House committee hears debate over bill to bar live streaming of preliminary hearings

Representative Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló, author of Proyecto de la Cámara 1211, told the House Judiciary Committee on June 23 that the measure aims to "protect the presumption of innocence" by banning live retransmission of certain interlocutory proceedings, including probable-cause and preliminary hearings. The committee convened at 10:15 a.m. and heard more than two hours of testimony and questions.

Press groups urged the committee not to adopt the bill as written. Wilma Maldonado Arriiguaitía, president of the Overseas Press Club, told lawmakers, "El Overseas Press Club se opone a cualquier medida que tenga efecto sobre la transparencia en cualquier rama del gobierno," and warned the bill's language could be read to bar real-time text updates as well as audiovisual streams. Nidia Bausa, president of the Asociación de Periodistas de Puerto Rico, said the Supreme Court's Procedi regulation (to take effect Oct. 1, 2026) already sets an authorization process and safeguards for electronic coverage and "has greater safeguards to guarantee the rights of the accused and victims."

Journalists said transmission requests have been rare. They cited a figure supplied to a prior conference — roughly 110 requests in the last five years — and urged the committee to consider whether a full statutory prohibition is necessary or whether narrower, targeted rules would address risks without shutting off coverage. José Emanuel Bruno Gómez of the Asociación de Fotoperiodistas emphasized the difference between allowing press to enter courts with cameras and banning live broadcast from court systems.

By contrast, Carlos Salgado Schwarz, president of the Federación de la Magistratura de Puerto Rico, recommended approval of Proyecto 1211. He told the committee, "Esta medida no cierra las salas, no silencia a la prensa, no impide que los ciudadanos presentes den cuenta pública de lo ocurrido," but added that the bill targets a specific technological modality: "la retransmisión en tiempo real" of steps that are "más sensitivas" and where not all evidence is presented. Salgado Schwarz argued live feeds "pervierte ese diseño" of preliminary stages by pressuring prosecutors, exposing witnesses, and risking contamination of future jurors.

Members pressed both sides for empirical evidence. Several lawmakers said they had not seen court cases in which a transmission was shown to have produced a constitutional violation; in response, the chair instructed staff to request further records from the Administration of the Courts and the Department of Justice about transmission requests, denials and any related litigation. Representative Gabri el Rodríguez Aguiló said the legislature is weighing whether the Procedi leaves a regulatory gap for preliminary stages and whether legislation is needed to ensure uniform protections across Puerto Rico's 13 judicial regions.

Committee members and witnesses also discussed narrower options. Several press representatives said they would accept an amendment that limited prohibitions to live audiovisual transmissions while explicitly allowing written "minute-by-minute" coverage and other real-time text updates produced by reporters in court. Lawmakers asked the judge and the press groups about practical safeguards available under Procedi, such as excluding individual witnesses from broadcast, and about how to define "publication in real time."

The hearing concluded with the committee requesting follow-up information to inform its deliberations. No vote was taken; the committee will consider the evidence and the requested data before deciding next steps.