Full Text of HB3886 102nd General Assembly
HB3886enr 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning courts.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by | 5 | | adding Section 2-10.3 as follows: | 6 | | (705 ILCS 405/2-10.3 new) | 7 | | Sec. 2-10.3. Access to news media. | 8 | | (a) All youth in the custody or guardianship of the | 9 | | Department of Children and Family Services are entitled to the | 10 | | freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the | 11 | | Constitution of the United States and Section 4 of Article I of | 12 | | the Illinois Constitution. The Department of Children and | 13 | | Family Services and its agents and assigns shall not interfere | 14 | | with the right of any youth in its custody or guardianship to | 15 | | communicate with the news media if the youth chooses to do so. | 16 | | (b) Provisions related to minors under 18. Any time the | 17 | | news media requests to speak with a specific, identified minor | 18 | | under 18 years of age, the Department of Children and Family | 19 | | Services shall immediately provide notice of the news media's | 20 | | request to the minor's attorney and guardian ad litem. The | 21 | | notice shall include at a minimum the minor's name, the news | 22 | | media name, and the date of the inquiry from the news media. | 23 | | Within one business day of the news media's request, the |
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| 1 | | Department shall determine whether the minor wants to speak | 2 | | with the news media, whether the minor has sufficient maturity | 3 | | to make his or her own decision to communicate with the news | 4 | | media and whether contact with the news media will more likely | 5 | | than not cause the minor serious physical, emotional, or | 6 | | mental harm. The Department shall provide notice of its | 7 | | determination to the minor's attorney and guardian ad litem | 8 | | within one business day of its determination. | 9 | | (c) Provisions related to minors over 18. The Department | 10 | | shall not take any action to interfere with the right of a | 11 | | minor over 18 to speak with the news media. | 12 | | (d) Court Review. | 13 | | (1) Any party may file a motion seeking to enforce | 14 | | rights under this Section. | 15 | | (2) If the minor does not have an attorney, the court | 16 | | shall appoint one for purposes of the motion. | 17 | | (3) The Department shall facilitate the minor's | 18 | | presence in court for hearings on the motion if the minor | 19 | | wants to be present. | 20 | | (4) The party filing the motion shall provide prior | 21 | | notice of the hearing to the involved news media. | 22 | | (5) Minors over 18. If the court finds that the | 23 | | Department has interfered with the minor's right to | 24 | | communicate with the media, the court shall enjoin any | 25 | | further interference by the Department with the minor's | 26 | | contacts with the news media. |
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| 1 | | (6) Minors under 18. The Department shall have the | 2 | | burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence: | 3 | | (i) that the minor does not have sufficient maturity to | 4 | | make his or her own decision to communicate with the news | 5 | | media and that contact with the news media will, more | 6 | | likely than not, cause the minor serious physical, | 7 | | emotional, or mental harm; and (ii) that less restrictive | 8 | | means are insufficient to address the minor's lack of | 9 | | maturity or the risk of serious physical, emotional, or | 10 | | mental harm. If the court finds by clear and convincing | 11 | | evidence that a minor under 18 years of age lacks | 12 | | sufficient maturity to make his or her own decision to | 13 | | communicate with the media and that the contact with the | 14 | | news media will, more likely than not, cause the minor | 15 | | serious physical, emotional, or mental harm, the court may | 16 | | issue an order identifying the specific limits that the | 17 | | Department may impose on the minor's communication with | 18 | | the news media. The order shall not permit the Department | 19 | | to prevent the minor from communicating with the news | 20 | | media unless it determines that no less restrictive means | 21 | | are available to address the likelihood of harm to the | 22 | | minor. | 23 | | (7) The court shall not impose any limitations on the | 24 | | speech of a minor based on viewpoints the minor may | 25 | | express or information the minor may divulge, unless it is | 26 | | confidential information regarding third parties. |
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| 1 | | (8) All orders resolving motions brought under this | 2 | | subsection shall contain written findings in support of | 3 | | the court's ruling. | 4 | | (e) As used in this Section, "interfere" includes, but is | 5 | | not limited to: withholding information from a minor about a | 6 | | news media outlet's request to speak with the minor, including | 7 | | any contact information necessary to respond to the request; | 8 | | preventing a minor from communicating with the news media; | 9 | | threatening or coercing the minor in any manner; or punishing | 10 | | or taking adverse action because of a minor's contact with the | 11 | | news media. "Interfere" does not include: | 12 | | (1) providing information and advice about | 13 | | communicating with news media that is consistent with the | 14 | | minor's age, developmental capacity and circumstances, | 15 | | including information about the minor's right to refuse | 16 | | particular questions, the right to condition the | 17 | | participation upon a promise of anonymity or other privacy | 18 | | measures, the right to refuse to speak to the news media, | 19 | | and similar advice designed to enhance the minor's right | 20 | | to autonomy in communicating with the news media; and | 21 | | (2) conducting an inquiry into (i) whether a minor | 22 | | under 18 is sufficiently mature to decide for themselves | 23 | | whether to communicate with the news media and (ii) | 24 | | whether communicating with the news media will more likely | 25 | | than not cause serious physical, emotional, or mental harm | 26 | | to the minor under 18. The inquiry in this subsection must |
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| 1 | | be concluded within one business day of the request from | 2 | | the news media. | 3 | | (f) As used in this Section, "less restrictive means" are | 4 | | conditions on the minor's ability to communicate with the news | 5 | | media that mitigate the likelihood that physical, emotional, | 6 | | or mental harm will result, and include, but are not limited | 7 | | to: | 8 | | (1) the news media outlet's willingness to take steps | 9 | | to protect the minor's privacy, such as using a pseudonym | 10 | | or limiting the use of the voice or image of a minor; | 11 | | (2) the presence of the minor's guardian ad litem or | 12 | | attorney or another adult of the minor's choosing, during | 13 | | the communication with the news media; and | 14 | | (3) providing the minor with age-appropriate media | 15 | | literacy materials or other relevant educational material.
| 16 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 17 | | becoming law. |
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