House approves bills to ban broadcasts of key pretrial hearings
The measures would prohibit electronic coverage of probable cause hearings, preliminary hearings and proceedings on the admissibility of evidence.
The short version
- El Vocero, El Nuevo Día and Periódico El Sol de Puerto Rico reported the House of Representatives approved two bills restricting electronic coverage of certain pretrial judicial proceedings
- Project 1447 would add Rule 131.4 to the Rules of Criminal Procedure to ban coverage of hearings under Rule 109 on admissibility of evidence according to El Vocero and El Sol
- El Nuevo Día reported Project 1211 would add an inciso to Rule 8 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure to ban transmission of probable cause for arrest hearings
- All three outlets state both bills now move to the Senate for consideration and have not become law
Updates
Update, Oct 15, 7:31 PM AST
El Sol de Puerto Rico added a new report confirming House approval of the bills with minor procedural details.
Periódico El Sol de Puerto Rico reported that on Thursday the House of Representatives approved a measure to prohibit the transmission of judicial hearings on evidence. Periódico El Sol de Puerto Rico reported the bill would prevent the broadcasting, retransmission or dissemination of such proceedings.
The new account aligns with prior reporting that the legislation now advances to the Senate.
House passes restrictions
The House of Representatives on Thursday approved two bills that would restrict the electronic transmission of certain pretrial judicial proceedings in Puerto Rico. El Vocero reported the measures would ban coverage of hearings on the admissibility of evidence as well as probable cause for arrest hearings and preliminary hearings. The bills now advance to the Senate.
Project of the House 1447, authored by Rep. José “Che” Pérez, would add Rule 131.4 to the Rules of Criminal Procedure to prohibit the electronic coverage of hearings held under Rule 109 of the Rules of Evidence and analogous procedures on admissibility of proof. El Vocero reported its scope would include the transmission, retransmission, reproduction or later dissemination of the audio and images from those hearings.
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What the sources posted
Posts and statements below are the sources' own words, quoted as published. They are not independently verified.
Quienes observan un proceso judicial fuera del salón de sesiones no necesariamente cuentan con el conocimiento ni el contexto jurídico y probatorio necesario para distinguir entre la información que una parte procura presentar, aquella que se recibe exclusivamente para que el juez determine su admisibilidad y la evidencia que finalmente es admitida y puede ser considerada para adjudicar la controversia
Our translation: Those who observe a judicial process outside the courtroom do not necessarily have the knowledge or the legal and evidentiary context necessary to distinguish between the information that a party seeks to present, that which is received exclusively so that the judge determines its admissibility and the evidence that is finally admitted and can be considered to adjudicate the controversy.
The source's own statement, as quoted by El Vocero. Not verified by PuertoRico.com.
Lawmakers' arguments
Pérez defended the measure, stating that those who follow the proceedings outside the courtroom may lack the necessary context to distinguish between information presented to evaluate its admissibility and evidence that may ultimately be used to resolve a case. El Vocero reported he said the bill preserves the public nature of judicial processes and the court's authority to decide on public presence in the courtroom.
Project of the House 1211, authored by Rep. Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló, would prohibit the transmission, dissemination or retransmission by any means of probable cause for arrest hearings. El Nuevo Día reported Rodríguez Aguiló said the proposal targets stages prior to the selection of an impartial jury. An amendment proposed by Rep. Héctor Ferrer Santiago to exclude corruption cases from the ban was defeated.
Where the sources differ
El Vocero, El Nuevo Día and Periódico El Sol de Puerto Rico agree that the House approved the two bills on Thursday and that they advance to the Senate. El Vocero states that PC 1211 would amend rules 6 and 23 of Criminal Procedure while El Nuevo Día states it would add an inciso to Rule 8 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure; El Sol focuses only on the evidence-related bill. El Vocero and El Sol describe PC 1447 as concerning hearings on admissibility of evidence. El Nuevo Día includes details on a defeated amendment to exclude corruption cases and statements from opposition lawmakers; the other two outlets do not mention the amendment or those statements.
What the reports do not say
The reports do not state when the Senate might consider the bills, whether the governor has taken a position, or the likelihood of the measures becoming law. They also do not specify how many or which news organizations currently transmit such hearings or provide data on any impact of past broadcasts on trials.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published and last updated. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Reporting Cámara avala prohibir transmisiones de vistas judiciales clave
- Reporting Avanza medida para prohibir transmisiones de vistas judiciales en etapas previas al juicio
- Reporting Cámara aprueba prohibir la transmisión de vistas judiciales sobre evidencia
How we checked this
El Vocero, El Nuevo Día and Periódico El Sol de Puerto Rico all reported the House approval on Thursday. Details on the specific rule changes for Project 1211 rest on El Vocero and El Nuevo Día, while the defeated amendment appears only in El Nuevo Día.
Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.