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) › § 1029 - Probation system—Revocation of probation; reports on conduct

At any time that a person’s probation is incompatible with the needed security of the community or with the purpose of rehabilitating the criminal, the trial court may, in its judgment, revoke said probation and shall order the confinement of the convicted person for the full term of the sentence whose execution was originally suspended to place him on probation without crediting him with the period of time he was on probation. The sentencing court may request the Corrections Administration to furnish a periodic report of the conduct of the probationer at any time.
Furthermore the trial court which would have resolved to grant probation to a person under § 2404(b)(1) of Title 24, a part of the Controlled Substances Act, or under Rule 247.1 of Criminal Procedure, App. II of this title, will be able to revoke probation and to order the serving of the sentence when the probationer did violate any of the conditions for said parole.
If the Attorney General’s Office wishes to obtain the revocation of probation, and consequently the arrest and confinement of the probationer, the court shall conform to the following procedure:
(1) By request of the attorney general, it shall conduct an ex parte initial hearing within forty-eight (48) hours to evaluate whether there is probable cause to believe that the probationer has violated the conditions of his probation. The revocation petition shall be made before any magistrate of the Court of First Instance or Municipal Judge, except the judge who initially sentenced the probationer under § 2404(b)(1) of Title 24 or under Rule 247.1 of Criminal Procedure, App. II of this title, who, immediately upon receiving it, shall decide whether to order the immediate arrest of the probationer or whether he will summon him for the initial summary hearing.
The judge’s discretionary decision to arrest or to summon at this stage shall be grounded on an examination by the sociopenal official or of the official or person in charge of the institution or program in charge of the rehabilitation of the probationer, and his report with regard to the seriousness of the conditions that allegedly were not met, the person’s prior criminal record, the person’s conduct during probation and any other pertinent matters.
(a) If the judge chooses to summon the probationer and he does not appear, his immediate arrest may be ordered.
(b) The summons or the warrant for arrest shall include a statement of the procedures conducted, shall clearly and concisely state the alleged violations of the conditions of probation, and in case of arrest, the bail imposed, if any.
(c) If the probationer is arrested, he shall be taken before a magistrate in the shortest term possible to hold the initial summary hearing. In normal circumstances this term shall not exceed seventy-two (72) hours from the time he was arrested. In the event he cannot post bail, if any was set, the judge shall order his confinement.
(2) He shall conduct an initial summary hearing to determine if the revocation of probation and confinement until the final hearing is held is in order. The probationer shall be given the opportunity to be heard and present evidence in his behalf. He may, in turn, confront the petitioning sociopenal official or officer or person in charge of the institution or program in charge of the rehabilitation of the probationer who filed the report in court, and the adversary witnesses available at this stage. The court shall decide from case to case, the need of maintaining the anonymity of the persons interviewed by the sociopenal official or the officer or person in charge of the institution or program for their report, for their personal safety. The burden of proof shall rest on the Attorney General.
The hearing shall be informal in nature and the Rules of Evidence, App. IV of Title 32, shall only be applied with flexibility, so that they do not hinder or vitiate the procedure. The Rules of Criminal Procedure, App. II of this title, shall govern in the measure that they are not incompatible with the informal, summary nature of the hearing. The judge shall make a succinct written summary of the facts and of his decision which shall be served on the probationer and the Attorney General. The probationer may be assisted by counsel.
In case of a probationer who is on probation as provided in § 1027a of this title, or probation pursuant to § 2404(b)(1) of Title 24 or to Rule 247.1 of Criminal Procedure, App. II of this title, who is charged with committing a felony, the initial summary hearing shall be held in the form and manner provided herein, together with the hearing to determine probable cause of the crime he is charged with, in such a way that its prompt and fair determination is not hindered. The court may provisionally revoke the probationer’s freedom at that time.
(3) A final hearing shall be conducted after the initial summary hearing is held and the provisional revocation and confinement is determined. Except for just cause or agreement of the parties, with the consent of the judge, the final revocation hearing shall be held within a term of not more than fifteen (15) days from the date the initial summary hearing was conducted.
(a) The probationer is entitled to receive prior written notice sufficiently in advance of the alleged probation violations which will allow him to prepare himself adequately and to be represented by counsel. Subject to the protection of the persons interviewed who were guaranteed anonymity for security reasons, he can confront the oral evidence against him and present evidence in his behalf.
(b) The burden of proof shall rest on the Attorney General. The judge’s decision based on the preponderance of evidence shall be in writing and shall reflect the findings of basic facts, the evidence on which he based it and the reasons that justify the revocation. The probationer and the Attorney General shall be served with said decision.
(c) The court may consolidate both hearings if the initial hearing is suspended by petition or by causes attributed to the probationer by petition of his lawyer or when the Attorney General does not request or cannot obtain the arrest and confinement of the probationer. In this last circumstance the final, definite revocation hearing shall be docketed with at least thirty (30) days prior notice.
(4) The initial summary hearings and the final hearing shall be elucidated before different judges, but the final hearing may be conducted before the same judge who originally sentenced the probationer:
(5) In every procedure established in §§ 1026—1029 of this title, due process of law shall be complied with.
History —Apr. 3, 1946, No. 259, p. 534, § 4; May 4, 1949, No. 177, p. 556, § 1; July 22, 1974, No. 119, Part 1, p. 548, § 3; May 29, 1986, No. 31, p. 77, § 2; July 13, 1988, No. 88, p. 362, § 1; Dec. 8, 1990, No. 29. p. 1527, § 4.