In the Matter of the WELFARE OF: J.T.L., Child

STATE OF MINNESOTA
IN COURT OF APPEALS
A15-0905
A15-1117
In the Matter of the Welfare of: J.T.L., Child
Filed December 28, 2015
Remanded
Rodenberg, Judge
Stearns County District Court
File No. 73-J0-01-050965
Janelle P. Kendall, Stearns County Attorney, Dana D. Erickson, Assistant County
Attorney, St. Cloud, Minnesota (for appellant State of Minnesota)
Lori Swanson, Attorney General, Marsha Eldot Devine, Assistant Attorney General, St.
Paul, Minnesota (for appellant Minnesota Department of Human Services)
Thomas A. Wilson, Wilson Law Firm P.L.L.C., St. Paul, Minnesota (for respondent
J.T.L.)
Considered and decided by Rodenberg, Presiding Judge; Reilly, Judge; and
Klaphake, Judge.
SYLLABUS
In deciding a petition to expunge juvenile delinquency records, a district court
must make findings of fact concerning the factors set forth in Minn. Stat. § 260B.198,
subd. 6(b) (2014).

Retired judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, serving by appointment pursuant to
Minn. Const. art. VI, § 10.
OPINION
RODENBERG, Judge
Appellants State of Minnesota and Department of Human Services (DHS) appeal
from the district court’s grant of respondent J.T.L.’s motion for expungement of his
juvenile criminal-sexual-conduct adjudication. Because we determine that the district
court erred by failing to making findings on the record analyzing the factors set forth in
Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 6(b), we remand for findings of fact concerning those
statutory factors.
FACTS
On June 7, 2001, respondent J.T.L. was charged by delinquency petition with
three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in violation of Minn. Stat. § 609.342,
subd. 1(a) (2000), and one count of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct in violation of
Minn. Stat. § 609.3451, subd. 1(2) (2000). On February 1, 2002, and based on his pleas
of guilty, respondent was adjudicated delinquent on all four counts of criminal sexual
conduct. As a condition of his resulting juvenile probation, respondent was ordered to
complete inpatient sex-offender treatment. He was successfully discharged from
treatment on January 24, 2003. He was discharged from probation on March 16, 2004,
based on his supervising agent’s determinations that he had cooperated with all of his
court-ordered conditions and that his risk level for reoffending was low. Respondent has
had two traffic citations and an underage-consumption conviction after his discharge
from juvenile probation.
2
On February 4, 2015, respondent moved for expungement of his juvenile record
pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 6, and for restoration of his firearm rights
pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 609.165, subd. ld (2014). Both motions were heard by the
district court on April 10, 2015. Respondent testified in support of his requests. He also
provided the district court with documents attesting to his post-treatment achievements.
His attorney provided the district court with proposed orders concerning both
expungement and restoration of firearm rights.
Appellant State of Minnesota opposed the motion for expungement and submitted
respondent’s November 2001 psychosexual evaluation, his sex-offender-treatment
discharge summary, and two preadjudication victim-impact letters. The Minnesota
Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions (BCA) did not appear, but opposed appellant’s
motions by letter. Appellant DHS also opposed the expungement motion by a letter and
memorandum of law.
On May 12, 2015, the district court granted both of respondent’s motions by
adopting his proposed orders nearly verbatim. The district court’s expungement order
provides that “[t]his order restores the child to the status occupied before the arrest. The
child will not be guilty of perjury for failure to acknowledge the arrest or proceeding in
response to any inquiry made for any purpose.” The district court added a handwritten
provision stating that “[w]hen applying for positions of authority over minor children or
vulnerable adults, Petitioner-Child must disclose the existence of this sealed file.” No
mechanism for enforcement of this obligation is specified in the order. The district court
did not make any express findings based on the factors enumerated in section 260B.198,
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subdivision 6(b), to support its conclusion that “expungement would . . . yield a benefit to
the child that outweighs the detriment to the public and public safety.” Both the state and
DHS appealed the district court’s expungement order, but neither appealed the order
restoring appellant’s firearm rights.1 We consolidated appellants’ appeals by order dated
July 15, 2015.
ISSUE
Did the district court err by failing to make findings concerning the factors
required to be considered in determining an expungement request concerning juvenile
records under Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 6(b)?
ANALYSIS
Appellants State of Minnesota and DHS argue that the district court erred by
failing to make specific findings supporting expungement of respondent’s juvenile
records under section 260B.198, subdivision 6(b).2
Statutory interpretation is a question of law that is reviewed de novo. In the
Welfare of J.J.P., 831 N.W.2d 260, 264 (Minn. 2013). “The goal of all statutory
interpretation is to ascertain and effectuate the intent of the Legislature.” Id. (citing
Minn. Stat. § 645.16 (2012)). In interpreting statutory language, words and phrases are to
be given their plain and ordinary meaning. In re Welfare of J.H., 844 N.W.2d 28, 35
(Minn. 2014) (citing State v. Spence, 768 N.W.2d 104, 107 (Minn. 2009)); see also Minn.
1
Because the district court’s order restoring respondent’s firearms rights is not
challenged on appeal, it is final and unaffected by this appeal.
2
The BCA has not appealed.
4
Stat. § 645.08(1) (2014). “We read a statute as a whole and give effect to all of its
provisions.” J.J.P., 831 N.W.2d at 264.
The newly revised Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 6, requires a district court to
determine whether the benefit of expungement to the petitioner outweighs the detriment
of expungement to the public and public safety. Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 6(a)
(2014). The statute also provides that:
(b) In making a determination under this subdivision, the
court shall consider:
(1) the age, education, experience, and background,
including mental and emotional development, of the subject
of the record at the time of commission of the offense;
(2) the circumstances and nature and severity of the
offense, including any aggravating or mitigating factors in the
commission of the offense;
(3) victim and community impact, including age and
vulnerability of the victim;
(4) the level of participation of the subject of the record
in the planning and carrying out of the offense, including
familial or peer influence in the commission of the offense;
(5) the juvenile delinquency and criminal history of the
subject of the record;
(6) the programming history of the subject of the record,
including child welfare, school and community-based, and
probation interventions, and the subject’s willingness to
participate meaningfully in programming, probation, or both;
(7) any other aggravating or mitigating circumstance
bearing on the culpability or potential for rehabilitation of the
subject of the record; and
(8) the benefit that expungement would yield to the
subject of the record in pursuing education, employment,
housing, or other necessities.
Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 6(b)(1)-(8) (2014) (emphasis added). The parties disagree
concerning whether the statutory requirement that the district court “shall consider” these
factors also requires that it make findings of fact. Appellants argue that the district court
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is required to make written or oral findings regarding the factors. Respondent argues that
the plain meaning of “consider” includes no requirement of specific findings.
The use of “shall consider” in Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 6(b), is identical to
the language in Minn. Stat. § 609A.03, subd. 5(c) (2014) (outlining factors for
expungement of adult criminal records). In State v. K.M.M., we reversed and remanded
because the district court failed to apply Minn. Stat. § 609A.03, subd. 5(c)’s balancing-
of-interests test, and we directed that the district court on remand make “appropriate
findings” concerning the statutory factors. 721 N.W.2d 330, 334-35 (Minn. App. 2006).
Similarly, we have required district courts to articulate findings in expungement
cases decided pursuant to the court’s inherent authority. In State v. H.A., we reversed the
district court’s expungement order because the absence of “findings or determinations on
the record” rendered us unable to review whether the district court had abused its
discretion concerning expungement. 716 N.W.2d 360, 364 (Minn. App. 2006). In State
v. A.S.E., we reversed and remanded an expungement order where “the district court
checked various boxes on the template order and reached its conclusion without
analyzing the factors articulated in H.A. or making any findings of fact relevant to those
factors.” 835 N.W.2d 513, 517 (Minn. App. 2013). Without such specific findings, we
were “unable to determine if the district court abused its discretion.” Id.
In 2014, the Minnesota Legislature amended Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 6, to
expand the juvenile court’s expungement authority. Among other things, district courts
were granted authority to expunge executive-branch juvenile records, and the enabling
statute provided a new list of required “considerations” concerning expungement of such
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records. Compare J.J.P., 831 N.W.2d at 266 (holding that the 2012 version of the statute
did not provide for the expungement of executive-branch records preceding the juvenile
delinquency adjudication and noting the lack of factors to determine when granting an
expungement was “advisable”) with Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 6 (2014) (permitting
district courts to expunge “all records relating to delinquency at any time if the court
determines that expungement of the record would yield a benefit to the subject of the
record that outweighs the detriment to the public and public safety . . . .”). The
legislature did not expressly require written findings. Cf. Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd.
1(12), (13) (requiring written findings concerning mental health and chemical
dependency needs and supporting an ordered disposition). But neither did it indicate that
findings of fact are not required. The legislature used language identical to that which
our prior caselaw indicates requires findings of fact. K.M.M., 721 N.W.2d at 334-35.
Our review of the legislative history of this statutory provision reveals only that the “shall
consider” language was consistently used throughout the legislative process, without any
detailed identification of the reason this language was chosen. Compare First Reading of
H.F. No. 2576 (March 3, 2014) with 2014 Minn. Laws ch. 246, § 3.
We have previously stated: “While we appreciate the informality of expungement
proceedings, we are unable to review whether a grant or denial of expungement
constitutes an abuse of discretion unless the district court makes findings or
determinations on the record regarding [expungement] factors.” A.S.E., 835 N.W.2d at
517 (quoting H.A., 716 N.W.2d at 364); K.M.M., 721 N.W.2d at 335. Those same
considerations concerning meaningful appellate review remain after the 2014 amendment
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of Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 6. The legislature’s detailed list of required
considerations enhances the need for specific findings to enable meaningful appellate
review. Absent findings on the required statutory considerations, we are unable to
determine whether the district court acted within its discretion in ordering expungement.
See A.S.E., 835 N.W.2d at 517. See also Civil Commitment of Spicer, 853 N.W.2d 803,
809-10 (Minn. App. 2014) (observing that meaningful appellate review requires
“particular findings”).
Here, as in A.S.E., the district court checked various boxes on a template order and
reached its conclusion. See A.S.E., 835 N.W.2d at 517. Although it is evident from the
transcript that the district court considered at least some of the Minn. Stat. § 260B.198,
subd. 6(b), factors, the record does not reveal which factors the district court found to
support expungement and which, if any, of the factors it found to weigh against
expungement. The district court’s inclusion of a handwritten requirement that respondent
“must disclose the existence of this sealed file” in some instances demonstrates its
consideration of the competing statutory factors. That added provision emphasizes the
tension between the competing considerations, and suggests that the district court found
that expungement’s benefit to appellant outweighs the detriment to the public and public
safety very narrowly and only if appellant is obligated to “disclose the existence” of the
sealed file when seeking work involving children or vulnerable adults. But the absence
of specific findings precludes meaningful appellate review of the district court’s exercise
of its discretion in concluding that expungement of respondent’s juvenile record would
yield a benefit to him that outweighs the detriment to the public and public safety. See id.
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at 518. We therefore remand to the district court for findings of fact concerning the
statutory factors.3
DECISION
Because the district court did not make sufficient findings of fact to enable
appellate review of its order expunging respondent’s juvenile criminal records, we
remand for findings of fact concerning the factors outlined in Minn. Stat. §260B.198,
subd. 6(b).4
Remanded.
3
Appellants urge us to resolve the expungement request on the merits by reversing the
district court’s order without remand. We decline to do so. The statute plainly
contemplates that findings of fact are the province of the district court. See Minn. Stat.
§ 260B.007 (2014) (defining “court” as the “juvenile court unless otherwise specified”).
4
Our remand indicates neither approval nor disapproval of the district court’s exercise of
its discretion.
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