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FINALS REVIEWER on PRACTICE COURT I.

Lawyers Oath: I, ___, of ___, do solemnly swear that I will maintain allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines; I will support its Constitution and obey the laws as well as the legal orders of the duly constituted authorities therein; I will do no falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any in court; I will not wittingly nor willingly promote or sue any groundless, false or unlawful suit, or give aid nor consent to the same; I will delay no man for money or malice, and will conduct myself as a lawyer according to the best of my nowledge and discretion, and with all good fidelity as well to the court as to my clients; and I impose upon myself this voluntary obligation without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. !o help me "od. Exceptions to the hearsay r !e: a. #ying declaration b. #eclaration against interest c. $ct or declaration about pedigree d. %amily reputation or tradition regarding pedigree e. Common reputation f. Part of the res gestae g. &ntries in the course of business h. &ntries in official records i. Commercial lists and the li e '. (earned treatises . )estimony or deposition at a former proceeding Contin in" o#$ection: Rule *+,, !ec. +- . /hen I becomes reasonably apparent in the course of the e0amination of a witness that the 1uestion being propounded are of the same class as hose to which ob'ection has been made, whether such ob'ection was sustained or overruled, it shall not be necessary to repeat the ob'ection, it being sufficient for the adverse party to record his continuing ob'ection to such class of 1uestions. 2Put it in record3 Purposes of o#$ections: a. )o eep out inadmissible evidence that would cause harm to a client5s cause b. )o protect the record c. )o protect a witness from being embarrassed on the stand or from being harassed by the opposing counsel d. )o e0pose the adversary5s unfair tactics e. )o give the trial court an opportunity to correct its own errors f. )o avoid a waiver of the inadmissibility of an otherwise inadmissible evidence Re# tta! is the e0amination by the prosecution of a witness presented by them for the purpose of rebutting the

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testimony of a witness presented by the defense in their e0amination6in6chief. S r%re# tta! is the e0amination by the defense of a witness presented by them for the purpose of rebutting the testimony of a witness presented by the prosecution in their e0amination6in6 chief. $fter the accused or defendant has presented his evidence, the prosecution and the defense in criminal cases or the plaintiff and defendant in civil cases, may, in that order, present rebuttal and sur6rebuttal evidence unless the court, in furtherance of 'ustice, permits them to present additional evidence bearing upon the main issue or their original case. On s pro#an&i: Rule *+*, !ec. *. 7urden of proof . 7urden of proof is the duty of a party to present evidence on the facts in issue necessary to establish his claim or defense by the amount of evidence re1uired by law. )he party, whether plaintiff or defendant, who asserts the affirmative of the issue has the burden of proof to obtain a favorable 'udgment. )he burden of proof is fi0ed by the pleadings. )he claim of the plaintiff which he must prove, is spelled out in his complaint. )he defendant5s defenses which he must li ewise prove are to be found in his answer to the complaint. )he burdens of proof of both parties do not shift during the course of the trial. ' r&en o( e)i&ence 2or burden of coming forward with the evidence3 is the duty of a party to go forward with the evidence to overthrow the prima facie evidence against him. )he burden of going forward of evidence may shift from one side to the other as the e0igencies of the trial re1uire, and shifts with alternating fre1uency. $s the trial progresses, one party may have presented the evidence that weigh heavily in his favor and sufficient to convince the court of the 'ustness of his claim. If this occurs, the other party has burden to come forward with his own evidence to counteract whatever positive impression which the evidence of the other party may have created in the mind of the court. Rule *++, !ec. +8 . Stri*in" o t answer . !hould a witness answer the 1uestion before the adverse party had the opportunity to voice fully its ob'ection to the same, and such ob'ection is found to be meritorious, the court shall sustain the ob'ection and order the answer given to be stric en off the record. 9n proper motion, the court may also order the stri ing out of answers which are incompetent, irrelevant or otherwise improper. Pro((er o( e)i&ence: Rule *++, !ec. ;< .

)ender of e0cluded evidence . If documents or things offered in evidence are e0cluded by the court, the offeror may have the same attached to or made part of the record. If the evidence e0cluded is oral, the offeror may state for the record the name and other personal circumstances of the witness and the substance of the proposed testimony. :. Reha#i!itation of impeached witness: 7y rebutting the evidence presented to impeach a witness. :I. 'ai! in + r&er cases: %ile a motion to be allowed to post bail on the ground that evidence of prosecution for murder is wea . &ven if the accused has no right to bail in murder cases, the court may still allow the accused to post bail if the evidence of his guilt is not strong. :II. P!ea #ar"ainin": Rule **=, !ec. , . $t 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. $fter arraignment but before trial, the accused may still be allowed to plead guilty to said lesser offense after withdrawing his plea of not guilty. >o amendment of the complaint or information is necessary. 2)his leads to less wor because there is no long drawn6out trial so the investigators no longer have to dig for additional evidence to secure a conviction for the higher crime.3 :III. Secon&ary e)i&ence: Rule *+<, !ec. ? . /hen original document is unavailable . /hen the original document has been lost or destroyed or cannot be produced in court, the offeror, upon proof of its e0ecution or e0istence and the cause of its unavailability without bad faith on his part, may prove its contents by a copy, or by a recital of its contents in some authentic document, or by the testimony of witnesses in the order stated. :I4. /hat to do if original document was lost in case of (or"e& si"nat re: $s for stipulation by the other party. If he does not agree, as the court to be allowed to present the original for comparison and identification. :4. Pre!i+inary in)esti"ation: @nder !ection *, Rule **, of the Rules of Court, preliminary investigation is an in1uiry or proceeding made whenever the offense charged is punishable by imprisonment of more than ; years, , months and * day without regard to the fine to determine whether there is sufficient ground to engender a well6 founded belief that a crime has been committed and that the respondent is probably guilty thereof. 9ne purpose is to prevent the filing of malicious,

ve0atious and unfounded charge against innocent persons. $nother purpose it to prevent unnecessary e0penses and waste of time on the part of the !tate in the prosecution of cases. :4I. Pre%tria!: Pre6trial is nown as the mandatory conference ordered by the court wherein the contending parties and their respective counsels would have a personal confrontation before the 'udge. Pre6trial is mandatory, both in criminal and civil cases. In civil cases, the non6 appearance of the plaintiff or his authoriAed representative would result in the dismissal of the case. In criminal cases, the non6appearance of the private complainant would not cause the dismissal of the case. )he court instead may impose sanctions on the said party. @nder Rule *B of the Rules of Court, the matters to be considered in civil cases are: *3 simplification of issues, ,3 the propriety of rendering a summary 'udgment or 'udgment on the pleadings, +3 necessity of amending the pleadings, ;3 to determine whether or not to undergo a trial conference under a commissioner, ?3 other matters that would aid in the speedy disposition of cases, and =3 limitation as to the number of witnesses. @nder Rule **B of the Rules of Court, the matters to be considered during a pre6trial conference in criminal cases are: *3 stipulation of facts, ,3 plea bargaining, +3 mar ing of evidence of the parties, ;3 waiver of the ob'ection regarding the admissibility of evidence, and ?3 modification of the order of trial. :4II. ,irect exa+ination: #irect e0amination is the e0amination6in6chief of a witness by the party presenting him. Its purpose is to ascertain from the e0amining witness the facts that did and did not occur prior to the filing of the action. "enerally, leading 1uestions are not allowed in direct e0amination because these 1uestions suggest to the e0amining witness the answers that the e0amining party desires. Cowever, there are e0ceptions: *3 in cross6e0amination, ,3 preliminary matters, +3 when there is difficulty in getting an intelligible answer from a witness who is ignorant, feeble6minded or a child of tender years, and ;3 whenever the witness is an officer, director or agent of a corporation whether domestic or not or a partner in a partnership and the corporation or partnership is an adverse party to the case. :4III. -is!ea&in" . estions assume as true those facts not yet testified or those facts contrary to what the witness previously stated. )hey are not allowed in cross6 e0amination as well as in direct e0amination. Cowever, they can be

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allowed as when there was waiver or when the e0pert witness is given some hypothetical 1uestions by the e0amining party. $n e0ample of this 1uestion would be: DEou earlier testified that you were driving at a moderate speed, how fast were you drivingFG )he 1uestion is misleading because despite the previous declaration of the witness that he was only driving at a moderate pace, the e0amining counsel still mad it appear otherwise. If the o#$ection was o)err !e& by the 'udge, the lawyer should still be a gentleman and behave in a proper and modest manner. Ce should conduct himself in a way that is more or less appropriate with the most noble profession in the world. %urthermore, the lawyer should always remember that he himself is an officer if the court. Ees, the document may be with&rawn or e0cluded. )his is not prohibited since the document has not been formally offered yet. )he withdrawal is allowed whenever the proponent finds no more use for the document. $lso when the document has been lost or destroyed without bad faith on the part of the proponent, the subse1uent withdrawal may be allowed. )he proponent of the withdrawal can as the court before the presentation of the evidence. Arrai"n+ent is the formal mode of implementing the constitutional right of the accused to be informed of the nature of the accusation against him. It is conducted before the court where the complaint or information has been filed or assigned for trial. It is done in open court by the 'udge or cler by furnishing the accused a copy of the complaint or information reading it in a language or dialect nown to him and as ing him whether he pleads guilty or not. 7oth the arraignment and plea shall be made of record but failure to enter of record shall not affect the validity of the proceedings. It is done within +< days from ac1uisition of 'urisdiction over the person of the accused. Exc! sion o( witnesses: /itnesses who are not testifying but present in Court is not allowed because the witness who us 'ust there to watch the case and is not yet in turn to testify may concoct stories or connive with other parties or change statements. )he rules on e0clusion are not applicable when the witness is an e0pert or the witness is the complainant or accused himself. )he court cannot prevent the accused nor the complainant to be present in court because their presence is important to the trial and to conduct fair trial. ,e+ rrer is a motion that may be filed by the defendant or the accused see ing

the dismissal of the action on the ground of insufficiency of evidence, or that upon the facts and the law the plaintiff has shown no right to relief. In a civil case, the defendant may file a demurrer after the plaintiff has completed the presentation of his evidence. In a criminal case, demurrer may be after the prosecution rests its case. If made with leave, it must be filed within a non6 e0tendible period of ? days after the prosecution rests its case. ::I4. In a ci)i! case, leave of court is not re1uired before filing a demurrer. In a cri+ina! case, a demurrer is filed with or without leave of court. In a civil case, the 1uantum of evidence considered to grant or deny the demurrer is a mere preponderance of evidence. In a criminal case, proof beyond reasonable doubt is considered. In a civil case, if a demurrer is granted, the order of dismissal is appealable while it is not appealable if granted in a criminal case because of the constitutional policy against double 'eopardy. In a civil case, if the demurrer is denied, the defendant may proceed to present his evidence while in a criminal case, the accused may proceed to produce his evidence only if the demurrer is filed with leave of court. In a civil case, if the demurrer is granted but later reversed on appeal, the defendant loses his right to present evidence. In a criminal case, if the demurrer is denied, the accused waives his right to present evidence if the demurrer is filed without leave of court. ::4. $ +otion to . ash is a motion that may be filed by an accused, at any time before entering his plea, to void or nullify the complaint or information filed against him. It must be in writing, signed by the accused or his counsel and shall distinctly specify its factual and legal grounds. )he grounds are: a. )hat the facts charged do not constitute an offense b. )hat the court trying the case has no 'urisdiction over the offense charged c. )hat the court trying the case has no 'urisdiction over the person of the accused d. )hat the officer who filed the information had no authority to do so e. )hat it does not conform substantially to the prescribed form f. )hat more than one offense is charged e0cept when a single punishment for various offenses is prescribed by law g. )hat the criminal action or liability has been e0tinguished h. )hat it contains averments which, if true, would constitute a legal e0cuse or 'ustification i. )hat the accused has been previously

convicted or ac1uitted of the offense charged, or the case against him was dismissed or otherwise terminated without his e0press consent. )he court shall consider no ground other than those stated in the motion, e0cept lac of 'urisdiction over the offense charged. If the motion to 1uash is sustained, the court may order that another complaint or information be filed e0cept if the motion is based on the ground that the criminal action or liability has been e0tinguished, or that the accused has been previously convicted or ac1uitted of the offense charged, or the case against him was dismissed or otherwise terminated without his e0press consent. If the order is made, the accused, if in custody, shall not be discharged unless admitted to bail. If no order is made or if having been made, no new information is filed within the time specified in the order or within such further time as the court may allow for good cause, the accused, if in custody, shall be discharged unless he is also in custody for another charge. )he failure of the accused to assert any ground of a motion to 1uash before he pleads to the complaint or information, either because he did not file a motion to 1uash or failed to allege the same in said motion, shall be deemed a waiver of any ob'ection e0cept those based on: a. %ailure to charge an offense b. (ac of 'urisdiction over the offense c. &0tinction of criminal liability d. #ouble 'eopardy ::4I. O#!i"ations an& ri"hts o( a witness : $s a rule, a witness has an obligation to answer 1uestions, although his answer may tend to establish a claim against him. It is the right of a witness: a. )o be protected from irrelevant, improper or insulting 1uestions and from harsh or insulting demeanor b. >ot to be detained longer than the interests of 'ustice re1uire c. >ot to be e0amined e0cept only as to matters pertinent to the issue d. >ot to give an answer which will tend to sub'ect him to a penalty for an offense unless otherwise provided by law e. >ot 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. 7ut a witness must answer to the fact of his previous final conviction for an offense ::4II. $fter the e0amination of a witness by both sides has been concluded, the witness cannot be reca!!e& without leave of court. )he court will grant or withhold leave in its discretion, as the

interests of 'ustice may re1uire. ::4III. Res inter a!ios acta a!teri nocere non &e#et literally means that Dthings done between strangers ought not to in'ure those who are not parties to themG. In the Rules of Court, res inter alios acta is e0pressed in two rules: a. )he rights of a party cannot be pre'udiced by an act, declaration or omission of another 2e0cept as provided in the Rules such as admission by a co6partner or agent, admission by conspirator, admission by privies and admission by silence3 b. &vidence that one did or did not do a certain thing at one time is not admissible to prove that he did or did not do the same or similar thing at another time; but it may be received to prove a specific intent or nowledge, identity, plan, system, scheme, habit, custom, usage and the li e ::I:. $s a general rule, opinion of a witness is not admissible. Cowever, the rule is sub'ect to , e0ceptions: a. 9pinion of an e0pert witness or an opinion of a witness on a matter re1uiring special nowledge, s ill, e0perience or training which he is shown to possess b. 9pinion of an ordinary witness, for which proper basis is given, regarding: i. )he identity of a person about whom he has absolute nowledge ii. $ handwriting with which he has sufficient familiarity iii. )he mental sanity of a person with whom he is sufficiently ac1uainted iv. Cis impressions of the emotion, behavior, condition or appearance of a person :::. $s a general rule, character e)i&ence is not admissible in evidence. Cowever, the rule has e0ceptions: a. In criminal cases: i. )he accused may prove his good moral character which is pertinent to the moral trait involved in the offense charged ii. @nless in rebuttal, the prosecution may not prove his bad moral character which is pertinent to the moral trait involved in the offense charged iii. )he good or bad moral character of the offended party may be proved if it tends to establish in any reasonable degree the probability or improbability

of the offense charged b. In civil cases: &vidence of the moral character of a party in a civil case is admissible only when pertinent to the issue of character involved in the case. &vidence of good character of a witness is admissible when such character has been impeached :::I. Rule *+,, !ec. **. I+peach+ent of adverse party5s witness . $ witness may be impeached by the party against whom he was called, by contradictory evidence, by evidence that his general reputation for truth, honesty or integrity is bad, or by evidence that he has made at other times statements inconsistent with his present testimony, but not by evidence of particular wrongful acts, e0cept that it may be shown by the e0amination of the witness, or the record of the 'udgment, that he has been convicted of an offense. :::II. Rule *+,, !ec. *,. Party may not i+peach his own witness . &0cept with respect to unwilling or hostile witnesses or a witness who is an adverse party of an officer, director or managing agent of a public or private corporation or of a partnership or association which is an adverse party, the party producing a witness is not allowed to impeach his credibility. $ witness may be considered as unwilling or hostile only if so declared by the court upon ade1uate showing of his adverse interest, un'ustified reluctance to testify, or his having misled the party into calling him to the witness stand. )he unwilling or hostile witness so declared, or the witness who is an adverse party, may be impeached by the party presenting him in all respects as if he had been called by the adverse party, e0cept by evidence of his bad character. Ce may also be impeached and cross6e0amined by the adverse party, but such cross6 e0amination must only be on the sub'ect matter of his e0amination6in6chief. :::III. Rule *+,, !ec. *+ . 7efore a witness can be impeached by evidence that he has made at other times state+ents inconsistent with his present testimony, the statements must be related to him, with the circumstances of the times and places and the persons present, and he mush be as ed whether he made such statements, and if so, allowed to e0plain them. If the statements be in writing, they must be shown to the witness before any 1uestion is put to him concerning them.

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