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1 | AN ACT concerning courts.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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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 assigns shall not interfere with the | ||||||
14 | 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) Any time the news media requests to speak with a minor | ||||||
17 | under 18 years of age, the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
18 | Services shall provide notice to the minor, the minor's | ||||||
19 | attorney, and guardian ad litem within one business day of the | ||||||
20 | request. The notice shall include at a minimum the minor's | ||||||
21 | name, the news media name, the date of the inquiry from the | ||||||
22 | news media, and whether the minor wants to communicate with | ||||||
23 | the news media. If the minor is under 18 years of age and the |
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1 | Department has determined that the minor does not have | ||||||
2 | sufficient maturity to make the decision to communicate with | ||||||
3 | the news media and that contact with the news media will, more | ||||||
4 | likely than not, cause serious physical, emotional, or mental | ||||||
5 | harm the notice shall also include the basis, with | ||||||
6 | specificity, for the Department's determination. | ||||||
7 | (c) If a minor 18 years of age or older chooses to speak to | ||||||
8 | the news media, the Department shall not take any action to | ||||||
9 | interfere with the minor's contact with the news media. If a | ||||||
10 | minor under the age of 18 wishes to speak to the news media, | ||||||
11 | but the Department seeks to prevent the minor's contact with | ||||||
12 | the news media, the Department shall file a motion for court | ||||||
13 | review of its determination within one day of its | ||||||
14 | determination and in no event more than 48 hours from the news | ||||||
15 | media's request. | ||||||
16 | (d) Any minor may file a motion seeking to enforce rights | ||||||
17 | under this Section. | ||||||
18 | (e) For proceedings on a motion pursuant to subsection (c) | ||||||
19 | or (d), all of the following requirements shall be met: | ||||||
20 | (1) if the minor does not have an attorney, the court | ||||||
21 | shall appoint one for purposes of the motion; | ||||||
22 | (2) the Department shall facilitate the minor's | ||||||
23 | presence in court for hearings regarding the motion if the | ||||||
24 | minor wants to be present; | ||||||
25 | (3) the Department shall provide prior notice of the | ||||||
26 | hearing to the involved news media; |
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1 | (4) if the minor whose speech is at issue is 18 years | ||||||
2 | of age or older, and it is established that the minor | ||||||
3 | wishes to speak to the news media, the Court shall reject | ||||||
4 | and overrule any and all speech restrictions sought by the | ||||||
5 | Department and further shall enjoin the Department's | ||||||
6 | further interference in the minor's contacts with the news | ||||||
7 | media; | ||||||
8 | (5) if the minor is under 18 years of age, the | ||||||
9 | Department shall have the burden to establish by clear and | ||||||
10 | convincing evidence that the minor does not have | ||||||
11 | sufficient maturity to make his or her own decision to | ||||||
12 | communicate with the news media and that contact with the | ||||||
13 | news media will, more likely than not, cause the minor | ||||||
14 | serious physical, emotional or mental harm. The Department | ||||||
15 | further shall bear the burden of showing by clear and | ||||||
16 | convincing evidence that less restrictive means are | ||||||
17 | insufficient to address a minor's lack of maturity or the | ||||||
18 | threat of serious physical, emotional, or mental harm; | ||||||
19 | (6) if the court finds by clear and convincing | ||||||
20 | evidence that a minor under 18 years of age lacks | ||||||
21 | sufficient maturity to make his or her own decision to | ||||||
22 | communicate with the news media and that contact with the | ||||||
23 | news media will, more likely than not, cause the minor | ||||||
24 | serious physical, emotional, or mental harm, the court may | ||||||
25 | issue an order identifying the specific limits that the | ||||||
26 | Department may impose on the minor's communication with |
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1 | the news media. The order shall not permit the Department | ||||||
2 | to prevent the minor from communicating with the news | ||||||
3 | media unless it determines that no less restrictive means | ||||||
4 | are available to address the likelihood of harm to the | ||||||
5 | minor; | ||||||
6 | (7) the court may not impose any limitations on the | ||||||
7 | speech of a minor based on viewpoints the minor may | ||||||
8 | express or information the minor may divulge, unless it is | ||||||
9 | confidential information regarding third parties; and | ||||||
10 | (8) all orders resolving a motion brought pursuant to | ||||||
11 | subsection (c) or (d) shall contain written findings in | ||||||
12 | support of the court's ruling. | ||||||
13 | (f) As used in this Section, "interfere" includes, but is | ||||||
14 | not limited to: withholding information from a minor about a | ||||||
15 | news media outlet's request to speak with the minor, including | ||||||
16 | any contact information necessary to respond to the request; | ||||||
17 | preventing a minor from communicating with the news media; | ||||||
18 | threatening or coercing the minor in any manner; or punishing | ||||||
19 | or taking adverse action because of a minor's contact with the | ||||||
20 | news media. "Interfere" does not include: | ||||||
21 | (1) providing information and advice about | ||||||
22 | communicating with news media that is consistent with the | ||||||
23 | minor's age, developmental capacity and circumstances, | ||||||
24 | including information about the minor's right to refuse | ||||||
25 | particular questions, the right to condition the | ||||||
26 | participation upon a promise of anonymity or other privacy |
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1 | measures, the right to refuse to speak to the news media, | ||||||
2 | and similar advice designed to enhance the minor's right | ||||||
3 | to autonomy in communicating with the news media; and | ||||||
4 | (2) with respect to a minor under 18 years of age, | ||||||
5 | conducting an inquiry into whether (i) the minor under 18 | ||||||
6 | years of age is sufficiently mature to decide whether to | ||||||
7 | communicate with the news media and (ii) whether | ||||||
8 | communicating with the news media will more likely than | ||||||
9 | not cause serious physical, emotional, or mental harm to | ||||||
10 | the minor under 18 years of age. The inquiry in this | ||||||
11 | subsection must be concluded within 24 hours of the | ||||||
12 | request from the news media. | ||||||
13 | (g) As used in this Section, "less restrictive means" are | ||||||
14 | conditions on the minor's ability to communicate with the news | ||||||
15 | media that mitigate the likelihood that physical, emotional, | ||||||
16 | or mental harm will result, and include but are not limited to: | ||||||
17 | (1) the news media outlet's willingness to take steps | ||||||
18 | to protect the minor's privacy, such as using a pseudonym | ||||||
19 | or limiting the use of the voice or image of the minor; | ||||||
20 | (2) the presence of the minor's guardian ad litem or | ||||||
21 | attorney or another adult of the minor's choosing, during | ||||||
22 | the communication with the news media; and | ||||||
23 | (3) providing the minor with age-appropriate media | ||||||
24 | literacy materials or other relevant educational material.
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