Puerto Rico committee debates bill to set mandatory bail minimums for violent crimes

The House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee held a hearing June 3 on Project P. de la C. 5-19, a bill titled the "Ley de Fianza Segura" that would establish mandatory minimum bail amounts for certain violent crimes and require the Office of Court Administration (Oficina de Administración de los Tribunales, OAT) to publish judicial reference guides within 90 days of enactment.

OAT Director Sigfrido Figueroa read portions of the bill and highlighted an exception included in the draft: "En circunstancias excepcionales, el tribunal podrá imponer una fianza inferior a las establecidas en esta ley, siempre que se le demuestre mediante evidencia clara, robusta y convincente, que el imputado no representa riesgo de fuga ni peligro para la comunidad, para las víctimas o para los testigos." He and OAT staff warned the provision, as drafted, could effectively shift the burden of proving exceptional circumstances onto defendants.

That inversion of burden was a central concern among witnesses. OAT noted in its written and oral testimony that "La norma propuesta invertiría el deber de cumplir con el peso de la prueba en un procedimiento criminal, responsabilidad que bajo la doctrina constitucional de presunción de inocencia le…