The

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

is defined under the

Constitution of Puerto Rico The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, Constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico) is the controlling government document of Puerto Rico. It is composed of nine articles detailing the structure of the government ...

and consists of the

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( es, Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme c ...

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...

, and the

Court of First Instance A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

consisting of the Superior Courts and the Municipal Courts.

Courts

The courts consist of the: *

; *

; and *

Supreme Court

The

(') is the highest

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in b ...

s of the

states of the United States In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...

; being the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico the highest state court and the

court of last resort A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. Article V of the

vests the

judicial power The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

on the Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals of Puerto Rico (') reviews decisions of the

Courts of First Instance A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

in addition to the final decisions of administrative agencies. The Judiciary Act of 1992 created the Court of Appeal as an intermediate court between the Courts of First Instance and the Supreme Court. The seat of the Court is in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Court consists of 39 judges.

Court of First Instance

The Court of First Instance (') is further composed of the: * Superior Courts; and * Municipal Courts. In 2003, the Court of First Instance was divided into 13 districts for administrative purposes.

Superior Courts

The Superior Courts (') are courts of

general jurisdiction {{Globalize, article, USA, 2name=the United States, date=December 2010 A court of general jurisdiction is a court with authority to hear cases of all kinds – criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth. United States All federal courts ...

, and where

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...

trials are held. They also try

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

cases.

Municipal Courts

There is a Municipal Court (') for each of the 78

Municipalities of Puerto Rico The municipalities of Puerto Rico ( Spanish: ''municipios de Puerto Rico'') are the second-level administrative divisions in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. There are 78 such administrative divisions covering all 78 incorporated towns and citie ...

. They have traditionally been like

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

courts, empowered to fix bail and issue arrest and search warrants. They replaced the previous District Courts (') by Act No. 92 of 5 December 1991. The District Courts were the lowest courts of general jurisdiction. As of 15 July 2013, the ''"Tribunal de Distrito"'' in Puerto Rico was still in the process of being "abolished". The District Courts typically held probable cause hearings in

cases.

Administration

Article V, Section 6 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico and Section 2003 of the Judiciary Act of 1995 empowers the

to adopt rules of court. It is supported by the Office of Court Administration (') led by the Administrative Director of the Courts ('). The Bar Association of Puerto Rico (') is the bar association.

Officers

Judges

The Court of Appeals judges are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate and serve for a period of 16 years. The judges of the Court are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Both Superior Court judges and Municipal Court judges are appointed for a term of 12 years.

References

External links

La Rama Judicial de Puerto Rico

''The Exclusion of Non-English-Speaking Jurors: Remedying a Century of Denial of the Sixth Amendment in the Federal Courts of Puerto Rico.''
Jasmine B. Gonzales Rose. Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Vol. 46. (2011) Pages 497-549. {{Judiciaries of North America