guide questions in evidence examination

PART 1.Answer the following questions briefly and concisely.

1.The day following the killing, accused were brought to the Police Headquarters. On the way to the crime laboratory, one of them told the police escort that he had a gun in his house which the police lost no time in retrieving. He also told the police that he fired the gun on the night of the incident. Ballistic showed that the slug recovered from the head of the victim was fired from the gun surrendered by accused.

Issue: Considering that accused made the admission without counsel, are his admissions competent evidence?

2.Accused was charged with murder. To prove that he fired a gun, the prosecution presented the results of a paraffin test which showed that his hand was positive for nitrates or nitrites.

Issue:What is the value of the paraffin test as evidence?

3.The lessor issued a receipt which reads:

            “Received from Mr. Condrado O. Colarina the sum of Forty Thousand (P40,000.00) as advanced deposit, to answer for any rental which Mr. Conrado Colarina may fail to pay during the term of the lease as per contract, dated 26^th day of May, 1987 notarized before Notary Public Oscar Villamora, Doc. No. 398; Page No. 80; Book No. 9, series of 1987, this 26^th day of May, 1987, at Naga City.”

            In a subsequent litigation involving the lease contract, however, the lessor presented witnesses to show that the P40,000.00 is merely “goodwill money.”

Issue:In case of conflict between oral testimony and documentary evidence, which should prevail?

4.Accused was convicted of raping his own daughter and was sentenced to death. Among those who testified against him was his own 8-year old son and half-brother of the victim.

Issue:Is Elven competent to testify?

5.Accused was convicted of statutory rape for having sexual intercourse with a mental retardate. During trial, no expert testimony or a psychiatric evaluation of the complainant to determine if her mental age is under 12 was presented. Instead, it was the mother of the victim who testified on the mental condition of the victim.

Issue:Is her testimony admissible to prove the mental condition of her daughter?

6.Apuyan filed a case for quieting of title a piece of land claimed by Haldeman. For his defense, Haldeman presented a duly notarized Pacto de Retro Sale executed by the fater of Apuyan in 1944 in favor of Segundo Dador. He also offered in evidence an Affidavit of Consolidation of Ownership executed by Dador in 1949. For his part, Apuyan claims that the documents are fictitious document.

Issue:What weight should be given to the documents as evidence?

7.Accused were charged of the complex crime of robbery with homicide. Among the evidence submitted against them were a gun, five (5) bullets and a magazine taken from them by the police at the time of their arrest. Allegedly, they were obtained during a warrantless arrest. When they were offered by the prosecution, however, accused failed to challenge their admissibility.

Issue:Are the exhibits admissible?

8.Two witnesses testified against the accused in a murder case and afterwards they retracted their testimonies. One of them was able to affirm his Affidavit of Retraction, but the other died before he could be recalled to the witness stand.

Issue:What is the value of retraction as evidence?

9.Accused was convicted of murder. While he alleged that he was at the scene of the incident and he participated in some aspects of the fight, he denied that he had anything to do with the death of the victim.

Issue:What weight should be given to his denial?

10.Pena was a Regional Trial Court clerk. She was administratively charged with neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service arising from her act of hiding cases and pleadings to prevent their discovery during an inventory.

Issue:What degree of proof is required to prove her guilt?

PART II

1.The general rule is that the extrajudicial confession or admission of one accused is admissible only against the said accused but is inadmissible against the other accused. The same rule applies if the extrajudicial confession is made by one accused after the conspiracy has ceased. State the exception to this rule.

2. In cases where the victim could not testify on the actual commission of the rape because she was rendered unconscious at the time the crime was perpetrated, can the accused be still convicted of rape? What rules of evidence are applicable when met with this particular prosecutorial deficiency?

3. In a case for property heirship, the alleged niece testified about her ‘being a niece” to the decedent. She testified that allegedly, her deceased childless Aunt, the owner of the property in questions, since her lifetime had always declared her as her niece, who would be capacitated to inherit her property. The adverse party claims that it is hearsay evidence, and hence inadmissible.The Judge sustained the objection. Is the Judge Correct?

4. The general rule is that documents not formally offered in evidence cannot be considered by the court. State at least three exceptions of that rule.

5. What do you mean by the “ancient document rule”? What are the requisites?

 

6. To prove New York law and jurisprudence on damages, defendants presented the affidavit of Alyssa Walden, a New York attorney. The affidavit discussed various court decisions copies of which were attached to the affidavit. Is it sufficient as proof of foreign law?

 

7. Macagaling was charged with illegally possessing an unlicensed firearm.The prosecution did not obtain a certification from the Firearms and Explosive Office that he had no license.Under Sec. 2, Rule 131 of the 1964 Rules on Evidence, however, it was provided that: In criminal cases the burden of proof as to the offense lies on the prosecution. A negative fact alleged by the prosecution need not be proved unless it is an essential ingredient of the offense charged. Under the revised rules however, the second sentence was deleted.With the omission, must the prosecution still prove that the accused had not license to possess the firearm?

 

8. Robert Te was murdered. A suspect Famon was arrested and confessed to the crime incriminating Dulang and Feras. According to him, in his affidavit, sworn before a Judge, he was hired by Dulang and Feras to kill Te.

Issue: What is the effect of Famon's confession? Is the confession made by Famon binding on Dulang and Feras?

9. .How would you state your objections to the following:

A) : “You stated in your last testimony that you saw A driving the car, why are you now insisting that A was not driving”, when what the witness had merely said was that he had seen A seated on the front seat of the vehicle.

B) : Does ABC or did ABC produce the goods that your company was intending to buy?

C) “Tell us in your own words, what happed?”

d) “How is it that you can recollect a date as long ago as that and you cannot remember the day of the week?”

E) : “Did you know that the accused had been beating his wife nightly?:, when there is no prior evidence that such was the case. Or if the accused is the one asked: “When did you stop beating your wife?”, when there is no evidence that he had been beating his wife.

10. Explain the following terms: (a) adoptive admission (b) interlocking confessions (c) previous conduct as evidence (d) totality of circumstances test (e) chain of custody rule.