of what must be the minimum sentence given to the offender. All juvenile adjudications can be taken into consideration when establishing adult sentencing guidelines. A single juvenile adjudication could make the difference between no jail and jail. Multiple adjudications could make the difference between jail and prison.

Job Application

Technically when one applies for a job and is asked have you been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony you can honestly say no if you have no adult convictions but do have juvenile adjudications. However, since juvenile adjudications are reported in Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) the prospective employer will have that information available when the applicant’s record is checked. So, it is probably best to advise the employer upfront regarding the juvenile record.