(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a record sealed pursuant to Section 781, 786, 786.5, or 788 may be accessed by a law enforcement agency, probation department, court, the Department of Justice, or other state or local agency that has custody of the sealed record for the limited purpose of complying with data collection or data reporting requirements that are imposed by other provisions of law. However, no personally identifying information from a sealed record accessed under this subdivision may be released, disseminated, or published by or through an agency, department, court, or individual that has accessed or obtained information from the sealed record.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a court may authorize a researcher or research organization to access information contained in records that have been sealed pursuant to Section 781, 786, 786.5, or 788 for the purpose of conducting research on juvenile justice populations, practices, policies, or trends, if both of the following are true:
(1) The court is satisfied that the research project or study includes a methodology for the appropriate protection of the confidentiality of an individual whose sealed record is accessed pursuant to this subdivision.
(2) Personally identifying information relating to the individual whose sealed record is accessed pursuant to this subdivision is not further released, disseminated, or published by or through the researcher or research organization.
(c) For the purposes of this section “personally identifying information” has the same meaning as in Section 1798.79.8 of the Civil Code.
(Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 811, Sec. 3. (AB 1877) Effective January 1, 2025.)