2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-FOUR - Code of Criminal Procedure (§§ 1 — 4012) › PART XIII - Minors (§§ 1941 — 2238) › Chapter 151 - Minors’ Act (§§ 2201 — 2238) › § 2237 - General provisions

(a) Nature of the procedures.— The procedures and the orders or resolutions of a judge under this chapter shall not be deemed to be of a criminal nature nor will the minor be deemed to be a convicted criminal under said order or resolution.
The record of the minor before the court shall not constitute a bar to an application to obtain employment or an appointment to a position or office within the public service.
(b) Transportation, detention of the minor.— No minor shall be transported in a vehicle destined to transport prisoners, nor shall he be detained in a police station, detention cell, prison or an institution of the correctional system.
(c) Stenographic transaction or recording of the procedures.— The oral allegations and incidents of the hearings in the procedures before the court shall be taken stenographically or by tape recording. With the exception of the minor’s legal counsel, the procedures will not be recorded privately.
(d) Confidentiality of the record.— The records in the cases of minors shall be kept in files separated from the records of adults and shall not be subject to inspection by the public, except that they will be accessible for inspection by the minor’s legal counsel after being duly identified and in the place designated for it. Those records in the custody of the police as well as those in the custody of the Prosecutor shall be subject to the same confidentiality. No copies of legal or social documents shall be furnished to be removed from the court.
No information shall be furnished as to the contents of the records, except that, after showing the need for it and with the court’s express permission, said information shall be provided to the officers of the General Court of Justice in their official duties and to those persons of renowned professional or scientific reputation who have demonstrated in writing their interest in obtaining information in order to carry out their official duties, research or work and always subject to the conditions stipulated by the judge.
(e) Publication of name and photographs; mechanisms and identification.— The name of a minor and his photograph shall not be published, nor shall his fingerprints be taken, nor shall he be included in a lineup, unless, in the discretion of the court, it is necessary to resort to any of these means to identify him. In these cases, the judge shall issue the authorization in writing. The publication of the names and pictures of minor by any person shall be deemed as contempt of court.
Any record of a minor in the custody of the police shall be destroyed when the minor attains eighteen (18) years of age as well as any record in the custody of the District Prosecuting Attorney, when the minor has been on trial or when a procedure has been unduly filled against him as an adult.
(f) Appointment of a defense counsel.— If a minor affected by any matter before the court is an orphan and has no tutor or person in charge to represent him or when it is deemed necessary, the judge shall proceed to appoint a defense counsel for him. The designation shall fall, if possible, on a relative of the minor who has shown an interest in his well-being, and if no such person is available, the judge shall appoint a suitable person.
(g) Notice to and participation of the parents, guardians or persons in charge of minors.— The minor must appear accompanied by his or her parents, guardian or person in charge thereof, or in their absence, the court-appointed attorney, in all proceedings conducted pursuant to this chapter. The parents, guardian or person in charge of the minor, or in their absence, the court-appointed attorney of the minor, shall be notified of any summons, resolution or order. The court may find the parents, guardian or person in charge of the minor who without just cause fails to appear during the aforementioned proceedings, in contempt of court and impose the sanction established by law. Those cases in which the Government or any of its instrumentalities is the legal guardian of said minor are excepted from this norm.
History —July 9, 1986, No. 88, p. 276, § 37; Aug. 12, 2000, No. 161, § 1, eff. 90 days after Aug. 12, 2000.