When a minor has a case in Puerto Rico: how the Juvenile Court works

The Juvenile Justice System is the set of entities involved in the stages a minor suspected of committing a “falta” goes through: from investigating what happened, through the special judicial process, to the consequence they must serve if it is proven. Its stated purpose is to provide development, rehabilitation and supervision services, to hold the minor accountable for their conduct in a fair and constitutional process, and to protect the community. A falta is any conduct prohibited by Puerto Rico law — the Penal Code, the Weapons Act, the Controlled Substances Act or Ley 54 on domestic violence, among others — committed by a minor; the same conduct by an adult is a crime. Every judicial region has a Juvenile Affairs Division.

The Juvenile Division has jurisdiction when a person over 13 and under 18 is alleged to have committed a falta, and what governs is their age when the events occurred, not their age at the time of the process. There are exceptions where the Juvenile Division lacks jurisdiction and the case proceeds as if the person were an adult; the Judiciary gives two examples: where a person aged 15 or older is charged with first-degree murder, and where the minor has already been tried and convicted as an adult. Under 13, the person is inimputable — they lacked the capacity to understand the illegality of their acts — and the Juvenile Affairs Division has no jurisdiction: the minors’ prosecutor must refer the minor and their parents or guardians to the Department of the Family for evaluation and, if needed, services or training.

• The Juvenile Division only steps in if the person was over 13 and under 18 at the time of the alleged falta.Verified against the official source
• If the events occurred at a school, public or private, the court cannot exercise jurisdiction until all the institution’s administrative remedies or procedures are exhausted.Verified against the official source
• The State, through the minors’ prosecutor, must prove beyond reasonable doubt every element of the falta and that the minor committed it.Verified against the official source
• The person in charge of the minor is responsible for ensuring they come to court throughout the judicial process: the Juvenile Justice System does not recognize a right to bail.Verified against the official source
• From the investigative stage on, every minor has the right to counsel, and without financial means the State must provide free legal assistance.Verified against the official source

• The Judiciary’s page on the Juvenile Justice System is a general orientation and publishes no list of documents the family must present.

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   Step 1: Start with the age at the time of the events

   What decides whether the Juvenile Division has jurisdiction is the minor’s age when the events happened, not their age now. Over 13 and under 18: Juvenile Affairs Division. Under 13: the person is inimputable, there is no judicial process, and the minors’ prosecutor must refer the minor and their parents or guardians to the Department of the Family for evaluation and, if needed, services or training in their best interest.

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   Step 2: If it happened at school, the school goes first

   If the events happened at a school, public or private, the court cannot exercise jurisdiction until all the institution’s available administrative remedies or procedures are exhausted. This covers what happens on campus, in its immediate surroundings, on school transport and at any school, sporting, recreational, cultural or academic activity. The Department of Education must show it exhausted those remedies before the case reaches the Juvenile Division, and private schools are held to the same requirements. Afterwards, if needed, the court can take the case; mediation or diversion can also be considered as alternatives.

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   Step 3: Get a lawyer from the start

   From the investigative stage on, every minor has the right to counsel, and without the means to pay, the State must provide free legal assistance. It may be a private-practice attorney, an entity giving free services to those who qualify — such as the Legal Aid Society — or court-appointed counsel. A minor questioned by the Police has the right to remain silent and to request that assistance, and their silence cannot be read against them.

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   Step 4: Know which rights do not apply, and which one does

   Because of the special, confidential nature of these proceedings, three rights adults do have are unavailable: the right to a public trial, the right to a jury trial and the right to bail. Since there is no bail, the person in charge of the minor is responsible for getting them to court during the process. In exchange there is a right to confidentiality: all information about the case is not shared with others, and minor witnesses also have the right to confidential participation. Due process, the presumption of innocence, the right to remain silent, to confront witnesses and to present evidence in defence all still apply.

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   Step 5: Go with the minor: they have a right to your presence

   The charged minor has the right to be present at every stage of the process and to be accompanied by their mother, father or guardian, unless they waive it. If they miss a stage and the judge finds the absence voluntary, the proceedings can continue without them. If no custodial guardian can be identified, the Department of the Family takes custody to ensure the minor knows and understands the proceedings, the rights covering them, and the legal consequences of waiving them.

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   Step 6: The three stages by name

   The vocabulary is its own and worth recognizing. The charged minor is the one the minors’ prosecutor identifies as having committed or taken part in a falta, and against whom a complaint is filed in court. The apprehended minor is one who, at an apprehension hearing, the judge determined should be deprived of liberty. And the transgressor minor is one who, at an adjudicative hearing, the judge determined committed the alleged falta: that is called being found “incursa”, the equivalent of what is called guilty in the adult process.

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   Step 7: The three dispositional measures

   If the court determines the minor committed the falta, it imposes a dispositional measure: the time available to rehabilitate them and the means of doing so, so they take responsibility for their conduct. There are three. Nominal: the judge counsels the minor on the unacceptability of the conduct and the consequences of continuing it, without imposing conditions on their liberty. Conditional liberty: the minor stays in the home of their father, mother or another suitable person, complying with one or more of several conditions established by law. Custody: the minor is kept in the custody of a juvenile institution, or another suitable public or private institution to provide the appropriate services. Severity depends on the type of falta charged, and the judge weighs the minor’s age, history and needs for the swiftest, most effective rehabilitation. The Judiciary’s Social Unit — social workers with master’s degrees — advises the judge on which measure to impose and supervises those on conditional liberty.

At the Juvenile Affairs Division of the Court of First Instance; every judicial region has one. For cases involving children under 13, the referral goes to the Department of the Family. The Judiciary’s Conflict Mediation Centers, present in all thirteen judicial regions, can handle conflicts involving minors such as simple assault, threats, breaches of the peace and harassment.

• Believing it is a criminal case: Juvenile Division proceedings are civil sui generis and the minor is not considered convicted.
• Counting their current age: what governs is their age when the events occurred.
• Taking a school incident to court without first exhausting the school’s administrative procedure, public or private.
• Expecting to post bail: the Juvenile Justice System does not recognize that right, and getting the minor to court falls to their guardian.
• Letting the minor talk to the Police without a lawyer: they have the right to silence and to counsel from the investigative stage.
• Assuming a child under 13 goes through court: they are inimputable, and the referral goes to the Department of the Family.
• Not going with them: they have the right to be present at every stage and to be accompanied by their parent or guardian.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico

  Poder Judicial

  poderjudicial.pr

• Judiciary — Criminal judicial procedure

  Poder Judicial

  poderjudicial.pr