RULES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF PUERTO RICO 1996  

 

 

PART V    -   CERTIORARI

 
Rule 20     -   Proceeding in certiorari [*]

 

            (a)  The petition for a writ of certiorari must be filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court as prescribed in these rules.

 

(1)  When the petition for certiorari seeks review of a judgment of the Circuit Court of Appeals rendered on appeal, as provided in section 3.002(d)(1) of the 1994 Judiciary Act of Puerto Rico, as amended, the petition must be filed within a period of thirty (30) days.  If one of the parties is the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its officers, any of its instrumentalities, not a public corpora­tion, or a municipality, the term will be of sixty (60) days.  These terms are jurisdic­tional.

 

(2)  When the petition for certiorari seeks review of judgments or resolutions of the Circuit Court of Appeals issued in writ of certiorari proceedings involving guilty pleas, section 3.002(d)(2) of the 1994 Judiciary Act of Puerto Rico, as amended, the petition must be filed within a period of thirty (30) days.  This term is jurisdictional.

 

(3)  When the petition for certiorari seeks review of judgments or resolutions of the Circuit Court of Appeals issued in writ of certiorari proceedings involving civil voluntary jurisdiction, section 3.002(d)(3) of the 1994 Judiciary Act of Puerto Rico, as amended, the petition must be filed within a period of thirty (30) days.  This term is jurisdictional.

 

(4)  When the petition for certiorari seeks review of other judgments or resolutions of the Circuit Court of Appeals issued on discretionary remedies, section 3.002(d)(4) of the 1994 Judiciary Act of Puerto Rico, as amended, the petition must be filed within a period of thirty (30) days.  This term shall be of strict compliance unless in the presence of special circumstances duly sustained in the petition for certiorari.  Excluded from this subsection are the judgments or resolutions issued by the Circuit Court of Appeals in discre­tionary remedies coming from administrative agencies, which will be subject to the provisions of subsection (9) below.

 

(5)  The judgments rendered by the Circuit Court of Appeals under the special section 18.006 procedure of the 1991 Autonomous Municipalities Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and section 4.002(b) of the 1994 Judiciary Act of Puerto Rico, as amended, may be reviewed on certiorari by the Supreme Court, section 3.002(e) of the 1994 Judiciary Act, as amended.  This petition must be filed within a period of ten (10) days.  This term is jurisdictional.

(6)  The terms and the procedure for filing a petition for certiorari to review the judgments of the Circuit Court of Appeals rendered under section 1.016 of Act No. 4 of December 20, 1977, as amended, known as the “Electoral Act of Puerto Rico,” and under section 4.002(c) of the 1994 Judiciary Act of Puerto Rico, as amended, are set forth in Rule 21 of these Rules.  Section 3.002(f) of the Judiciary Act of 1994, as amended.

 

(7)  The judgments or resolutions of the Circuit Court of Appeals for which no specific procedure for review by the Supreme Court has been established, may be reviewed through a petition for certiorari, section 3.002(i) of the 1994 Judiciary Act, as amended.  The petition must be filed within the term and under the conditions provided by law for the filing of the equivalent petition coming from the former Superior Court.

 

(8)  The judgments, decisions, resolutions, interlocutory orders or rulings of the Circuit Court of Appeals for which there is no specific procedure for review by the Supreme Court, may be reviewed through the extraordinary remedy of certiorari, by filing a petition with the Court.

 

(9)  The judgments or resolutions of the Circuit Court of Appeals issued in writ of review proceedings coming from administrative agencies, pursuant to section 4.002(g) of the 1994 Judiciary Act, as amended, and to Act No. 247 of December 25, 1994, may be reviewed through a petition for certiorari, by filing a petition therefor within a period of thirty (30) days.  This term is juris­dic­tional.

 

(10) In all cases mentioned in subsections (1) through (5) and (7) through (9), the jurisdictional or strict-compliance terms for filing the petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court will begin to run from the entry in the record of the case of a copy of the notice of the judgment or resolution, as the case may be.  When a motion for reconsidera­tion is filed in the Circuit Court of Appeals, said term will begin to run from the date of entry in the record of the case of a copy of the notice of the resolution resolving the motion for reconsidera­tion. The Circuit Court of Appeals must resolve the motion for reconsideration within a period of thirty (30) days after it was submitted.

           

            (b)  The application for review of a judgment or resolution coming from the Circuit Court of Appeals through a writ of certiorari shall be made by filing a petition for certiorari in the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court and a copy in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Appeals within seventy-two (72) hours after filing the petition for certiorari. This term is of strict compliance. One (1) original and nine (9) copies must be filed, as prescribed by Rule 40 of these Rules.

           

            (c)  The petitioner shall be responsible for giving notice of the petition for certiorari to all the other parties as prescribed by Rule 39.

 

            (d)  Within ten (10) days following such notice, the other parties may file, if they so wish, memoranda in opposition to the issuance of the writ of certiorari, which must not exceed fifteen (15) pages, exclusive of the index and the appendix.

 

            (e)  Except as provided in section (m) of this Rule, the filing of a petition for certiorari shall not stay the proceedings in the Circuit Court of Appeals or in the Court of First Instance.  The issuance of the writ of certiorari will stay the proceedings in the Circuit Court of Appeals and in the Court of First Instance, unless otherwise ordered by this Court, motu proprio or on motion of a party.  The application for an order of this type may be filed at any time after the petition for certiorari, but it must always be made in a separate motion.

 

            (f)   The caption of the petition for certiorari shall contain the name of the Court (In the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico) and the name of the parties in the order in which they appeared in the Circuit Court of Appeals, identified as “petitioner” and “respondent.”

           

            (g)  The writ of certiorari will be issued only by order, and at the discretion of the Court.

 

            (h)  The writ of certiorari shall contain the following numbered parts, in the order here indicated:  (1) the citations of the legal provisions that establish the jurisdiction of this Court; (2) a brief, well-grounded discussion of the jurisdictional grounds; (3) a reference to the judgment, resolution, order or interlocutory ruling sought to be reviewed, including the title and number of the case, the court and the panel of judges that rendered the judgment, resolution, order or interlocutory ruling, the date of issuance, and the date of entry in the record of a copy of the notice thereof; (4) a reference to the judgment, resolution, order or inter­locutory ruling of the Court of First Instance that was reviewed by the Circuit Court of Appeals, including the title and number of the case and the court that issued said judgment, resolution, order or interlocutory ruling, the date of issuance, and the date of entry in the record of a copy of the notice of the same;  (5) the specification of any other proceeding concurring in the same case, pending before this Court or before the Circuit Court of Appeals on the date the appeal is filed;  (6) a brief statement of the substantive and procedural facts of the case that are relevant to the petition for certiorari; (7) an assign­ment of errors; (8) a brief discussion of the errors; (9) a brief and concise statement of the questions of law raised in the petition; and (10) an argument of the questions raised.

           

            (i)   The cover of the petition for certiorari shall contain only the caption, the name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and bar association number of petitioner’s counsel, and the name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and bar association number of counsel for all the other parties.  The page immediately following shall contain an index to the petition, which must conform to Rule 38.

           

            (j)   The petition must not exceed twenty (20) pages, exclusive of the index and the appendix.

            (k)  The petition shall include an appendix containing a copy of: (1) the appeal filed in the Circuit Court of Appeals, the other party’s opposition, and their respective appendixes; (2) the briefs filed by the parties in the Circuit Court of Appeals, if any; (3) the judgment, resolution, decision, order or inter­loc­utory ruling of the Circuit Court of Appeals sought to be reviewed; (4) the judgment, resolution, decision, order or interlocutory ruling of the Court of First Instance, or the decision of the administrative agency that was reviewed by the Circuit Court of Appeals; (5) any other resolution or order, interlocu­tory ruling or brief of any of the parties, which is part of the record in the Circuit Court of Appeals and in which any matter raised in the petition for certiorari is expressly discussed; (6) a copy of all the documents that may be necessary to absolutely establish the juris­dic­tion of the Supreme Court; and (7) any other document that is part of the record in the Circuit Court of Appeals, and that may be useful to this Court when deciding whether to issue the writ.

           

            When review is sought of judgments or resolutions issued by the Circuit Court of Appeals in cases that were previously consolidated by the Circuit Court of Appeals, the petitioner may be authorized to file a joint appendix containing a copy of the documents listed in the above paragraph.  This exception does not release from the filing of the nine (9) copies, as prescribed by Rule 40 of these Rules.

 

            (l)   The filing of a separate memorandum of authori­ties shall not be permitted.  The arguments and legal grounds must be set forth in the body of the petition.

           

            (m)  Even when the writ of certiorari is issued, this shall not stay the effects of the judgment or resolution sought to be reviewed that includes any of the following remedies: 1) an injunction, mandamus, or cease and desist order; 2) a support payment order; (3) a custody or visitation rights order; or (4) a judgment providing for the sale of goods liable to loss or deterio­ration.  However, the Court, motu proprio or on motion of a party, may order otherwise, staying the effects of the judgment or resolution.

           

            (n)  When the Supreme Court finds that an appeal is more appropriate than a petition for certiorari, it may treat the petition for certiorari as an appeal, provided that it meets the requirements established for an appeal, thus allowing the Court to pass upon the same.

 

Rule 21     -   Special provisions applicable to petitions for certiorari under Rule 20(a)(6) of these Rules

 

               (a)  Term to file the petition

 

            (1)  The petition for certiorari to seek review of the judgments of the Circuit Court of Appeals, described in Rule 20(a)(6) of these Rules, must be filed within the jurisdictional term of ten (10) days.  The term to file the petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court will start to run from the entry in the record of a copy of the notice of judgment.  However, when a motion for reconsideration is filed in the Circuit Court of Appeals, the term to resort to the Supreme Court will start to run from the entry in the record of a copy of the notice of the resolution disposing of the motion for reconsideration.

           

            (2)  The petition for certiorari shall constitute the petitioner’s brief, unless the Supreme Court provides otherwise.

 

               (B)   Filing and service

 

            (1)  Manner of filing

           

                  (a) The petitions for certiorari (with the nine (9) copies) submitted for the consideration of the Supreme Court shall be filed in the office of the Clerk.  Only in situations of extreme urgency, and by previous authorization of the Supreme Court or—if neither the Court nor the Clerk is available—of one of its Justices, may the petition be filed by fax.  In these cases, a grounded petition shall be sent by fax to the office of the Clerk of the Court, addressed to the Clerk of the Court or to one of the Justices, stating briefly and clearly the reasons for such urgency.  Once this special filing is authorized, the nine (9) copies of the petition must be filed in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court the next day, unless the court should provide other­wise.

 

            (2)  Service of the petition

      

                  (a)   The petition for certiorari, duly numbered and time-stamped, shall be served by petitioner on counsel of record or, in lieu thereof, on the parties, within the jurisdictional term established by law to file said petition.  In those extraordinary situations in which filing by fax is allowed, petitioner shall serve the petition on the parties without the filing date and time stamped thereon, but always simultaneously with the filing of the same and with the number of the petition, should he or she have it.  Service shall be made pursuant to section (E) of this Rule.

 

(C)  Opposition to the issuance of the writ

 

            (1)  Terms to file

           

                  (a)   Within ten (10) days following service of the petition for certiorari, the other parties must file memoranda in opposition to the issuance of the writ.  These will be considered to all effects as the respondents’ briefs, unless the Supreme Court should provide otherwise.

           

                  (b)   When the petition for certiorari is filed within thirty (30) days before an election, the respondents shall file memoranda in opposition to the issuance of the writ within five (5) days after service of the petition. These will be considered to all effects as the respondents’ briefs, unless the Supreme Court should provide otherwise.

                  (c)   When the petition for certiorari is filed within five (5) days before an election, the respondents must file memoranda in opposition to the issuance of the writ on the day after service of the petition, and these will be considered to all effects as the respondents’ briefs.

           

                  (d)   In all cases, memoranda in opposition to the issuance of the writ shall be filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court in original and nine (9) copies. Only in situations of extreme urgency, and by previous authorization of the Supreme Court or—if neither the Court nor the Clerk is available—of one of its Justices, may the opposition be filed by fax.  In these cases, a grounded petition shall be sent by fax to the office of the Clerk of the Court, addressed to the Clerk or to one of the Justices, stating briefly and clearly the reasons for such urgency.  Once this special filing is authorized, the nine (9) copies of the opposition shall be filed in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court the next day, unless the court should provide other­wise.

 

            (2)  Service

           

                  (a)   The respondent shall notify the opposition to the other parties as prescribed by section (E) of this Rule.

                      

               (D)  Subsequent motions and papers

 

            (1)  The motions and any subsequent papers related to the petition for certiorari shall only be filed by previous authorization of the Court.  In the order authorizing the filing of such papers, the court will state the filing and service method.  In all cases, service on the parties must be simultaneous with the filing of the paper, and the form of service must be certified in the motion or paper.  When the court makes no determination in its order on how service should be made, then service shall be made pursuant to section (E) of this Rule.

 

               (E)   Service of papers

           

            (1)  All papers filed with the Court shall be served on the other parties by certified mail, return receipt requested, through a similar personal delivery service carried out by a private company with acknowledgment of receipt, or by fax.

 

            (2)  If service is made by mail, delivery must be made on the following day.  The party making service must certify the fact of such service in the very paper.  The postmark will be considered as the date of service on the parties, but the process server must make sure that delivery is made on the following day.  When service is made by mail, notice shall be sent to the parties’ counsel or to the parties, if unrepresented, at the mailing address appearing on the latest document in the record of the case. When the party is represented by counsel, and no address appears in the record, notice shall be sent to counsel at the address appearing on the roll of attorneys kept to such effects by the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

           

            (3) Personal service must be made at the office of the parties’ counsel, and delivery shall be made to counsel or to any person in charge of the office. If the party is not represented by counsel, service will be made at the party’s domicile or address of record, on any person of suitable age present therein.  When personal delivery is made, the manner and circumstances of such service must be certified within the next twenty-four (24) hours.

           

            (4) Service by fax must be made at the pertinent fax number of the parties’ counsel or to the parties’ fax number, if unrepresented, as this information arises from the record. If service is made by fax, the manner and circumstances of such service must be certified within the next twenty-four (24) hours.

           

            (5)  When service is to be made within thirty (30) days before an election, it shall only be made personal­ly or by fax, and always giving notice by tele­phone.

              

               (F)   Reconsideration; mandates

 

            (1)  In all cases, the party adversely affected by a decision of the Supreme Court may file a motion for reconsideration within the unextendable term of three (3) days, counting from the date of entry of a copy of the notice in the record of the case.

           

            (2)  Each party may file only one (1) motion for reconsideration.

           

            (3) If ten (10) days after entry in the record of a copy of the notice of the Court’s latest ruling, no motion for reconsideration is filed, and no notice is given of a petition for certiorari before the United States Supreme Court, the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court will send the mandate to the court from which appeal is taken.

              

               (G)  General provisions

 

            (1)  In any event, the Supreme Court may, given the circum­stances of the case under its consideration, change the terms and procedures established in this Rule to ensure a more efficient process and disposi­tion of the same, without impairing the substantive rights of the parties.

           

            (2) The provisions of this Rule will solely govern the filing and disposition of the petitions for certiorari originating in the Commonwealth Elections Commission pursuant to section 1.016 of the Electoral Act of Puerto Rico, as amended, 16 L.P.R.A. § 3016a, as prescribed by Rule 20(a)(6) of these Rules.

 

            (3)  Matters not addressed by this Rule, but covered in other parts of these Rules, shall apply to proceedings involving petitions for certiorari to review judgments issued by the Circuit Court of Appeals in cases originating in the Common­wealth Elections Commission, provided that they are not in conflict with the speed with which cases involving voting rights must be addressed.

Rule 22     -   Briefs in petition for certiorari

           

            (a)  Within thirty (30) days after receipt of the notice mentioned in Rule 35(c), the petitioner will file his or her brief in the Court.

           

            (b)  Within thirty (30) days after receipt of a copy of petitioner’s brief, the respondent will file his or her brief in the Court.

           

            (c)  The briefs are governed by the provisions of Rule 33 as to form and content.

Presione la flecha abajo para Continuar o Regresar

 

Presione Aquí para regresar al Menú anterior y seleccionar otro caso.

ADVERTENCIA

Este documento constituye un documento oficial del Tribunal Supremo que está sujeto a los cambios y correciones del proceso de compilación y publicación oficial de las decisiones del Tribunal. Su distribución electrónica se hace como un servicio público a la comunidad.

LexJuris de Puerto Rico siempre está bajo construcción.

| Leyes y Jurisprudencia | Información | Agencias | Pueblos de Puerto Rico| Servicios Futuros |

|Publicidad | Directorios | Compras | Eventos | Noticias | Entretenimiento |Publicaciones CD|

La información, las imágenes, gráficas u otro contenido en todos los documentos preparados por Lexjuris son propiedad de Lexjuris. Otros documentos disponibles en nuestras conecciones son propiedad de sus respectivos dueños. Derechos Reservados. Copyright (c) 1997 LexJuris de Puerto Rico.


[*] Translator’s note:  The Supreme Court amended section (k) of this Rule by Resolution of March 25, 1998.]