Media lawsuits seek any juvenile records of 18-year-old Ferguson police shooting victim

FILE - In this Aug. 12, 2014 file photo, civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton, center, stands with the parents of Michael Brown, Lesley McSpadden, right, and Michael Brown Sr., left, during a news conference outside the Old Courthouse in St. Louis. Lingering questions about Michael Brown could be answered Wednesday as two news organizations seek the release of any possible juvenile records for the unarmed 18-year-old who was shot by a police officer last month. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Aug. 11, 2014 file photo, Lesley McSpadden, the mother of 18-year-old Michael Brown, wipes away tears as Brown's father, Michael Brown Sr., holds up a family picture of himself, his son, top left, and a young child during a news conference in Jennings, Mo. Lingering questions about Michael Brown could be answered Wednesday as two news organizations seek the release of any possible juvenile records for the unarmed 18-year-old who was shot by a police officer last month.(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File) (The Associated Press)

Lingering questions about Michael Brown could be answered Wednesday as two news organizations seek the release of any possible juvenile records for the unarmed 18-year-old who was killed by a Missouri police officer last month.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a California online journalist have filed petitions seeking to determine whether Brown had past legal trouble. Missouri juvenile records are confidential. So the legal question boils down to whether Brown still has privacy rights.

Police have said Brown had no adult record. The family's attorney has refused to discuss whether Brown had a juvenile record.

One petition cites a 1984 Missouri Court of Appeals ruling in which the juvenile records of an 18-year-old killed while shoplifting at a supermarket were released as part of a wrongful death lawsuit.