P.R. Laws tit. 25, § 2506
(a) For each general and special court-martial the authority convening the court shall detail a trial counsel and defense counsel and such assistants as he may consider appropriate. No person who has acted as investigating officer, law officer, or court member in any case shall, under any circumstances, act later as trial counsel, assistant trial counsel or unless expressly requested by the accused, as defense counsel or assistant defense counsel in the same case. No person who has acted as trial counsel may act in the same case as defense counsel, nor may any person who has acted as part of the defense later act as trial counsel.
(b) The trial counsel and defense counsel detailed for a general court-martial must be a judge advocate of the Military Forces of Puerto Rico and a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico or of a federal court and must be certified as competent to perform such duties by the Judge Advocate of Puerto Rico.
(c) In cases of special courts-martial:
(1) The accused shall be given the opportunity to be represented by a defense counsel having the qualifications prescribed under subsection (b) of this section, unless a defense counsel so qualified cannot be obtained on account of physical reasons or military exigencies. In such case, the court may convene and the trial held without the defense counsel, but the convening authority shall make a detailed written statement, to be appended to the record, stating why it has been unable to obtain a defense counsel with such qualifications;
(2) if the trial counsel is qualified to act as counsel before a general court-martial, the defense counsel detailed by the convening authority must be a person similarly qualified, and
(3) if the trial counsel is a judge advocate, the defense counsel detailed by the convening authority must also be a judge advocate.
History —June 23, 1969, No. 62, p. 117, § 813, eff. 90 days after June 23, 1969.