P.R. Laws tit. 34, § 2222
Subsequent to the apprehension of the minor, the judge of the Court of First Instance shall determine whether the minor shall remain in custody of his/her parents or guardian until the hearing for the determination of probable cause for the filing of the complaint, or if he/she shall order the provisional detention of the minor, pursuant to the provisions of § 2220 of this title. When the provisional detention of the minor is ordered, the judge shall consign the grounds that justify said order in writing.
If the minor is provisionally detained or remains in custody of his parents or guardian, he shall be summoned to appear at the hearing for the determination of probable cause for the filing of the complaint. In the first instance, barring exceptional causes, the hearing shall be held within three days after the minor’s apprehension. In the second instance, the hearing shall be held within the following twenty (20) days. All standards regarding a speedy trial that exist in our jurisdiction shall be applied to the procedure.
The adjudicative hearing at which the judge shall proceed to determine whether or not the minor has incurred the offense he/she is charged with, shall be held within the sixty (60) days following the determination of probable cause if the minor is under the custody of his/her parents or a responsible person, or within twenty (20) days, if he/she is being kept in a detention center, unless the delay is due to a petition of the minor, his/her parents or guardian or there is just cause for it. In said hearing the minor shall be entitled to be represented by an attorney, to cross-examine the witnesses and to introduce evidence in his/her behalf.
The Rules of Evidence shall be applicable, and the allegations of the Prosecutor must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge who presides [over] the adjudicative hearing must be different from the one who presided [over] the determination of probable cause.
History —July 9, 1986, No. 88, p. 276, § 22; Aug. 12, 1995, No. 183, § 4.