2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE NINE - Highways and Traffic (§§ 1-8 — 5725) › Chapter 27 - Vehicle and Traffic Law (2000) › Subchapter VI - Driving Motor Vehicles Under the Influence of Alcoholic Beverages, Drugs or Controlled Substances (§§ 5201 — 5210) › § 5207 - Pre-sentencing evaluation and other procedures

Prior to sentencing any person convicted for violating the provisions in §§ 5201, 5202, 5203, 5205 and 5206 of this title, the following procedures shall be conducted:
(a) The court shall direct the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration to conduct a thorough investigation and render a report thereon within the thirty (30) days of the order. Said report shall include the criminal record and history of the person convicted in relation to the use of intoxicating beverages or narcotic drugs, marihuana or stimulant or depressant substances, in order to allow the court to determine if said person should benefit from the rehabilitation program established and approved by the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration in coordination with the Department of Transportation and Public Works. The report shall state whether the convict is a repeat offender. For the purposes of this section, “rehabilitation” shall mean any kind of treatment, orientation, guidance or advice to be determined by the entity in charge of said rehabilitation.
(b) Once the report has been rendered by the designated officer of the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration, the court shall issue a summons for the act of sentencing and shall pronounce sentence according to the penalties provided in §§ 5204—5206 of this title, as the case may be, within a period of not more than ten (10) days after the date said report was rendered.
(c) In all cases, if after examining the report required by this section, the court should find that the person is a drunkard or addict who needs the rehabilitation program established by the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration, it shall then proceed to pronounce judgment.
(d) If during the rehabilitation process the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration determines that the person needs to be hospitalized, and should the person voluntarily agree to being hospitalized, the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration shall petition the court to order said hospitalization. The person shall be hospitalized in a public or private institution previously approved by the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration that provides hospitalization and the proper treatment. Should the person believe that he/she does not need to be hospitalized and is able to present medical evidence to that effect, he/she shall petition the court to be excused from said hospitalization and to be allowed the continue with the outpatient treatment program. In no case may a person be hospitalized for treatment under the provisions of this section for a period of more than three (3) consecutive months. At the request of the person hospitalized, the court may at any time review or modify its hospitalization order. Taking into consideration the progress shown by the person under treatment, the court may, at its discretion, annul the hospitalization order and provide for the person to continue his/her treatment as an outpatient at the institution provided by the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration.
(e) Any person who admits voluntarily to being an alcoholic or an addict to drugs or controlled substances or who has been medically diagnosed as such shall be deemed to be “a drinker or addict”. In all other cases, in order to determine whether the convict is “a drinker or addict”, the court may take into consideration the following circumstances:
(1) A history of previous involvement with social or medical service agencies due to problems related to the use of alcoholic beverages, drugs or controlled substance.
(2) Reports on difficulties of a legal, familiar, social, financial and employment nature related to the use of alcoholic beverages, drugs or controlled substances.
(3) One (1) or more prior convictions for violations related to the use of alcoholic beverages, drugs or controlled substances.
(f) In all cases where pursuant to this section the court, on pronouncing judgment, may suspend the driving license until the person in question participates in and approves the improvement course for drivers established by the Department of Transportation and Public Works, or until the body in charge of the rehabilitation program certifies that the person is qualified to drive, as the case may be. The improvement course for drivers shall be initiated within a period of not more than thirty (30) days after the court order decreeing the suspension of the license, and it shall not be extended for a period of more than thirty (30) days of having been initiated.
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, when the person deserves to be granted a temporary license for driving motor vehicles, the court may direct the Secretary to issue said license, imposing those restrictions that in the opinion of the court may be necessary to protect society and guarantee public safety. Said restrictions may limit the type of vehicle that said public person may drive, the places where the vehicle may be driven, the hours and days of the week during which the person is authorized to drive said vehicle along the public roads, as well as any other limitation deemed necessary for safety reasons, all of which shall be stated in the license issued.
(h) Should the person refuse to participate in the rehabilitation and guidance program or in the improvement course for drivers, or fail to attend said program, or violate the rules and regulations established for such a program, or stop attending such a program, the Administrator or the Secretary of Mental Health and Addiction Service shall notify the Secretary of Justice of these facts, and the latter shall request that the court annul the order to suspend the sentence and direct that the same be executed.
(i) When the institution in charge of the rehabilitation program certifies that the person is capable of driving motor vehicles after the latter has passed the improvement course for drivers established by the Department, or when by action or inaction of the Department the improvement course for drivers is not begun or completed within the term provided in this section, the Secretary shall immediately return the driver’s license to said person excluding the restrictions previously imposed, if any. Under any of these circumstances, the court may order the case to be dismissed; provided, that the circumstances required in this section arise, allowing however for the case to be included in the statistics on recidivism set forth in §§ 5201, 5202, 5203, 5205 and 5206 of this title.
(j) The Director of the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration, in consultation with the Secretary, is hereby directed to promulgate the regulations needed to impose and collect from the drivers who participate in the improvement course or in the rehabilitation program, certain reasonable fees to help defray the cost of the program. The regulations shall provide the standards under which to exempt from this obligation those drivers who are unable to pay said fees.
History —Jan. 7, 2000, No. 22, § 7.07; June 3, 2004, No. 132, § 7, eff. 90 days after June 3, 2004; Aug. 25, 2012, No. 207, § 1.