(COLORADO SPRINGS) — What happens when a court record is sealed? Why do public servants respond that no record exists? Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) governs what happens to a sealed court record and what can be disclosed in those situations.

C.R.S. 24-72-703 is the section of the statutes dealing with sealed records, and the statutes state that upon the sealing of court records, “the defendant may properly reply, upon an inquiry into the matter, that public criminal records do not exist with respect to the petitioner or defendant. Upon an inquiry into a sealed record, a criminal justice agency shall reply that a public criminal record does not exist with respect to the defendant who is the subject of the sealed record.”

The word ‘shall’ is important for criminal justice agencies, as according to Cornell Law School, ‘shall’ is an imperative command, usually indicating that certain actions are mandatory and not permissive.

Criminal justice agencies are legally required to respond to inquiries into sealed records, that a public criminal record does not exist, according to the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.