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Third Pillar of Criminal Justice System
Third Pillar of Criminal Justice System
Adjudicatory Powers
(Court) to settle actual controversies involving rights which are
legally demandable and enforceable; and
Judicial determination of the guilt or innocence of the accused is to determine whether there has been grave abuse or
under consideration discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the
Legal basis part of any branch or instrumentality of the government
Section 1, Art. VIII of the 1987 Constitution: 3. Incidental Powers- necessary to the effective discharge of the
judicial functions
“The judicial powers shall be vested in one Supreme Court and
such lower courts as may be established by law” Functions of the Court
The application for or admission to bail shall not bar the accused g. g. Unless a shorter period is provided by special law or
from : Supreme Court, the arraignment shall be held within thirty
(30) days from the date the court acquires jurisdiction over
1. challenging the validity of his arrest the person of the accused.
2. challenging the legality of the warrant issued Plea of guilty to a lesser offense
4. questioning the absence of a preliminary investigation of The accused, with the consent of the offended party and
the charge against him prosecutor, may be allowed by the trial court to plead guilty
to a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the
Arraignment and Plea offense charged.
Arraignment After arraignment but before trial
statement of the charges against someone who is The accused may still be allowed to plead guilty to said
accused of a crime in a formal procedure before a judge lesser offense after withdrawing his plea of not guilty
Plea *No amendment of the complaint or information is necessary
a statement in which a person who has been accused of a Plea of guilty to capital offense
crime says in court that he or she is guilty or not guilty of
the crime The court shall conduct a searching inquiry into the voluntariness
and full comprehension of the consequences of his plea and shall
How are arraignments and pleas made? require the prosecution to prove his guilt and precise degree of
culpability
a. The accused must be arraigned before the court where the
complaint or information was filed or assigned for trial. The accused may present evidence in his behalf
b. The accused must be present at the arraignment and must Plea of guilty to non-capital offense
personally enter his plea.
The court may receive evidence from the parties to determine the
c. When the accused refuses to plead or makes a conditional penalty to be imposed
plea, a plea of not guilty shall be entered for him
Withdrawal of improvident plea of guilty
d. When the accused pleads guilty but presents exculpatory
evidence, his plea shall be deemed withdrawn and a plea At any time before the judgment of conviction becomes final, the
of not guilty shall be entered for him. court may permit an improvident plea of guilty to be withdrawn and
be substituted by a plea of not guilty
*If the accused files application for probation, the judgment becomes final e. That it does not conform substantially to the prescribed form
because the filing of the application under Probation Law is a waiver of the
right to appeal. Hence, subsequent withdrawal of an alleged improvident f. That more than one offense is charged except when a single
plea of guilty is no longer allowed. punishment for various offenses is prescribed by law;
Duty of the court to inform accused of his right to counsel g. g. That the criminal action or liability has been extinguished;
Before arraignment, the court shall inform the accused of his right h. h. That it contains averments which, if true, would constitute a legal
to counsel and ask him if he desires to have one. excuse or justification;
The court must assign a counsel de officio to defend the accused i. i. That the accused has been previously convicted or acquitted of
except: the offense charged, or the case against him was dismissed or
otherwise terminated without his express consent
a. If the accused is allowed to defend himself in person; or
Effect of the failure to move to quash or to allege any ground
b. If the accused has employed counsel of his choice
The failure of the accused to assert any ground of a motion to
Suspension of arraignment quash before he pleads to the complaint or information shall be
deemed a waiver of any objections except those based on the
Upon motion by the proper party, the arraignment shall be grounds provided for in paragraphs (a), (b), (g), and (i).
suspended in the following cases:
Effect of sustaining the motion to quash
a. The accused appears to be suffering from an unsound
mental condition which effectively renders him unable to If the motion to quash is sustained, the court may order that
fully understand the charge against him and to plead another complaint or information be filed except as provided under
intelligently thereto; Section 6 of the Rules of Court
b. There exists a prejudicial question; and If the order is made
c. A petition for review of the resolution of the prosecutor is The accused, if in custody, shall not be discharged unless
pending at either the Department of Justice, or the Office of admitted to bail
the President provided that the period of suspension shall
not exceed 60 days. If no order is made or if having been made
Grounds: An order sustaining the motion to quash is not a bar to another prosecution
for the same offense unless the motion was based on the grounds specified
a. That the facts charged do not constitute an offense; in Sections 3 paragraphs (g) and (i) of the Rules of Court
b. That the court trying the case has no jurisdiction over the offense Application of the principle of Double Jeopardy
charged;
c. That the court trying the case has no jurisdiction over the person of
the accused; When a person is charged with an offense and the case is
terminated either by acquittal or conviction or in any other manner
d. That the officer who filed the information had no authority to do so
without the express consent of the accused, the latter cannot again limit the trial to matters not disposed of;
be charged with the same or identical offense
control the course of the trial; and
The guarantee protects the accused against the perils of a second
punishment as well as a second trial for the same offense unless modified by the court, to prevent manifest injustice
The conviction of the accused shall not be a bar to another After a plea of not guilty is entered, the accused shall have at least
prosecution under any of the following instances: 15 days to prepare for trial.
a. The graver offense developed due to supervening facts The trial shall commence within 30 days from the receipt of the
arising from the same act or omission constituting the pre-trial order.
former charge; Continuous trial until terminated
b. The facts constituting the graver charge became known or The trial once commence shall continue from day to day as far as
were discovered only after a plea was entered in the practicable until terminated
former complaint or information
It may be postponed for a reasonable period of time for good cause
c. The plea of guilty to the lesser offense was made without
the consent of the prosecutor and of the offended party The court shall set the case for continuous trial on a weekly or
except as provided in Section 1 paragraph (f) of Rule 116 other short-term trial calendar at the earliest possible time
of the Rules of Court
The entire trial shall not exceed 180 days except as otherwise
Agreements and admissions in Pre-Trial authorized by the Supreme Court
Shall be reduced in writing and signed by the accused and counsel, Periods of delays which are excluded in computing the time within
otherwise, they cannot be used against the accused. which trial must commence
Non-appearance at pre-trial conference a. Any period of delay resulting from other proceedings concerning
the accused, including but not limited to the following:
If the counsel or the prosecutor does not appear at the pre-trial
conference and does not offer an acceptable excuse for his lack of 1. Delay resulting from an examination of the physical and
cooperation, the court may impose proper sanctions or penalties. mental condition of the accused;
Pre-Trial Order 2. Delay resulting from the proceedings with respect to other
criminal charges against the accused;
After the pre-trial conference, shall issue an order
3. Delay resulting from extraordinary remedies against
Content of the pre-trial order interlocutory orders;
actions taken; 4. Delay resulting from pre-trial proceedings provided, that
facts stipulated; and the delay does not exceed 30 days;