2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THREE - Executive (§§ 1 — 9311) › Chapter 18A - Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration (§§ 402 — 402s) › § 402j - Judicial procedure—Addicts

When the Administrator has evidence that any person over eighteen (18) years of age is addicted to narcotic drugs or alcohol, he/she may file a petition through the Secretary of Justice before the part of the court of competent jurisdiction corresponding to the domicile or residence of said person, stating the grounds for the petition, and requesting the court to order the person to be committed to the corresponding facility or institution, after complying with the procedures required in this section. The petition shall include a certificate of the Administrator attesting that there are appropriate facilities available to render the treatment and rehabilitation services.
Once the petition has been filed, the court shall summon the person concerned and shall hold a hearing to the sole effect of determining if there are grounds to intervene with the person. After said determination, the person shall be summoned to appear before the court. The process shall be private, unless the person subject thereto requests that it be public. In all stages of this process, the person affected by the Administrator’s petition shall be entitled to be represented by counsel. If the person has no resources to contract legal counsel, the court shall designate a lawyer.
If the court determines that there are grounds to believe that the person is addicted to narcotic drugs or alcohol, it shall order an evaluation of said person.
The court may order that the person be committed to an appropriate institution, for evaluation, for a term that shall not exceed five (5) days. The personnel designated by the Administration to participate in the evaluation of the person, shall present a report within the term of five (5) days from the date the evaluation was made, which shall contain the results of the evaluation, and a conclusion as to whether or not the person is addicted to narcotic drugs or alcohol. No report regarding physical or mental evaluations of the person subject to this procedure, nor any other evidence obtained during the procedure, or as a result thereof, shall be given publicity, or used against the person, and it shall not be admissible in any judicial procedure filed against said person.
Once the reports of the evaluations made have been presented, a hearing shall be held in the part of the court where the procedure was commenced. This shall be governed by the Rules of Evidence and Procedure that apply to civil cases. Based on the evidence presented at the hearing, the court shall determine whether or not the person is addicted to narcotic drugs or alcohol. If the judicial determination is that the person is addicted, the court shall direct the Administrator to commit said person as a patient for adequate treatment in an institution provided by the Administration for such purposes. The court’s resolution which declares that said person is an addict and which orders his/her treatment, shall be compulsory, and the person thus committed shall remain in the institution until he/she has received whatever treatment can be offered to him/her, or until the Administrator certifies the release from or termination of the treatment, to the court.
The Administrator shall designate an official in the institution where the patient is receiving treatment, to submit periodic reports to the court. Said reports shall itemize the way the treatment is developing and any other information required by the court, as well as a specific recommendation as to whether it is advisable that the compulsory treatment shall be continued or not.
When the Administrator or the official on whom he/she delegates recommends to the court that the treatment be discontinued because the patient has recovered, or because he/she has received the maximum treatment offered by the institution, the court shall determine, after hearing the patient, whether he/she should continue to receive treatment. If the court determines that it is not necessary or viable to keep the patient under treatment, it shall order the patient to be released immediately and shall serve a copy of said resolution to the Administrator.
The court, motu proprio or by petition of the patient, and after the patient has been undergoing treatment for one (1) year, shall summon the person in charge of the institution which has been giving treatment to the patient, to show cause why the patient has not been released. If the court, after hearing both parties, determines that the patient has received maximum treatment and is rehabilitated, it shall order that he/she be released and shall serve the Administrator with a copy of said Resolution.
Any person who has been declared addicted to narcotic drugs or alcohol shall appear personally before the Administrator or the person upon whom he/she delegates, within two (2) years following the termination of the treatment to which he/she was submitted, during those periods prescribed by regulations, to determine whether the person has relapsed in the use of drugs. During these periodic visits, the person can be subjected to those physical evaluations and toxicologic analyses ordered by the Administrator. If he/she should refuse to comply with the appointments made by the Administrator or the person on whom he/she delegates, the appearance shall be arranged through the same court that determined the addition of the person subject to the procedure provided in this section.
No person who is submitted to compulsory treatment authorized in this section shall be considered as a violator of §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 24. Any order of the court ordering treatment in an institution shall not be considered as a criminal conviction or sentence, under any circumstances.
Any person who is addicted to narcotic drugs or alcohol against whom a petition is filed under this section, may waive any of the hearings that are conceded herein and voluntarily request treatment in the institution designated by the court. This person shall be subject to the same obligations that are imposed on the persons who are compulsorily submitted to treatment in the institutions under the provisions of this chapter.
History —Aug. 7, 1993, No. 67, § 11, eff. 60 days after Aug. 7, 1993.