INITAO COLLEGE Course Code: CLJ 1

Jampason, Initao, Misamis Oriental Course Title: Philippine Criminal Justice

1st Semester, S.Y. 2020 - 2021 System

Instructor: Subject Schedule: Tuesday 10:00 to

Chule Tom B. Cagalawan, RCrim. 12:00 & 1:00 to 2:00
Mobile Number:
09363964432 Facebook Group Page:
e-mail address: Bachelor of Science in Criminology
[email protected] Initao College (official page)
Contact Schedule:
M,T,W,Th and F; 8:00am - 5:00pm

MODULE 10

Topic: The Court Litigation Process: pre-trial & trial. Desired Learning Outcomes:

Duration: 3 hours  Students may know the Litigation process;

 Understand the flow of pre-trial and proper trial.

Specific Instruction for Submission:

For Online/Partial online learners: write your answers in a yellow sheet of paper and take a picture and put in a comment box.

For modular learners: write your output in a yellow paper. Put your name, group and the subject and name of your instructor.

THE COURT LITIGATION PROCESS

Pre-trial – to expedite the trial, where the accused and counsel agree, the court shall conduct a pre- trial conference on the matters
enumerated below, without impairing the rights of the accused.

Pre-trial conference considers the following:

a. Plea bargaining
b. Stipulation of facts
c. Marking for identification of evidence of the parties
d. Waiver of objections to admissibility of evidence and
e. Such other matters as will promote a fair and expeditious trial

Plea-bargaining – the process whereby the accused and the prosecution of the criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory
disposition of the case subject to court approval. It usually involves the defendants pleading guilty for the lesser offense.

Pre-trial order – after the pre-trial conference, the court shall issue an order reciting the actions taken, the facts stipulated, and
evidence marked. Such order shall bind the parties, limit the trial to matters not disposed of and control the course of the action
during the trial, unless modified by the court to prevent manifest injustice.

Pre-trial agreements must be signed – no agreement or admission made or entered during the pre- trial conference shall be used in
evidence against the accused unless reduced to writing and signed by him and his counsel.

Admission– is a self-incriminatory statement by the subject falling short of an acknowledgement of guilt. It is an acknowledgement
of facts or circumstances from which guilt maybe inferred.

Confession– is a declaration of an accused acknowledging his guilt of the offense charged, or any offense necessarily included
therein, may be given in evidence against him.

Confession or admission will only be admissible if the accused voluntarily executed it and not under duress, coercion, or
psychological restraint.
Judicial admission – is an admission, verbal or written made by a party in the course of the proceedings in the same case, which
does not requires proof. The admission maybe contradicted by showing that it was made through palpable mistake or that no such
admission was made.

Deposition – is the testimony of a witness reduced into writing under oath or affirmation, before a person empowered to
administered oaths in answer to interrogatory questions and cross- interrogation submitted by the deposition and the opposite
party.

TRIAL

The parties shall be notified of the date of trial at least two (2) days before such date.

How arraignment and plea is made?

The accused must be arraigned before the court where the complaint or information has been or assigned for trial.
The arraignment must be made in open court by the judge or clerk by furnishing the accused a copy of the complaint or information
with the list of witnesses, reading the same in language or dialect known to him and asking him whether he pleads guilty or not
guilty. The prosecution may, however, call at the trial witnesses other than those named in the complaint or information.

The accused must be present at the arraignment and must personally enter his plea. Both arraignment and plea
shall be made or record, but a failure to enter or record shall not affect the validity of the proceedings.

If the accused refuses to plead, or makes a conditional plea of guilty, a plea of guilty shall be entered for him.

ORDER OF THE TRIAL

The trial shall proceed in the following order:

a. The prosecution shall present evidence to prove the charge and in the proper case, the civil liability.

b. The accused may present evidence to prove his defense and damages, if any, arising from the issuance of any provisional remedy
in the case.

c. The parties may then respectively present rebutting evidence only, unless the court in furtherance of justice permits them to
present additional evidence bearing upon the main issue.

d. Upon the admission of the evidence, the case shall be deemed submitted for decision unless the court directs the parties to argue
orally or to submit memoranda.

e. However, when the accused admits the act or omission charged in the complaint or information but interposes a lawful defense,
the order of trial may be modified accordingly (such as self-defense, insanity, etc.)

Discharged of Accused to be State Witness

When two or more persons are jointly charged with the commission of any offense, upon motion of the
prosecution before resting its case, the court my direct one or more of the accused to be discharged with their consent so that they
may be witnesses for the state when after requiring the prosecution to present evidence and the sworn statement of each proposed
state witness at a hearing in support of the discharge, the court is satisfied that:

a. There is absolute necessity for the testimony of the accused whose discharge is requested.

b. There is no other direct evidence available for the proper prosecution of the offense committed, except the testimony of the said
accused.
c. The testimony of said accused can be substantially corroborated in the material points.

d. Said accused does not appear to be the most-guilty.

e. Said accused has not at any time been convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude.

Evidence adduced in support of the discharge shall automatically form part of the trial. If the court denies the
motion for discharge of the accused as state witness, the sworn statement shall be inadmissible as evidence.

Examination of Witness for the Prosecution

Where it shall be satisfactorily appear that the witness for the prosecution is too sick to infirm to appear at the
trial as directed by the order of the court, or has to leave the Philippines with no definite date of returning thereto, he may
forthwith be conditionally examined before the judge of the court where the case is pending. Such examination in the presence of
the accused or after reasonable notice to attend the examination has been served on him, will be conducted in the same manner as
an examination at the trial. Failure or refusal on the part of the accused to attend the examination after notice herein before
provided shall be considered a waiver. The statement thus taken may be admitted in behalf of or against the accused.

Examination of Defense Witness

If the cour4t is satisfied that the examination of witness for the accused is necessary, an order will be made
directing that the witness be examined at a specified time and place, and that a copy of the order be served on the fiscal within a
given time prior to that fixed for the examination. The examination will be taken before any judge or if not applicable, any member
of the Bar in good standing so designated by the judge in the order, or, if the order be granted by a court of superior jurisdiction,
before an inferior court to be designated in the order. The statement thus taken may be admitted in behalf of or against the
accused.

Rights and Obligation of a Witness

A witness must answer questions, although his answer may tend to establish a claim against him. However, it is
the right of a witness:

a. to be protected against irrelevant, improper, or insulting questions and from a harsh or insulting demeanor.

b. not to be detained longer than the interest of justice requires

c. not to be examined except only as to matters pertinent to the issue

d. not to give an answer which will tend to subject him to a penalty for an offense unless otherwise provided by law or

e. not to give an answer which will tend to degrade his reputation, unless it be to the very fact at issue or to a fact from which the
fact in issue would be presumed. But the witness must answer to the fact of his previous or final conviction for an offense.

Order in the Examination of an Individual Witness

1. Direct-examination – is the examination in chief of a witness by the party presenting him on the facts relevant to the issue.

2. Cross-examination- its purpose and extent- upon the termination of the direct examination, the witness may be cross-examined
by the adverse party as to any matters stated in the direct examination, or connected therewith with sufficient fullness and freedom
to test his accuracy and truthfulness and freedom from interest or bias, or the reverse and to elicit all important facts bearing upon
the issue.
3. Re-direct examination- its purpose and extent – after the cross-examination of the witness has been concluded, he may be re-
examined by the party, calling him, to explain or supplement his answer given during the cross-examination. On re direct
examination, questions on matters not dealt with during the cross-examination, may be allowed by the court in its discretion.

4. Re-cross examination – upon the conclusion of the re-direct examination, the adverse party may re-cross examine the witness on
matters stated in his re-direct examination, and also on such other matters as may be allowed by the court in its discretion.

Judgment – the term judgment as used in the rule means the adjudication by the court that the accused is guilty or is not guilty of
the offense charge and the imposition of the proper penalty and civil liability provided for by law on the accused.

Forms and Contents of Judgment

The judgment must be written in the official language, personally and directly prepared by the judge and signed by
him and shall contain clearly and distinctly a statement of the facts proved or admitted by the accused and the law upon which the
judgment is based.

If it is of conviction, the judgment shall state: (a) the legal qualification of the offense constituted by the acts
committed by the accused and the aggravating or mitigating circumstances attending the commission thereof, if there are any; (b)
the participation of the accused in the commission of the offense, whether as principal, accomplice, or accessory; (c) the penalty
imposed upon the accused; (d) the civil liability or damages caused by the wrongful act to be recovered from the accused by the
offended party, if there is any, unless the enforcement of the civil liability by a separate action has been reserved or waived.

Assessment:

1. Compare the American system of Litigation to Philippine System of Litigation. (20 points)

2. in your own opinion, why there is a need for pre-trial under the Philippine System of Litigation? (10 points)

References:

Introduction to Criminology

By: Franchette Monique I. Abalde

Gerry J. Caňo