Supreme Court of Puerto Rico

First Supreme Court of Puerto Rico appointed by the Foraker Act.

The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico is the highest judicial forum in Puerto Rico. By constitutional delegation, the Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority to interpret the laws and the Constitution of Puerto Rico. Article V of the Constitution of Puerto Rico grants judicial power to this Court and for this reason it is the head thereof, Also having the inherent power to regulate the profession of law in the territory. The seat of the court is in the capital city of San Juan.

Structure and powers

The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico was established by the Foraker Act in 1900 and maintained in the Puerto Rico Constitution of 1952. It is the only court required by the Constitution, since all other courts are created by the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. However, since Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, there is also a United States federal court of jurisdiction on the Island.

The judges (currently nine) are appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico and confirmed by majority vote by the Senate. One of these nine judges serves as Chief Justice; the remaining members are appointed associate justices. Unlike the Supreme Court of the United States, the justices of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico do not serve for life, since the Constitution of Puerto Rico requires that all judges must retire upon serving 70 years. The judges of the Supreme Court may be dismissed for the same causes as the governor described in Article III Section of the Constitution, while judges of a lower hierarchy may be dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Although the Constitution of Puerto Rico establishes that the Court will be composed of five judges, it also contains a provision according to which the number can be modified, although only at the request of the Court itself. This provision has been used four times in the court history. Immediately after the ratification of the Constitution, the Court requested two additional judges. In the early 1960s, the Court again requested the addition of two more judges, arguing that there was a backlog in the case. Later, during the 1970s, the Tribunal requested that its number be reduced to seven members, arguing that the backlog had been met. Finally, in 2010, a 4–3 majority of the judges asked the Legislative Assembly to again increase the Court's membership to 9 members.

The jurisdiction of the Court is only over the Constitution and the laws of Puerto Rico and functions only as an appellate court. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico functions in the same way as the Supreme Courts of the states of the United States Joined. Therefore, a decision of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico can only be reviewed, in limited circumstances, by the Supreme Court of the United States. This is because the constitutional arrangement of Puerto Rico is analogous to that of the states of the Union. The court has the power of judicial review and its decision establishes precedent and is binding within the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico.

Supreme Court terms begin on the first Monday in October and end in the last week of June of the following year. However, during the recess months of July through September, an alternating panel of three judges may hear cases and their decisions are considered binding precedent. However, for any law approved by the Legislative Assembly to be declared unconstitutional, it requires the votes of the majority of the members that make up the Court.

The judges decide whether or not to hear oral arguments for the case. If the case is controversial or has great public interest, oral argument may be scheduled, although oral arguments were rare under Chief Justice Federico Hernández Denton. When an oral argument occurs, each party has twenty-five minutes to state their respective claims and five minutes to rebuttal. After the parties have finished their discussion, each judge has ten minutes (in order of seniority) to ask each party questions. Judges can decide to give the balance of their time to one of their colleagues.

The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico maintains the official records of attorneys licensed in Puerto Rico.

Presiding Judge of the Supreme Court

The President of the Supreme Court is the president of the court, and among his functions he directs the administration of the different courts, chairs the Constitutional Redistricting Board that reviews the senatorial and representative districts of Puerto Rico after each census decennial and presides over the impeachment trial of the Governor of Puerto Rico.

List of Presiding Judges

• Hon. José Severo Quiñonez (1900-1909)
• Hon. José Conrado Hernández (1909-1922)
• Hon. Emilio del Toro Cuebas (1922-1943)
• Hon. Martín Travieso (1944-1948)
• Hon. Angel R. De Jesus (1948-1951)
• Hon. Roberto H. Todd Borrás (1951-1952)
• Hon. A. Cecil Snyder (1953-1957)
• Hon. Jaime Sifre Dávila (1957-1957)
• Hon. Luis Negrón Fernández (1957-1972)
• Hon. Pedro Pérez Pimentel (1972-1974)
• Hon. José Trías Monge (1974-1985)
• Hon. Víctor M. Pons (1985-1992)
• Hon. José Andreu García (1992-2003)
• Hon. Miriam Naveira (2003-2004)
• Hon. Federico Hernández Denton (2004-2014)
• Hon. Liana Fiol Matta (2014-2016)
• Hon. Maite Oronoz Rodríguez (2016-present)

Origin of the Internal Courts

Municipal and district courts have existed in Puerto Rico since at least the 19th century. When the United States invaded the island, he set out to reorganize the judicial system. The US military regime in Puerto Rico promulgated Order 118 of 1899, by which the system of Criminal Courts and Courts of First Instance and Investigation was replaced by five district courts in San Juan, Ponce, Mayagüez, Arecibo and Humacao.

Amendments to the Rules of Court and Significant Decisions

A 4–3 majority amended Rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules to allow the highest ranking judge on the majority side of each case to determine the member of the Court who would write the majority opinion. Previously, the chief justice, even on the minority side of a case, assigned the wording of the Court's opinion.

In Suárez Cáceres v. The CEE court overturned a previous court decision that required a "None of the above" in political status plebiscites. That option won an outright majority of votes in the 1998 political status plebiscite.

In the Senate of Puerto Rico (v. Government of Puerto Rico et al. 2019 TSPR 138), the Supreme Court in a unanimous vote (9-0) declared void the swearing in of Secretary of State Pedro Pierluisi to the position of governor due to vacancy absolute responsibility.

Current judges

Until July 2021, the judges of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico are: