2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-FOUR - Code of Criminal Procedure (§§ 1 — 4012) › PART V - Judgment and Execution (§§ 951 — 1044) › Chapter 63 - Form and Effect of Sentence (§§ 1021 — 1044) › § 1027 - Probation system—Suspended sentence and probation; fine; restitution; custody and supervision

The Court of First Instance may suspend the effect of the sentence of imprisonment in all cases of felonies and in all cases of misdemeanors that arise from the same facts or from the same transactions other than:
(1) Felony with penalty in the classifications of first degree or second degree as typified in the new Penal Code of Puerto or in a special law.
(2) One (1) of the following felonies with penalties in the classification of the third degree: lewd acts when the victim is a minor under fourteen (14) years of age, producing child pornography, possessing and distributing child pornography, using a minor for child pornography, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, havoc, negligent homicide, bribery, offer to bribe, unlawful taking of property or embezzlement of public funds, unjust enrichment, and misappropriation of public funds.
(3) One of the following felonies of the Puerto Rico Weapons Law, with penalty of third degree felony, violation [of] § 458 (manufacture, sale and distribution of arms), § 458a (prohibition to sell arms to unlicensed persons), § 458g (possession or sale of arms with silencer), § 458h (facilitation of arms to third parties), and § 458i (arms with mutilated serial number), all of Title 25.
(4) Felony that arises as a consequence of the possession or illegal use of explosives or substances to manufacture explosives or detonators, artifacts or mechanisms prohibited by the Puerto Rico Explosives Act, as amended.
(5) A felony for the commission of which the person used or intended to use a firearm.
(6) One of the following felonies of the Controlled Substances Act: § 2401 (prohibited acts); § 2405 (distribution to persons under eighteen (18) years of age; § 2411 (employment of minors); § 2411a (introduction of drugs to schools and institutions), all of Title 24.
(7) An attempt to or cooperation in any of the crimes excluded in subsections (a) to (f) above.
It may likewise suspend the effects of a sentence ordered in all cases of misdemeanors that arise from the same facts or from the same transaction that has also resulted in a sentence for a felony other than those excluded from the benefits of §§ 1026—1029 of this title, including the case in which a person has been found not guilty for said felony or that said felony has been reduced to a misdemeanor, and thus convicted, shall order that the sentenced person be released on probation provided that at the time of imposing said sentence all the requirements listed hereinafter concur:
(1) That said person, prior to the date on which the sentence imposed is to be suspended, has not been convicted, sentenced and imprisoned for any felony prior to the commission of the offense for which he/she is being prosecuted, and who has not had the effects of a prior sentence for a felony suspended;
(2) that the circumstances in which the offense was committed do not provide evidence that the offender exhibits a behavioral or character trait whose favorable solution demands the confinement of said person in one of the penal institutions of Puerto Rico, in the interest of the proper protection of the community;
(3) that the sentencing judge has before him/her a report rendered by the Corrections Administrator after the latter has made a thorough investigation of the family background and social history of the person sentenced, and that from the contents of said report, the sentencing judge may conclude that no aspect of the life of such a person proves the need for having him/her confined in any of the penal institutions of Puerto Rico to accomplish the reformation or rehabilitation contemplated for such a person by law as a measure for ensuring the adequate protection of the community. The sentencing court, at its own discretion, in addition to placing the sentenced person on probation, may also impose a fine whose amount shall remain at the discretion of the court. Provided, further, That the person on probation may be required, while on probation, to redress the aggrieved party for the damages caused, or to assume the obligation of correcting the harm caused by his/her offense. Provided, further, That after being put on probation, the person shall remain under the legal custody of the court until the expiration of the term fixed in his/her sentence, and
(4) that, in those cases in which there is an obligation to pay child support, said person has complied with the obligation of making such payments or has assumed a payment plan and is in compliance with the same.
In case of misdemeanors that do not arise from the same facts or transactions that resulted in a felony, the Court of First Instance may, likewise, suspend the effect of the sentence when it is solely of imprisonment, and shall order that the person sentenced be released on probation, provided that at the time of imposing said sentence all of the requirements listed hereinafter concur:
(1) That said person, prior to the date on which the sentence imposed is to be suspended, has not been convicted, sentenced and imprisoned for any felony prior to the commission of the offense for which he/she is being prosecuted, and who has not had the effects of a prior sentence for a felony suspended.
(2) That the circumstances under which the offense was committed do not provide evidence that the offender exhibits a behavioral or character trait whose favorable solution demands the confinement of said person in one of the penal institutions of Puerto Rico, in the interest of the proper protection of the community.
(3) That the sentencing judge has before him/her a report rendered by the Corrections Administrator after the latter has made a thorough investigation of the criminal background and social history of the person sentenced, and that from the contents of said report, the sentencing judge may conclude that no aspect of the life of such a person proves the need for having him/her confined in one of the penal institutions of Puerto Rico, to accomplish the reformation or rehabilitation contemplated for such a person by the law as a measure for ensuring the adequate protection of the community.
(4) That, in those cases in which there is an obligation to pay child support, said person has complied with the obligation of making such payments or has assumed a payment plan and is in compliance with the same.
Pursuant to the provided above, the sentencing court may also suspend the effects of the sentence of imprisonment that it has ruled in all cases of negligent homicide in its modality of lesser offense that was not caused while driving a vehicle under the influence.
History —Apr. 3, 1946, No. 259, p. 534, § 2; May 4, 1949, No. 177, p. 556, § 1; June 16, 1956, No. 57, p. 174; June 27, 1958, No. 130, p. 314; June 19, 1959, No. 58, p. 165, § 1; June 19, 1965, No. 61, p. 120; May 30, 1970, No. 93, p. 247; June 23, 1971, No. 61, p. 193, § 1; Apr. 17, 1972, No. 15, p. 27; July 22, 1974, No. 119, Part 1, p. 548, § 1; Aug. 5, 1975, No. 19, p. 650; June 22, 1977, No. 99, p. 222; July 20, 1979, No. 160, p. 408; June 4, 1980, No. 105, p. 342, § 1; June 3, 1985, No. 22, p. 70; Aug. 9, 1989, No. 50, p. 169, § 4; Nov. 30, 1989, No. 8, p. 554; July 27, 1993, No. 33, § 1; Aug. 5, 1993, No. 56, § 1; Aug. 17, 1994, No. 86, § 61; Sept. 2, 1999, No. 301, § 1; June 3, 2004, No. 136, § 1; Sept. 23, 2004, No. 479, § 1; Dec. 28, 2010, No. 219, § 2.