2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FOUR Appendices - Rules of Court (§§ 1 — 1-54) › Appendix II-A - Rules of Administration for the Court of First Instance of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico › Rule 13 - Transcripts of evidence; deposit of fees, and stenographers’ reports

(a) The transcript of the evidence for the purposes of review or appeal shall only be authorized by the Supreme Court pursuant to the provisions of Rules 15, 18 and 22 of its Regulations. In order to facilitate, when the Supreme Court authorizes, the preparation of an Oral Statement of the Evidence, attorneys shall be permitted the use of their own tape recorders in all the parts of the Court of First Instance provided it does not affect the proper functioning of the corresponding part.
(b) The Clerk of the part of the trial court shall notify the stenographer not later than five (5) working days from the date of issuance by the Supreme Court of any order calling for a transcript of evidence in a criminal case, and in said notice the Clerk shall inform the stenographer, the date of the hearing or hearings in which he intervened. Within the term of ten (10) days from the date he is notified of the order calling for transcript, the stenographer shall present to the office of the Clerk of the part of the court a notice stating the amount of fees and the estimated number of pages and shall furnish a copy of that notice to appellant’s attorney of record or to appellant himself if he appeals in his own right.
The appellant shall deposit the amount of the fees within fifteen (15) days from notification of same. No extension of the term for the deposit will be granted except when there exists a good cause to justify it and after hearing the prosecuting attorney, it being provided that the motion to such effects should be filed within the said fifteen (15) days and the extension to be granted will not exceed another ten (10) days.
When appellant disagrees with the amount of the fees he shall file a grounded motion within the first ten (10) days. The fees determined by the court shall be deposited within the term of fifteen (15) days from the date the order is notified.
The term having expired without the stenographer’s fees having been deposited, the Clerk shall immediately forward the record to the Supreme Court.
(c) Every order from the Supreme Court providing for the transcript of the evidence in a civil case shall be notified by the Clerk of the part of the trial court to the stenographer not later than five (5) working days from the date of its issuance and in said notice the Clerk shall inform the stenographer [of] the date of the hearing or hearings in which he intervened. Within the term of ten (10) days from the date when he is notified of the order for the transcript, the stenographer shall file a notice with the office of the Clerk of the part of the court, with copy to the attorney of record of appellant or of petitioner for review or to appellant or petitioner for review himself if he appeals in his own right, setting forth the amount of his fees and the estimated number of pages.
The appellant or petitioner for review shall deposit the amount of the fees within fifteen (15) days of having been notified thereof. The term for the deposits shall not be extended, except for good cause justifying it, it being provided that the motion to such effects shall be filed within the said fifteen (15) days, and the extension to be granted shall not exceed another ten (10) days.
When appellant or petitioner for review disagrees with the amount of the fees he shall file a grounded motion within the first ten (10) days. The fees determined by the court shall be deposited within the term of fifteen (15) days after the date of the service of notice of the order.
The term having expired without the stenographer’s fees having been deposited, the Clerk shall notify it immediately to the Clerk of the Supreme Court.
(d) When there is more than one appeal or more than one petition for review in the same case, as provided in Rule 54.9 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, or Rule 207 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, the stenographer’s fees shall be paid by each appellant, or petitioner, in proportion to the evidence designated to perfect his appeal or petition for review. In the event of failure to deposit in due time the stenographer’s fees, as stated above, the penalties contemplated by Rule 53.1(e) of the Rules of Civil Procedure or Rule 212 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure will be imposed.
The transcript of the oral evidence shall be limited to the testimonies, objections of the parties, and statements of the judge produced during the presentation of the evidence. The reports, arguments of the parties, instructions to the jury and objections to the latter, the act of rendering judgment, and any hearing held after the judgment of guilty will be excluded from the same, unless the interested party designates and requests them and they are granted by the Supreme Court as matter relevant to the appeal.
(e) In all cases, civil and criminal, the Clerk shall notify the stenographer of the deposit of the fees within two (2) working days and the stenographer shall prepare and file the transcript of the evidence requested for purposes of appeal or review in order of the deposit of the fees as determined by agreement with him or by order of the court. In the cases in which the preparation of the transcript is ordered free of charge, they shall be prepared and filed taking as basis the date of the corresponding order by the court. Notwithstanding what is previously provided, the Administrative Judge, after consulting the judge who tried the case, may order the preparation and filing of a transcript of evidence out of turn when warranted by special circumstances, notifying the Supreme Court thereof.
(f) The stenographer shall prepare and file the transcript requested for appeal or review purposes within sixty (60) days from the date when the Clerk notifies him the deposit of the fees or the order of the court for the preparation of the transcript free of charge. In case the stenographer is unable to file the transcript of the evidence within that term, he shall immediately justify it to the Administrative Judge in writing.
The Administrative Judge shall take all proper measures, among others, to order the stenographer to record the contents of his notes into magnetic tapes, for the purpose of preparing and submitting the transcript so that the stenographer may check same and certify the record.
The Administrative Judge can only extend the term previously established when warranted by extraordinary unforeseen circumstances, and he shall serve notice on the Administrative Director of the Courts with a copy of his grounded order.
The Chief Justice, with the advice of the Administrative Director of the Courts, shall fix the rules and the schedule of fees to implement the provisions of this subdivision.
(g) The rules and procedures previously established shall be applicable when, for the purpose allowed in Rule 47 of the Regulations of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, App. I-A of this title, an interested party requests the stenographer any partial or total transcript of the evidence introduced at the trial.
(h) The fees deposited shall not be delivered to the stenographer until he has filed the transcript of the evidence with the office of the Clerk of the court.
(i) Stenographers shall forward to the Administrative Judge within the first five (5) days of each month a report on the work performed in the area of judicial matters, including the fees received during said month, and any other information requested on the printed form supplied to them.
(j) In the parts of the court having equipment for the recording of the proceedings, the court at its own initiative or at a party’s request, shall authorize, with notice to the other party, that a copy be issued or that copy from the tape concerned be permitted for the purposes of preparing and submitting its own transcript of the evidence. The Chief Justice with the advice of the Administrative Director of the Courts shall fix the corresponding rules and schedule of fees for the electronic duplication.
(k) Every order from the Supreme Court providing for a transcript of evidence which was taken by the use of a mechanical recorder for the purposes of appeal or review under the provisions of Act No. 58 of June 19, 1965, shall be addressed to the Clerk of the trial court who will assign within two (2) working days to a typist of the court itself the work of transcribing the recording of the case. The Clerk shall inform the typist as to the order for the transcript and the date of the hearing or hearings of the case.
Within the term of ten (10) days from the date when he was informed of the transcript order the typist shall proceed to make an approximate estimate of the fees to be charged for said transcript according to what has been provided by law.
The typist appointed to make the transcript shall notify the court in writing the approximate amount of the fees and the estimated number of pages and copy of the notice shall be sent by the Clerk to the attorney of record of the appellant or of the petitioner in review or to appellant or petitioner in review himself if acting in their own right.
The appellant or the petitioner in review shall deposit the fees within fifteen (15) days after having been notified the amount of same. The term for the deposit shall not be extended except for extraordinary causes justifying it.
When appellant disagrees with the amount of the fees he shall file a grounded motion within the first ten (10) days. The fees determined by the court shall be deposited within the term of fifteen (15) days from the date of the service of notice of the order.
The total payment of the fees shall be subject to the final result of the transcript. In case the amount previously deposited is in excess of what appellant or petitioner in review should pay for said transcript, the Clerk shall return the difference. If on the other hand the amount deposited is less than the fees that must be collected for the transcript, the appellant or petitioner in review shall deposit the amount missing with the office of the Clerk of the court within ten (10) days after the notice of the Clerk for said purposes.
Once the transcript of the evidence is completed, the amount of the fees fixed for the same shall be deposited with the office of the Clerk for the benefit of the State.
The other provisions of this rule shall be applicable to the transcript of the recordings taken through mechanical recorders provided they are not incompatible with the provisions of this subsection.
History —May 23, 1975; Jan. 20, 1978; Apr. 26, 1979.