Daily Serving of Legal Matters

Image taken from www.illustrationsof.com I was appointed as counsel de oficio to represent an accused who was imprisoned since March 2014. Counsel de oficio is the attorney appointed by the court to an indigent criminal defendant  ( http://definitions.uslegal.com/c/counsel-de-officio/ ).  His case is still on its arraignment stage.      Arraignment is when the information or the complaint is read in the language or dialect known to the accused and then he would be asked whether he pleads guilty or not guilty. Image taken from www.dreamstime.com When I browsed the record of the case, the penalty that would be imposed is only prision mayor or imprisonment of 30 days and 1 day to 6 months.  So, the accused has already served the maximum penalty should he may be found guilty to the crime charged. In fact, his imprisonment is already beyond what is required by law. As stated section 16 of Rule 114 of Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure,...

In all criminal proceedings, the accused must be arraigned.  The accused must be arraigned before the court where the complaint or information was filed or assigned for trial. The arraignment shall be made in open court by the judge or clerk by furnishing the accused with a copy of the complaint or information, reading the same in the language or dialect known to him, and asking him whether he pleads guilty or not guilty (Sec. 1, Rule 116 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedures). The purpose of the arraignment is to inform the accused of the accusation filed against him.  Thus, it is important that it shall be done by reading in a language or dialect known to the accused.  Meaning, the information or complaint shall be interpreted or translated to the dialect or language spoken and known by the accused.  Otherwise, the arraignment is deemed not done. As stated above, the accused would be asked to enter his plea whether guilty or not guilty.  It is en...

Plea Bargaining.  It is a common scenario in criminal court. The accused may interpose a yes-guilty to a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the offense charged. However, it shall be with the consent of the offended party and the prosecutor.  Otherwise, there would be no plea bargaining. As to what stage the accused may be allowed to have a plea bargaining.  As provided in the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, at arraignment, the accused, with the consent of the offended party and the prosecutor, may be allowed by the trial court to plead guilty to a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the offense charged. Further, the same Rules also states that plea bargaining shall also be one of the things considered in the Pre-Trial Conference. In short, a plea bargaining is allowed for as long as the prosecutor has not offered yet any evidence to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. However, in reality, some of the judges, may allow the ...

It is of common knowledge that once a case is filed in court, especially criminal case, against a person, he must be represented with a counsel or a lawyer. To be represented with a counsel is one of the fundamental rights of the accused. There are two types of counsels representing an accused in court.  These are counsel de parte and counsel de oficio. Counsel de parte is the counsel of choice of the accused engaged by him to represent him in court.  It is in line with his constitutional right to have a competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. Most often than not, this counsel de parte is a private practitioner and his legal services are not for gratis. However, if the accused cannot afford the services of a counsel, he must be provided with one. This counsel provided by court to defend the accused is known as counsel de oficio. As provided in the Revised Rules of Court of the Philippines, it is a duty of the court to inform the accused of his right to ...

In one of the courts here in General Santos City (where I am appearing as a defense lawyer), some of the cases I inherited were tried in absentia. Trial in Absentia in the sense that trials were had in the absence of the accused. Is this not a violation of the right of the accused to be present during trials? “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until the contrary is proved, and shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to have a speedy, impartial, and public trial, to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory process to secure the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence in his behalf.” (Section 14, paragraph 2, Article III, 1987 Philippine Constitution) Due process requires for the accused to be present in all of the stages of the criminal proceeding. “However, after arraignment, trial may proceed notwithstanding the absence of the accused...

Among the Philippine Senators who were charged with the crime of plunder, it was Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr who was brought to arraignment before the Sandiganbayan where the case is pending. However, Senator Revilla refused to pose any plea when asked of his plea. A photo of Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. taken from bing images. What is the effect of Senator Revilla’s refusal to enter any plea? In criminal cases, arraignment is done basically to inform the accused of the case against him.  He is also informed of the nature and cause of the accusation.  In order to make the arraignment valid, it must be done in a language or dialect spoken and understood by the accused.  If the arraignment is done in a language or dialect foreign or stranger to the accused, the proceeding is infirmed and is prone to challenge in the proper forum. In this manner, the court should have a ready interpreter that would intelligently translate or interpret th...

On April 30, 2014, Cedric Lee and Simeon Raz appeared in court for the scheduled arraignment.  This hearing is in connection to the Serious Illegal Detention Vhong Navarro filed against them.  It is to be noted that among the persons charged with the mentioned criminal case, only Cedric Lee and Simeon Raz were brought to the jurisdiction of the court.  Others remain at large as of this writing.  The two were reportedly arrested from the far-flung area of Samar. For the information of all the readers, the Arraignment is the start of the reeling of the wheel of Justice once the case is already pending in court.  Thus, this post will discuss about Arraignment. Definition of Arraignment: According to  http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/arraignment , an arraignment is defined as a  criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complain...