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    CONTENTS Legal Writing... Scope of Legal Writing. Aims ofthe Book The Legal Dispute Meaning of Legal Dispute... Us Significance in Legal Writing. Lgal Dispute and The Principal lsu. Importance of Principal Issue... Stages of Writing, Two Stages of Legal Waiting Value of Pre- Work. Getting at the Fact of the Case - Facts of a Case. Random Notes versus SUMIMaLY senna Facts Seen through the Issue. Cuttered Facts Relevant Facts Extracted Facts Set in Sequence Writing Exercises. The Case ofa Child and a Neighbor's Dog Knowing the Applicable Law or Rule. Sources of Law or Rule Issues in Multiple Legal Disputes. Scanned by CamScanner Jump O4 Points 101 Thrve Statements of an Argument 2 Persuasive Anguments Convincing Rule Statement. Convincing Fact Statement Correct Conclusion Statement Positioning Variation .. Building Blocks of Arguments. Omitted Statement Closing Statement... Writing Exercises... ‘Tightening Your Work. Language Problems Needless Words Active verous Passive Voice a2 a2 lS. at ‘Abstract versus Concrete Writing ‘Substitute Names . Scanned by CamScanner Writing Exercise omen 418, Writing Legal Opinions tthustrative Case: Chas » Ce 14, Writing Teial Memoranda Case: Maranan Gonzalo Realty Mustrative 5 IMlusteative Case: Excl Corp fimenes Writing Exercises 16, Weitinga Decision ~ Mustrative Case: Hudson Power Corp. x. Nemo Shipping Writing Exercises « — cet t or so rae ere fereearte ‘Appendix D— ‘This edition indudes pointers ‘in answering law school and bar ramination questions, Scanned by CamScanner Legal Writing Scope of Logal Wilting This book is about the things that lawyers write to win others over to their point of view. If you were a practicing lawyer, you would be doing a lot of this kind of work. Forinstance, when your client say, a restaurant owner, writes to you regarding the threat of a possible lawsuit from a customer who was taken ill after eating in your client's restourant, you may have to write him back, giving him your views regarding his probable liability based on the facts he ills you. This legal writing When the case gets to court. you would be filing a number of pleadings like an answer tothe customer's complaint. denying your clients liability or minimizing it. Further down the road, you would probably file for him assorted pleadings, motions, oppositions, replies, wjoinders, memoranda, and other papers. These are legal writings. ‘And if you were to be the judge, who is also a lawyer, and must decide the case, you would have to put your decision in writing, announce its results, and reveal to the parties your reasons for the decision. Under our laws, the parties are entitled to know why they won or lost a case. The strength of your decision lies in the validity and. persuasiveness of the opinion Supporting it. This, fo, is legal writing. But legal writing does not only begin when you pass the bar As law students, you begin to churn out some form of legal writing once youenter law school. When you digest cases, answer examination questions, and write your thesis or any other paper Scanned by CamScanner FUNDAMENTALSOF LEGAL WRITING qual legal writing, smn wiin puri rac ie shay ed way —. nsweriNg, ‘your law school exams are Lorber me Coon a ee pra ee i reament or principles of law that resolve the issues anger issue ‘Aims of the Book of this book is fo help you write plea i Princip am pemoranda’ and other position papers, ga ion to win overs to your paint of Se a on a rom long the geneal structure of vi rest wet tis ack will o mone 5 entity and put together the ‘One. This book will help you ks a eee asaril ‘which the issues of a case ae Tac came wih he octal vies involved, or simply examine! peri ica far rm organized sup with fa vant He who able to extract and organize the relevant saa have the advantage of arguing fom unchtered tath. You ean get there if you persevere in the lessons = bel find the law or rule that ‘This book wil also help you find the ln orale applere your case given the nature ofthe egal disputelinvolved. we ‘will discover that laws are not Cony Orn ne ted | by oe stated legislative bodies called “sla = lau ted it from jaca precedents, where courts vey tte n these apply to speciicases This body of laws seeped to as "case law.” Your knowledge ofthe law involved in your cae both statute law and case law, must complement your koowiedge ofthe fats to prepare you forthe job of writing ‘Speruadeyeur wader to your pont of view. Tare, Ths book wil help you corey identify the nave ‘or asues ina case. Te issue does for an opinion or a pleading ‘what the rudder does for a ship. If you argue the wrong issue, it ICAL WRITING a‘ would be like pointing your rudder to the wrong direct rudder to the wrong ditection such that your angunert wold nt tuch pert and tele ase presents, When this happens, your case would be decide on an isue that you chose not to be heard on. You can Four. This book will help you pack power into your arguments I wil show you the elements 4 Baned Presentation of those arguments and what takes to destroy the argument of the opposite side while building up your own. It will also show you the importance of a closing statement and how you could proparea most effective one. Five. This book will show you how to edit your work. Sighten your sentences, and make your witing come through to your reader clearly. A numberof legal writing prescriptions in {his book may appear controversial to some but controversies ‘initiate discussion and the free marketplace of ideas always profits from it. All that is required isan open mind. “ Six. This book aims to help you write better. Some say that ss soerney real ure te Sonate ‘This might be true, But the fact that you have gotten this fa in your studies gives you the right to assume that you have the gift tw write. All you have todo now is improve on your gift Master a few refurbished techniques collected in this book and you are on your way to preparing adequate, clear, and convincing pleadings, legal opinions, memoranda, and other position papers. Of course, the greatest secret of success in ‘writing wells in constantly striving to use what you learn. They will not work unless you put them into practice. ‘And beyond practice, tobe a good a writer one must be a prolific reader. Learn the styles of effective writers such as best selling authors, opinion writers, and respectable journalists During your stay in law school you are forced to absorb the writing style used in laws and jurisprudence, which may seem impressive but not the mest effective way of communication. This book will encourage you to view legal writing as. a ‘communication skill as much as an advocacy ski. Scanned by CamScanner 2 The Legal Dispute |A legal dispute lies atthe heart of every case. In fact, most of your writing assignments as a lawyer would probably be devoted to anguing and resolving such a dispute. Meaning of Legal Dispute For the purpose ofthis book, there is Tegal dispute when one party complains ofa violation of his right by another who, fon the other hand, denies such a violation. A legal dispute in this sense is akin fo a cause of action in a civil suit in which the defendant denies the claim against him. It is this denial that tenders a legal dispute. When a person renting an apartment allegedly could not pay the agreed monthly rents yet refuses to leave his unit, a Fegal dispute arses. This consists of a) the apartment owner's claim thatthe tenant fails to pay the agreed monthly rents and ‘must leave his unit; and (b) the tenant's denial of the claim and insistence to retain the unit. You have in this case a right protected by law, an alleged violation of such right, and a denial ‘tthe allegaion—a legal dispate. ‘The right claimed to have been violated must of course be 4 legal right since courts will uphold and vindicate only those rights that are established or recognized by law. For instance, a Filipino may claim that he deserves to be allowed to travel to the United States. But, i the US. embassy denies him the visa required for entry into that country, he cannot file a lawsuit to Compe ts sare since Philippine las do nt grant him tat right. Lew the than English be mage a nd that Filipino rather levels of education isnot g pmatY Medium of instrinog et senescent akg fap on BR ite el te SNE seat iO oe eh What the legal dis M pul when a Tt? The legal dispute lis ine (eh, ‘over the demay Rolex watch to him for the price decane dona ort eg 7 Bouin ean he ts Signitcance in Legal Writing yi inprtnt nea writin oon ‘ential tei aca ee ane oe ispute could properly end 's at the heart of every case subject of kal vn i ke a tumor that would not go away’ until it fs excised. Consequently. if you fail to correctly dently the legal dispute and addres it, you would just be running sreund {in circles, contributing nothing to its final termination. That 13 hhow important itis! Scanned by CamScanner . FUNDAMENTALS OFLECAL WRITING Lega Dispute and the Principal lnsue sasarale the legal dapat, recast in the format of an iu, ene pice nim every ease. abe aes Prete tenant who could not pay the ‘monthly rents yet OL cs apartment we We aid that he legal dispute reise in a) the apartment owner's claim that the tenant fails cat i monly rents and ut eave bait and () topay the ale the aim and insistence ortan the art the rant at ofan wor, the principal iow I whether or Par chile to pay the monthly rent mat Teave fhe apartment wit” races the cate of the person who refuses to pay his debt Whe al he legal dispute es i) the creditor» claim that ea tha them pay Lue 2 rosary the date wm vr ofthe creditor and (the debtors seth Pa claim. Rewrten inthe format ofan issue the dere on a "ether oF nat the debtor wndly refasee nt debt under promissory note that he issued in favor of the credito in the criminal case discussed above, we said that the legal dupe const (2) the State's charge thatthe scrusad sexs ake complainant by selling a fake Rolex watch to him Sea ice oa genuine one; and () the accused's deal of the toe Recast as an sve, the principal isue is “whether or not Tree ed defrauded the complainant by selling a fake Rolex teatch to him forthe price of a genuine one.” ‘What docs the legal dispute consists of when a building ofa! mses tents oer en vecupency permit fora building with inadequate Jrine NcconsiatsoF (athe complainant's claim that respondent [rilding offical issued tothe owner an occupancy permit for a ding with inadequate fre exits in violation of Section 3b) of Republic Act 3019; and (b) the respondent's denial ofthat claim. ‘Transformed into an issue, the principal issue is “whether oF not rcopondent building official isued to the owner an occupancy permit covering 2 building that has inadequate fire exits in Violation of Section 3b) of Republic Act 3019. Scanned by CamScanner 3. Stages of Writing vhen methodically done, is much like a sing, tte oe a ‘materials: oa. sort them out cut them t size, and join them puter according to lan. Before you end, you then give your balding the finishing work it requires ‘Two Stages of Legal Writing opal ting ao maves inset has Wo main ages ia rework Here youre at the beginning The Fn Sg rc ane are ioking tthe facts and : ee of the case as they are made available to you. If itis a vevr ace, the facts might come from interviews of the persons ne ae peblen x fom elated documents that require serine. These materials would be absolutely raw. Quite often, soring These mutcmponantevensteok place are mixed up.On aa ie tmp cae hathae undergone al, you might be looking atthe transcript of the testimonies of witnesses and the documentary exhibits presented in the case. Prewor isa pcs Whatever your assignment might be, ‘your pre-work would be inadequate unless you go through at ies fe levels offs 1, Establishing where the egal dispute ies in the case; 2. Discovering its relevant facts; 3. Knowing the laws or rules that apply to it; STAG WHEN: 4. Identifying the issue or issues that you would ad Me yo ress; 5. Roughing out the arguments that you would use. The Second Stage is Write-up. Here, having all the ideas you need conceming your legal writing assignment. your task is toput flesh, color, and shape'to them. You will now transform the sketches and outlines you produced during pre-wotk into a full draft ofthe paper requimed of you—a pleading, a legal opinion, a petition, a comments memorandum, a postion paper, oreven a decision. Editing and rewriting will complete the write-up stage Value of Pro-work Most haphazardly finished legal writing can be traced to lack of pre-work or to pre-work hastily done. The need for pre-work is true forall kinds of presentations that are aimed to sonvince others toa certain point of view. A successful salesman needs to have a complete knowledge and mastery of his product, all its good points and bad. With this edge, he can then develop is sales pitch or the line of arguments he could draw from. polish them to perfection, and make a sale. In a real sense, legal ‘writing isa sort of presentation. The lawyer should be able to make 4 convincing presentation of his case in the limited time that he is able to hold his reader's attention, To succeed in this, the lawyer needs pre-work Lack of time to do pre-work, a frequent excuse, cannot be 4 valid justification for dispensing with one. The writer who settles for an opinion, pleading, or position paper not based ‘on pre-work does not care about the comprehensiveness and convincing quality of his work. He just submits his work to his clientor tothe court forthe sake of meeting the deadline given to him. He does not care about its result. This attitude, however, is the reason behind many failed egal writings and careers. You do. ‘ot want this. Scanned by CamScanner 4 Geoting atthe Facts of the C280 Almost yo legs: (1) the esi tan on 140 le en a int ese, rework aw fea geng hc at ah Facts of a Case ns ou shoul not eave vs sty at of 3, 08 shal at if ethane come toa comple undestanding of what sem nl creme enya ableWeamine src ofthe oppsteside ut a you have amined To oa ne trl be able to tell the ater that you know of your cl you wou ss You shrtchange our lent second ee en Pt wn ou say cboshng ihe content ibe a tan goed ol ery pod Random Notes versus Summary ‘One way to study case materialsis to make short random of the facts of the cae thst you consider important as you go over them. This is a good practice. But purely random notes do not sive you the complete picture. Because they are random, they are often uncorrelated and are, therefore, useful only for work done in onesitting, When you se aside your work and return toit after ‘long duration, your random notes would have lost their correct ‘meaning and you have to start all over again. You would never be able to use these incomplete notes as a permanent catalogue GETTING AT TH FACTS CF THE CASE 0 of the facts that you want to go back to repeatedly at various stages ofthe proceedings in a cave What you need is systematically prepared notes. that adequately capture the enti factual erin the case th the important points properly marked out. Studies in some English colleges show that there sa betier way than taking random notes, for absorbing complex or difficult texts or written materials. It ‘You can best understand and absorb written materials when you summarize their contents. Your summary serves a8 a detailed map in your hand, able to guide you in negotiating your way through the dispute involved, ‘Summarizing to compress the information you need, forces yyouto search your materials for what is important. It compels ou to toss an item of fact over in your mind, assess its importance and relevance to the issues in the case, and decide whether 4 ‘ep it in o throw it out of your summary. When you come to an iter of fact and ask yourself, What isthe significance ofthis fact to this case?” you begin to wonder. Then, all your accumulated knowledge and experience bear on that item of fact and, usually, your mind produces the right answer Facts seen through the Issue ‘When handling anew case, whatever stage you may find, ‘you need to go over the materials very quickly and determine Brelloinarily the principal issue or issues involved in the ease, ‘Thatis yourkey topre-work. Only when youhave anideaof what the principal issue is, could you makea good job of extracting the relevant facts from your materials ina classroom experiment, the professor asked the students to do pre-work by carefully reading the following facts about a case: The Beers War Ailas Brewery Company discovered that distributors of San Manuel Brewery in Metro ‘Manila had in their warehouses hundreds of cases Scanned by CamScanner FUNDAMENTALSOF LEGAL WRITING of empty beer boitles owned by Atlas Brewery. The stem Seine Ale Bon, he the empty bottles from retailers to reduce the volume of sales of Atlas beer in their areas. The San Manuel beer distributors claimed, on the other hand, that they merely retaliated against Atlas beer distributors who had been buying and destroying the empty bottes of San Manuel beer in their areas. A law student, Fred Sanchez, complained that when he drank beer with friends one evening in June ata restaurant near his school, he found a cockroach in the bottle of San Manuel beer that he had drunk from, He vomited upon such discovery and suffered anxiety over fear that he would get sick. He got angry with the restaurant owner for serving the beer and threw the bottle with the pest in it at him, causing injury on the owner's head. The restaurant owner blamed San Manuel Brewery for the incident and sued it. San Manuel Brewery, on the other hand, blamed Atlas Brewery and its distributors for tampering with its products. Fred Sancher and his friends created a lot of noise about poisoned San Manuel beer product and initiated a boycott of those products. Their action found them friends from among the Atlas Brewery distributors. ‘After the students read the above, they were asked to write in one sentence a comprehensive summary of what the case is all about. They were to complete the sentence: “The case is about...” Stop reading after this paragraph for a moment and try to complete the sentence yourself without re-reading, the facts. “The case is about ‘The students gave a variety of answers but most of them {gave the equivalent ofthe following summaries: 1. The case is about the struggle between San Manuel Brewery and Atlas Beer Company over the distribution of their competing products. (GETTING aT nar sACTSCE THE CASE » 2. The case is about how fierce competition i beer distribution could be very uly. 3. ‘The case is about a law student's crusade against unsafe products that come out of the market 4. The case is about tampering with boitled Products and the dangers it presents. Actually, the facts above spoke of only one “case” ever having developed among the parties involved. This is the lawsuit that the restaurant owner fled against San Manuel Brewery for the injury he suffered in the hands of an outraged customer whom he served with a pestladen bottle of beer. Did you go it right? Do not be discouraged i you did not. Very few Students perceived this detail because they did not know what was expected of them when they read the article the fist time. ‘The point in the exercise is that, not knowing what they are looking for, different people would tend to get different impressions out of the same material that they have read. in the exercise, it is only after reading the material are the students informed that they are to state what the “case” is about. Just how do you meke a complete summary from rae data? One ‘way is to take out the non-essential facts from your written materialslike contracts, deeds, letters, records, books, testimonies ‘or swom statements. Cross out those non-essential facts, leaving, only the essential ones on the page of each document or paper. Consider this problem asked in a bar examination. The examiner probably picked up the facts from the syllabus of the case and 30 indiscriminately copied a lot of details that are not essential to the Section 10 of Ordinance No. 105 of Tagaytay provides that atleast 5% ofthe total area of any rial park established within its jurisdiction I be set aside for charity burial of its pauper residents and that no permit to establish, operate, and ‘maintain a private memorial park shall be granted without the applicant's conformity or agreeing to Scanned by CamScanner FUNDAMENTALSOF LIGALWRITING tha iti within its ‘The City argues 1 powers to pass sid siesand Gut tae pects a valid exercise Piae, the same being intended for taken i for pull Jay to prove for he health eeesrety “of its inbabitants. ‘piscus the constitationality f 28id ordinance, isto make a short summary ofthe above by ech ey a awl ape ad os out every Word fem recess if you Mt gs having of use to You. What you ned thetext thal yo eproning knife As already stated, that pruning imo ue but your understanding of the principal tne is nothing resens- Only when you knOW that esue oF a isu at nliminar idea of what ti, could you do. correct sat rng way wales data to get the esata acts you feed sy inthe above problem, the bar examiner himself rem etn ermine ‘Sreiutonaly oft ordinance”, whether or nott violates soot that seeks to regulate—the right of the owner to his (ie PNow use thie osoe to prune nay the facts that are ot Movant toi. Consider the rst sentence of the problem: Section 10 of Ordinance No. 105 of Tagaytay City provides that atleast 5% of the total area of any memorial park established within its jurisdiction shall be set aside for charity burial of its pauper residents and that no permit establish, operate,and maintain a private memorial park shall be granted without the applicant's conformity or agreeing to such condition, Surely, the particular number of the ordinance involved (Ovdinane, No. 10), the parar number of the secon of the ordinance (Section 10), or the particular place where it was enacted (Tagaytay City) aro not relevant to the consitationaity of the ordinance. You will also note that some details of the quoted problem are superfluous. For instance ifthe kits taken ‘were to be “for charity burial” it would be superfluous to say {hati would benefit “pauper residents” Ais, in the phrase: ono mit to establish, operate, and maintain a priate memoril perk” wore th ad “manta sipertuoe eo operate” assumes these two terms, ‘The above sentence needed 63 words to describe the facts of the problem. By crossing out the unneeded facts, what remains ‘ould be summarized in only 26 words, less than half the original ‘number. Thus, rid of irrelevant details, your summary should read: Section-10-of Ordinance No-4@5-of-Tepeytey City provides that at least 5% of the totabarer of any. ‘memorial park extablished-within-its-juriediction shall be set aside for charity burial of ite-pruper no permit to establish; operateramd Inpractice, however, crossing out portions ofthe documents vill damage such documents and render them useless for other Purposes. Quite often, you need to preserve the documents in their original state. Your alternative sto go over them, identify those facts that are essential to your understanding of the issues in the case, and put those facts in your outline. Section 10 of Ordinance No. 105 of Tegaytay ity provides that at least 5% of the total area of any ‘memorial park established within its jurisdiction shall bbe set aside for charity bural of its pauper residents and that no permit to establish, operate, and maintain 4 private memorial park shall be granted without the applicants conformity or agreeing to such condition. Scanned by CamScanner KSIIY ER ea never pepartment Spe arid acs should ead ike this Farogee res memorial parks to give ices The iin a nda ses onion sey ed peri 10 OPEN tobeing eanted| smmariced in their barest essentials, it is ‘With the facts sUmmart plem in its simplest form. Do sor aus fr you 8 FP trate by unimportant and ou sete? You ga summary ofthe fact ofthe case you tacts Meat wil do the same fr you ots ‘uttared Facts -Asyou have ser its only when you know the principal lea of what it is about that yo a ee protiminary id sso o ate making a summary of the facts of 1 correct job of you could do er te fllowing testimonies, some conflicting, cose CProses in an actual rape case. The names have, of sien Ow thanged. To make the example simple for study, cour, bcp have been edited and the cross-examination by the trancer Pi els dispensed with. Go aver it once to enable you cere nae of what the suc or issues are between the pats. your ‘Transcript of Stenographiic Notes (TSN) October s (Abridged and edited for study) ‘COURT STAFF: (After swearing in the witness) ‘Slate your name and personal circumstances. WITNESS: Iam Julia Torres, eighteen years old, single,and aresidentof Barrio Talaan, Lian, Batangas. PROSECUTOR: With the Court's permission. Do you know Ronald Galang, the accused in this A. Yes,sir.Heisthere (pointing to the accused). Q. Why do you know him? A. He raped me. Q. Where did this happen? A. happened on the rice field near Mario's Q. How did Ronald rape you? A. 1 struggled to get free but he pointed 2 ‘knife at my side and threatened to atab me if called for help or persisted in fighting back. So what did you d ut of fear, | gave in and he raped me. ‘What did you do after Ronald raped yor {kept the matter to myself for a while. Why? rorere Because I was afraid of the trouble that will happen if my parents and brothers found out. They loved me so much. Q. For how long did you keep the matter to yourself? A. After two days of worrying and feeling bad, I finally told my aunt about it and she in turn told my parents, Q. What was the reaction of your parents? A. They were quite furious and wanted to take the matter into their own hands but cooler heads prevailed. Q. Sowhat did you do after that? ‘A. Twent to the police to complain. Q Is that all that you did? A. 1 also submitted myself to medical ‘examination. Scanned by CamScanner UNDAMENTALS OFLECAL @. When did Ronald rape you? ‘A. He raped me on June 12 at 7 p.m, (Q. How did you meet Ronald on June 122 ‘A. Lwenttothe house of Celia in our barig to attend a wedding party and I saw him there, Q Doyou have any relationship with Ronald? |A. None. He was only my suitor. Q. What were your feelings during the party? A. was in high spirit because I met a lot of friends and had a good time. yu recall any unusual thin, happened atthe wedding party? os ‘A. Someone exploded firecrackers nearby and this caused a scare for awhile. Q. You said that you saw your suitor, Ronald, at the party. Did you have occasion to talk to each other? A. He wanted to talk to me but I ignored him because I disliked him for a suitor. In fact, 1 stayed away from him. (Q. What happened after you ignored him? ‘A. The married couple danced after supper and people joined in. Q. What did you do after the dancing? ‘A. AUTL p.m. [took leave to go and started to ‘walk home alone in the moonlight. Q. Did anything unusual happen during your walk home? ‘A. When Iwas about fifty meters from Mario's house, Ronald came behind me and requested that he walk me home. GETTING AT THHEEACTSOF TMH CASE ” What was your reaction to him? ‘A. I really did not like him. 1 declined and doubled my steps. Q Sowhat happened after you walked faster? ‘A. Ronald caught my arm and wrestled me to the ground? Q._ What kind was the ground over there? ‘A. twas rough ground and dry. Q. What did Ronald do while your were down ‘on the ground? ‘A. He covered my mouth with a hand so I could not shout. He pointed a knife at me and forced ‘me to yield to him, Q. Did it not bother you that you left the ‘wedding party alone by yourseli? ‘A. No, siz. Walking alone did not bother me because I knew everyone in the barrio. Q. What route did you take going home? ‘A. took ashort cut across Mario’s farm, in the irection of our house, Q Can you describe the path that you took? ‘A. The path was quite uneven and difficult. Q. How was it? A. Twas used to it and I managed very well. PROSECUTOR: That is all. ee ‘Transcript of Stenographic Notes (TSN) October 12 (Abridged and edited for study) Scanned by CamScanner PUNDAMENTALSOF LEGAL WRITING 5: catter swearing in the witness) JURT STAPF: (After: on COURT STN tes rig WITNESS: Iam De Amado Amp of egal age "medical examiner forthe Province of aC JOSECUTOR: Have you ever examined a sone th nme of ula Toes? Yes, I examined Jolia Torres after she compined to te Usn police that she had been ‘Gped. It took her two days before reporting the incident. Q. Could you describe her physical built? ‘A. She was of small built 4 feet 11 inches in height and of fair complexion. (Q. What was your findingls! after conducting ‘4 medical examination of her? ‘A. I foand after examining her body that she suffered from laceration of the cervix posterior portion and laceration of the vaginal canal posterior Portion. The lacerations are about two days old. Q. Did you find any other injuries on her body? ‘A. None, sit. Q. Did you prepare a medical report showing such finding? ‘A. Yes, sic. This is my report. (Marked as Exhibit A) PROSECUTOR: That will be all. ‘Transcript of Stenographic Notes (TSN) October 16 (Abridged and edited for study) CCETIING AT THE PACTS OFTHE CASE a (COURT STAFF: (After swearing in the witness) ‘State your name and personal circumstances. WITNESS: I am Ronald Galang, twenty years old, single, and a resident of Barrio Talaan, Lian, Batangas. DEFENSE COUNSEL: With the Courts permission. Do you know the complainant in this ase, Ms, Julia Torres? AL Yes,sie Q She testified that you raped her, what can you say about that? A. 1did not rape Julia, Q. But did you have sexual relation with her ‘on the evening of June 12? ‘A. Yes six. But she freely agreed to make love with me that night of the wedding party at Celia’s house. Q. The medical examiner testiGed that she found lacerations on Julia's vaginal canal when he ‘examined her two days later. What can you say about that? A. Thatmust be true | discovered that evening that Julia was a virgin because she bled. It worried. ‘me but she said that it was not too painful. . Did you communicate with each other after that evening of June 122 A. Julia called for me the following day, insisting that I marcy her because she was afraid she ‘might have become pregnant. Q What was your reply to her? ‘A. Because had to look after my parents yet, I declined, asking her to wait a while Scanned by CamScanner FUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL WRITING, And what was her reaction to that ‘ame angry and threatened ental ts tagcat {Q._ What was your reaction to what she said? ‘A. [still refused to marry her right away. 0, Sowhat did she do? A. She accused me of raping her, What relation, if any did you have with Jalia about the time ofthe alleged rape? ‘A. Julia and I had been sweethearts for over two months before June 12. 0. How did you come to meet each other at that wedding in Celia’s house? ‘A. Onthat evening we met by prior agreement at Celia’s house right in our barrio. Q. What happened when you met each other at that wedding party? ‘A. Things started out well and I had some fun meeting my friends. But, because of their jokes that I had some other girl, Julia became angry and refused totalk to me. Q. What did you do then? A. [left to brood ot Q. How long did you stay outside? ‘A. Nottoo long. I returned to the party an hour later after friend called me inside. Q. What did you do when the wedding party ended? re ended, I walked alor paugued ue) peg the jokes played by my friends. (GETTING AF THE FACTS OF THE CASE x (Q._How did she react to your explanation? A. She did not want to believe me at first. After awhile, I convinced her to sit with me on a piece of Jog near the house of Mario. . What happened after you sat on that log? A. The evening was romantic and we eventually reconciled. What happened after you reconciled? ‘A. We kissed and embraced and, forgetting ourselves, we made love on the grass. Q. What did you do after you made love to Julia? ‘A. I walked with her up to about twenty ‘meters of her house. DEFENSE COUNSEL: That is all. ‘Transcript of Stenographic Notes (TSN) October 25 ‘COURT STAFF: (After swearing in the witness) State your name and personal circumstances, WITNESS: I am Mario Perez, forty-five years old, married, farmer, and a resident of Barrio Talaan, Lian, Batangas. DEFENSE COUNSEL: With the court's permission. Do you remember where you were on the evening of June 127 A. Iremember that I was home that evening of June 12. Why do you remember that evening? Scanned by CamScanner Pi PUNDAMENTAISOF LEGAL WRITING Ccernvcarmit racts oF micas = ‘A. _Lwastold that ape was committed on my farm that evening and it 0 happened that my twe, charge that Ronald raped Julia; and (b) the latter's denial ofthe year old daughter was then running 3 fever, ‘charge. Second, rewrite the legal dispute in the format ofan issue ik isetbhe You weit te bald a to produce your principal issue then put down this issue in bold a, ne rly that pn and Place right before you ao you de Your smasting Using this issue as guide, you can then peel away from the A. _Tremember that [slept late because Ihad to rarrations all the facts that are not connected to such fssue, Tt watch our sick daughter while my wife took her tam ‘ill hold you to your aim, torest Aes rewriting your principal issue it should read @ Was the farm visible that night? WHETHER OR NOT RONALD RAPED JULIA. ‘A. The night was not so dark because the See how these lessons are applied tothe testimony of Juli, soon shone brightly in the sky. reproduced below. The acs rlevan to the issue ae essentil What time did you go to bed after watchi to the outline have teen put in bold. The explanations for doing, ia nine: aay wih the nonessential facts have een bracketed and italic. tum to sleep after midni & Ttokmy en ‘Transcript of Stenographic Notes (TSN) Q. During the time you were looking. after October’ ‘daughter, do you remember hearing the outery (Abridged and edited for study) tra woman from somewhere outside your house? =e so COURT STAFF: (Aer swearing in the witness) A No. I heard no outcry from cutalde my State your name and personal circumstances, [Note house. Obviously, you do not need to put in your outine this DEFENSE COUNSEL: That is all. statement abou! the oath andthe request adel the witness to state her personal circumstance. They do not yield any ‘Obviously, the above testimonies contain much that is not fort of the case.) connected to the rape issue. They are filled with details that WITNESS: 1am Julia Torres, eighteen years old, ssually accompany raw storytelling. When making a summary single, and a resident of Barrio Talaan, Lian, Batangas. ‘ofthem, whole sentences can go and these would not affect the Note: The rope event tls story. To make sense, every ‘essence of the story. story must say whe are incolved, what happened, then it happened, where it happened, how it happened, and possibly Relevant Facts Extracted why it happened. These descriptions of julia Tores, the ictim, ar essential to appreciating her humanity and put Cen you sor out the testimonies aboveand make a short summary ‘he legal dispute int its proper context. Consequcnly you of the facts that really matter to the case? This is not difficult, as reed them in your euline| you have earlier seen. Just remember the lesson you learned. PROSECUTOR: With the Court's permission. Do First, tr to identify the egal dispute involved in the above case. you know Ronald Galang, the accused in this case? Obviously, the legal dispute consists in: (a) the government's Scanned by CamScanner SUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL WRITING ‘A. Yessir [Note: When the witness says, “yes, pp «question, the facts contained in the question, which she s wilt her “yes” ansiver are implicitly incorporated tno he nse. 1 hs fas ar elect, thy shod into your eine} He is there (pointing to the accused Why do you know him? A. He raped me. [Noie: Surely relevant.) Q. Where dd this happen? A__It happened on the rice fleld near Mariors ‘house. [Note This answers the question “where?"] . How did Ronald rape you? A._ struggled to get free buthe pointed a knife at my side and threatened to stab me if I called for help or persisted in fighting back. [Note: Shows how i ‘was committed.) So what did you do? A. Out of fear, I gave in [Note: Is this relevant to the issue? Of course, frit shots thy the rape succeeded} and he raped me. [Note: This i usta repeat ofa previous statement.) What did you do after Ronald raped you? ‘A. I kept the matter to myself for a while, Note: Is this reletwnt? Yes. Ordinarily, the victim ofa grave rmrongdoing would complain about it to someone. Juli’s Senc coda the edt of her Ci] Q. Why? ‘A. Because I was afraid of the trouble that vill happen if my parents and brothers found out. Note: tice this is [i's justification for incurring delay in reporting the crime, it should be relevant like the preceding answer] They loved me so much. [Nole: That her parenis and brothers loved her so much would have no bering on the issue of whether or not Ronald raped her] GETING AT THE FACTS OF THE CASE ” For how long, did you keep the matter to yourself ‘A. After two days of worrying and feeling bad, 1 finally told my aunt about it and she in turn told ‘my parents, [Note: Her reason for changing her mind end centualy reporting the matter should also be considered relevant in judging her credit} What was the reaction of your parents? ‘A. They were quite furious and wanted to take the matter into their own hands but cooler heads prevailed. [Note The reaction i limited to her parents and ‘brothers; itis irrelevant to te rape issue.) Q Sowhat did you do after that? A. went tothe potice to complain. [Note I this relent? Yes. Complaining to the poe about the coms of a crime Tends credence tobe clam a i ‘cok place} Q Isthet all that you did? ‘A. I also submitted myself to medical ‘examination. [Note: Same reason asthe cbooe } When did Ronald rape you? A. He raped me on June 12 at 7 p.m. (Note: States the time} How did you meet Ronald on june 127 A. I went to the house of Celia in our barrio twattend a wedding party and I saw him there. [Note: This fac is essential to en understanding of he anlecedents ofthe alleged crime] @ Do you have any relationship with Ronald? ‘A. None. He was only my suitor. [Note: Some Say that this is ireiecant since it ts possibie for Ronald to rape Julia whatever be their relationship. Others think, however, that this is important since it shows that Ronald twas attracted to Julia} Scanned by CamScanner FUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL WwHETING What were your feelings during the party? A. L was in high spirit because I met a lot of friends and had a good time. (Note: Even if true in not help you Kom whether oF nol Ronald raped julia @ Do you recall any unusual thin happened at that wedding party’ thing that ‘A. Someone exploded firecrackers nearby and this caused a scare fora while. [Note: Same as observation. Irvelevant.] IE aS Preceding Q. You said that you saw yoursuitor, Ronald, at the party: Did you have occasion to talk to each other? ‘A. He wanted to talk to me but | ignored him because I disited bie for «ator tn ac T away from him, [Note: This 's relevent because Jia’ Ititude towards Ronald, if true, would render it waiely thet she would let him escort her home from the wedding party or have consented sex with him.) Q__ What happened after you ignored him? ‘A.._The married couple danced after supper and people joined in. [Note: This fact has no bearing aa 9 ‘the rape case.) Q. What did you do after the dancing? ‘A. At Il pam. I took leave to go and started to walk home alone in the moonlight. (Note: This is relevant to the issue because it shows the circumslances immediately preceding the alleged rape.] Q._ Did anything unusual happen during your walk home? ‘A. When I was about fifty meters from Mario's house, Ronald came from behind me and requested that he walk me home. What was your reaction to him? [Note- Same cbseroaton as the preceding answer] A. really did not tke him. (Note: This redundant arptition ofa previous sctement}1 declined find doubled my steps. [Note: This lo ses the sage or the rape event} Q._ Sowhat happened after you walked faster? ‘A. Ronald caught my arm and wrestled me to the ground? [ Net: Use of force is an clement ofthe rape (Q. What kind was the ground over there? ‘A. It was rough ground and dry. [Note: This could be relevant of smehan sheds ight On the issue of. titer or met he rape tok place) What did Ronald do while you were down con the ground? ‘A. He covered my mouth with « hand so 1 ‘could not shout He pointed a knife at me and forced ime to yield to him, [Note: This is mo doubt relevant since it tends to show that Ronald raped Jia} Q_ Did it not bother you that you left the ‘wedding party alone by yourself? ‘A. No. sic Walking alone did not bother me because I knew everyone in the barrio. [Note: This és releoent to counter the claim that being a woman, i was {quite uaitely for her tobe walking home alon:] What oute did you take going home? ‘A. Hooka short cut across Mario's farm, in the direction of our house. [Note: This fact is nerded to link the other relevant fact logether.] Q. Canyou describe the path that you took? ‘A. The path was quite uneven and difficult to ply. [Note: This probably relevant since It neither helps Tesolve the isu of whether or not te rape took place nor does it hep tie the faci together.) How wasit? Scanned by CamScanner FUNDAMINTALSOF LEGAL WRITING ‘AL Twas used to it and T managed very well vat Same osercation a be} PROSECUTOR: That is all. ‘One thing wonderful about analyzing the facts to sort out therelevant from the trelevant is that such a process makes see the component parts ofthe problem and thei relationships, ad this usually reveals to you some of the strength and sNeaknesves of the testimonies and the documents, the heys We developing the arguments that you would eventually use wehen you start writing your paper. For example, in analyzing ‘thether jli's claim that she walked home alone is relevant ot Toc one insight you got i that what she did was rather unusual fora woman in the Dario to do. This could put a cloud on her credibility Follow the same procedure in sorting out the testimonies of the medical examiner. Ronald Galang and Mario Perez. Facts Set in Sequence Equally important to getting rid of irrelevant matters is putting the events in the order of their occurrence. When the Eoquence ofthe events isin disarray, with subsequent events told ahead of preceding ones or with frequent flashbacks to the past as the story unfolds, you are likely to get confused. You will be looking at items of fact that are out of context or detached from their surrounding circumstances. Take the testimony of Julia after the irrelevant facts have ben thrown out. It is far from boing narrated in order of time. Thus— — Julia Torres is eighteen years old, single, and ‘a resident of Barrio Talaan, Lian, Batangas. —She knows Ronald Galang, the accused. — He raped her on the ricefield near Mario's house, [uli testimony beins withthe constanmation of there] — She struggled to get free but he pointed 4 knife al her side and threatened to stab her if she ‘alled for help o persisted in fighting back. [She sen Fackiocke aie to narrate the struggle that prev the sexual] —Out of fea, she gave in. [Here ula returns to the consummation of the rape, I the next line, she mee forward aga] — After the rape, she kept the matter to herself because she was afraid the trouble that wilt happen if her parents and brothers found out. — After two days of worrying and feeling bad she nally old her aunt about itand the later fn turn fold her parent, — She went tothe police to complain. —Shesulbmitted herselfto medical examination. — He raped heron June 12at7 pam [Julia story “flshes bach othe moment ofthe rape) — She went to the house of Celia in our barrio to attend a wedding party and she saw him there. isonly here hat Jules hows her sory begins | — Ronald was only her suitor. — He wanted to talk to her but she ignored him because she disliked him for a suitor. In fact, she stayed away from him. — ALI pam she took leave to go and started to ‘walk home alone in the moonlight. —Wnen she was about fifty meters from Mario's house, Ronald came behind her and requested that he walk her home. —She declined and doubled her steps. — Ronald caught her arm and wrestled her on rough and dry ground. Scanned by CamScanner FUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL WRITING _- He covered het mouth with 4 hand s0 she could no about. He pointed a knife at her and forced fer to yield to him. “— Walking alone did not bother her because she knew everyone in the barrio. “= She took 2 short cut across Mario's farm, in the direction of her house. [julia ends her story ais depart, ust before Ronald interferes with her joumey ome and apes her} If in writing your paper on the case, you choose to stick by the onder in which Jula tells Her story. you could conse Pe eeadet Yet. tis not difficult to sort out the facts and put eat inthe onder oftheir occurrence. Just spot the point where Jehu’ story logically begins here, her encounter with Ronald t een vecding party, then, arrange after it the other events in the trierof thle occurrence until you reach the endl of her story her Submission to medical examination, zone? When 70 ar on ont hf in a's eaumony, potting them inorder and drawing Late ain Pe ia ts ar oo tata ae a sredals have been removed t0 reveal the essentials. Further, the order of the events has been straightened out to show the enc sequence. The narration has been rewritten to make the ‘ete 2 tard person narrative Julia Torres, eighteen years of age, single, said that she went to the house of Celia at Barrio Talaan, Lian, Batangas, on June 12 at 7 p.m. to attend 2 wedding party. She saw her suitor, Ronald Galang, but ignored him since she disliked him. AtIIp.m. Julia took leave to go home alone. This did not bother her because she knew everyone in the bartio, She took a short cut cross Mario Perez's farm. About fity meters from the latter's house, Ronald ‘ame behind her and asked that he walk her home. She declined but Ronald caught her arm and wrestled her on the rough ground, covering her mouth so she could mot shout, Julia struggled to get free but Ronald pointed » knife at her side and threatened to stab her. Out of fear, dhe gave in and he ravished her. After the rape, Julia kept the matter to herself for fear of trouble If her parents and brothers found ‘out, But, she finally told her aunt. They went to the police and she submitted to medical examination, Wat nefits do you derive from arranging te facts im proper ender or sequence? The berefits ar as follows: 1, The facts are easier to understand when put in the order of time. The reason is simple: they follow a natural order or flow. Actual human experience occurs in the order of time ‘where one event follows another with the ticking of the hour. A ‘tory that jumps ahead, goes back toa previous event, and then, returns to resume its advance where it temporarily dropped off isunnatural. I can be quite confusing, The human mind is not at ‘ease with such a manner of storytelling 2. When facts are arranged in the proper onder, you ‘would clearly soehow each fact relates to or connects with others. Each fact acquires deeper significance when viewed along related facts. That Ronald sat on a piece of log with Julia would be meaningless if seen in isolation. Before they sat on the log, she did not want to talk to him at all. After sitting alongside each other on the log, they had a quick romantic reconciliation. Their sitting on the log acquires significance. 3. _ When the factual versions of ether side are put in order ‘and matched. you would also be able to see clearly the areas ‘where the respective versions agree and disagree. This in turn al oes you with balanced appreciation ofeach opposing im 4. Facts, properly arranged, prepare you for the work of, ‘writing up the facts ofthe casein your pleading or memorandum, Scanned by CamScanner UNOAMENTALSOF LEGAL WRITING the berets already mentioned above, part frmour materials and aronging these in the pen fee scoped nia win ae sur finan and the decuent you woh ot 4 ily handle a hundred cases at a time. With Lawyers usually your fact summary, you do not have to re-read your voluminous epee, man Seach ee am ul th dettyouphout the course of trial ofthe ese and during pps} Woiting Exercises For exercise, sort out the rest of the testimonies in the rape eave, make a summary of the relevant facts, ane! arrange them in order, 12. You have seen how litle data are important to a case when the facts have been sorted out for relevance and order. Consider the following sample case: ‘The Case of a Child and a Neighbor's Dog Peter Banag, the father of a child who was attacked by a neighbor's dog, has come to consult you about the possibility of his b ‘a lawsuit against Arthur Sison, a neighbor. Peter brought along Fred Puzon to the interview. Fred witnessed what happened. The following is your interview with him: Interview with Mr. Fred Puzon, accompanied by client, Mr. Peter Banag. Sept. 21 Q Fred, how old are you? A. Lam twenty-one, Attomey. What do you do fora living? GETING ATE FACTS OF THE CASE A. work with the government. Q Where do you live? ‘A. [live at 24 Annapolis St, Cubso, Quezon Q. Did you see the dog altack Mr. Banag’s daughter? ‘A. Yes, sit I save it bite Marys leg and even her arms as she fell othe ground. Q. Do you know whe owned that dog? ‘A. Yes, sie, the dog belonged to Arthur Sison. Q. What did you do when you saw the dog attack Mary? ‘A. 1 immediately ran to help her but, unfortunately, I ripped on the gutter and fell on my hands and knees . Sowhat happened? san ch mt ety car aaa nen away. I then stood by to protect Mary from further atiacks. Q. What happened to the dog? ‘A. The dog kept on barking and looked as ift would attack us. Did itattack your A. No because Arthur ca and sent his dog into his yard. Q._ How about Mary, what happened to her? A. Arthur picked her up, called a tricycle, and Drought her toa nearby clinic for treatment. Q._ And you, what did you do? My tiend then arrived and we left forthe out of his house Scanned by CamScanner unoannTAbs OFLICAT WRITING Gq. id yon now ow old Mary wat a that ime? tel sHoandovtthat he was about sx year ad, How aid yougetto know Acthar? neighbors. He lives at 12 Annapy era ti te {Q.Doyou know w ? poe gine went there to buy ice-candies. Arthur tua ‘Neen veling, keandies at is house for sometime. (@. How did you know that? [AL Liypelf used to buy ice-candies from him especially during summer. {When did the incident involving. Mary happe ‘A. It happened on September 12 at about 3 iny Mary was near Arthur's pm Q. What were you doing at that time? |A._ Iwas waiting on Annapolis Street for my friend Henry Uy to come and pick me up s0 we could goto the mall Q. Doyou remember what day of the week it ‘A. Itwas a Saturday afternoon. Q. What did you see Mary doing from where you stood? ‘A. [saw Mary approach Arthur's gate and knock on it. But no one answered. Q. Sowhat did she do? A. Stllshe kepton knocking softly atthe gate. acts OF THE CASE Q. What happened next? ‘A. Ayoung girl of her age passed by and Mary waived at her. Q. So what happened next? ‘A. Arthur’s dog came out to the yard. As Mary tested the gate by pushing it the gate yielded and the dog jumped out. Q. What did Mary do? ‘A. She held the gate open and called in saying, that she wanted to buy ice-candy. “Pagbilan nga po ing ice-candy,” she said. Q. Sowhat happened? ‘A. That was the time I saw the dog go after hher. It attacked her from behind as she tuned and ran to leave. Q. What was your reaction to what you saw? A. Iwas shocked fora moment. ‘You asked Peter why he came to consult with you and he said that he asked Arthur to pay her daughter 20,000.00 in damages for what she suffered but all he got was a letter from him. He gave you the following letter, Mx Peter Banag 16 Annapolis St, Cubao, Quezon City Dear Mr. Banag: I regret that I could not grant your demand to pay you P20,000-00 forthe injuries that your daughter Suffered on September 12 when he came to my house at 12 Annapolis Street, Cubao, Quezon City. I was not at fault. Scanned by CamScanner UNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL WRITING 1 was napping in my house on the afternoon your daughter came lo our gate I was awakened yivun'T heard some commotion outside, | thought sens shite that people were quarreling, But I heard someone shouting that my dog had attacked a child. Timmediately got up and ran out. As | did, Isaw Fred Puzon, our neighbor, trying to stop my dog, Prancer, feom attacking your daughter, Mary, who lay on the found just ouside the gate. Other neighbors had ered t come out to see what was happening, ‘To augment the income of my family, Tengaged in the business of selling ice-candles at my house beginning in March of last year. My sale had been brisk especially during the summer days. I always sold my ice-candies atthe gate when people came to buy. That gate had an automatic closer. But at times, 1 left it unlocked from the inside because my children often went in and out I had a dog in my house, Prancet, but my gate carried a written warning about the presence of that dog. Until that afternoon of September 12, Prancer had not attacked any one. I immediately stepped out into the street as soon 26 I can and sent Prancer inside. I was really surprised that you had allowed your daughter to leave the house without an escort. I myself took care that my young children did not go out alone. ‘Atany rate, called a tricycle and brought Mary toa medical clinic nearby for treatment of her wounds and foran injection. Laler, her mother followed us to the clinic and she comforted her daughter. I paid the ‘medical bill. GETTING AT THE FACTSOF THECASE 1 should be Lam sorry but I do not believe t able to your daughter for damages. ‘Very truly yours, Arthur Sison Before you could give Me. Banag your legal opinion on his ‘ase, you need to do pre-work. Sort cut the relevant facts from the irolevant and put the relevant facts in order. As i the rape case, iy provisionally to identify the legal dispute and get a Sense of the principal isue that divides your client. Peter, and his neighbor Arthur. Have a clear understanding of that 1ssue and use it to guide you in extracting the useful fats of the case. ‘Then make a short summary ofthe facts from your client's point of view as well as from that of Arthur. Put your work on paper Scanned by CamScanner 5. Knowing the Applicable Law or Rule After working on the testimonies and documents ia ‘axe, you would have produced an outline of the fara nye relevant othe legal dispute that it presens. Now you an at to make a search fr those speci laws oF nuk ha ed tothe fa wil either help or burden you in pneu et defending your side ofthe dispute. PSeCUting o¢ Sources of Law or Rule ‘There are two general sources of laws and rules: Slatute awe Ths consist of laws and rules enacted by duly constituted rule-making authorities like Congress (Republi, ‘Acts and Batas Pambansa, the President (Presidential Decrees and Executive Orders), the Supreme Court (Rules of Court, local government councils (city or municipal ordinances) and administrative regulatory agencies (implementing rules ant regulations). Case law: This consists of decisions of courts and persons or agencies performing judicial functions. These decisions interpret and apply statute law to specific situations. The rulings in these ‘eases become legal precedents that, when invariably affirmed and used, become part of the law itself. But just how do you locate the right law and legal precedents? Two steps are suggested: First. Identify the general nature of the legal dispute involved. In the case between Julia and Ronald, the legal dispute « KNOWING THE ARTLICAMLE AWORRLLE “ consists in the government salegation that Ronald had sex with Julia, employing force and intimidation in violation ef law, and in Ronald's denial of the change. The case, therefore, concerns 2 crime that involves chastity. This should lead you tothe statute law on rape, namely, Article 256-8 of the Revised Penal Code. It reeds: Article 256-4. Rape; when and how committed. — Rape is committed — 1) By aman who shall have camal knowledge of woman under any ofthe following circumstances: 2) Through force or intimidation. Second. Having become familiar with the facts of your case, search for legal precedents that have more or less parallel facts. Nothing is new in this world. You will discover that there ishandly any new case that would have no parallel or similarity toa previous case that @ court or quasi-judicial body has once decided. Find the rulings in those parallel case, whether for OF against your side of the dispute, and you will have more confidence in charting the course of your arguments. Usually, itis the diligent that succeeds in tunneling the whole depth of case law to extract the gold nuggets he needs to prevail in his assigned case, Seize that advantage. In rape cases, both the prosecution and the accused will find Philippine jurisprudence rich injudicial precedents that will help their case. Consider the following: Forthe Prosecution In the review of rape cases, jurisprudence has laid down the following guiding, principles: a) an accusation in rape can bemade with facility and while the accusation is difficult to prove, it is even more difficult for the person accused, though innocent, to disprove the charge; b) considering tha, in the nature Scanned by CamScanner pUNDAMENIALS OF LECAL WRITING two persons are usually involved in ses nt oe the testimony of the complainant the crist acratinized with great caution; and ¢) the for the presecation eel Hand or fall on its, cannot be raw siren cen met Arun of the evidence for the wa People v. Ste. Ana, GR. 15657, June 26, 1996.) ‘The failure of the victim to immediately ve rape is not necessarily an indication of Paprcated charge. (People & Casil, 41 SCRA 245, People. Montefalcon, CR. 11984, April 25, 1995,) ‘The absence of physical injury does not negate the commission of rape. (People % Gapasan, 243 SCRAS3) Itwould beimprobable fora barrio girl of tender age and definitely inexperienced in sexual matters to ‘ipaeate a charge for no reason at all that will put hewelf and her family in a very uncompromising situation, which could even invite reprisal. (People v, Vitor, 245 SCRA382) Failure to shout or offer tenacious resistance does not make voluntary the rape victims submission othecriminalactofthe accused. (Peoplew. Marabillas, 303 SCRA 352.) ‘Threatening the victim with a knife, a deadly weapon, is sufficient to cow the victim and it constitutes an element of rape. (People v. Alquizalas, 1305 SCRA 367.) Forths Defense Although the “sweetheart theory” has not gained favorwith the courts, such is not always the case ifthe hard fact is thatthe accused and the supposed victim are, intrath, intimately related except that, as is usual in most cases, either the relationship is illicit or the victiny’s parents are against it. (People v. Godoy, 250 SCRA 676.) nai ” a KNOWING THE APFLICABLE LAW OR RULE of In rape cases, the claim of the complainant having been threatened appears to be 2 common expedient of face-saving subterfuge. (People % ‘Godoy, 250 SCRA 676.) Courts will take judicial notice of the fact that in the rural areas, young ladies are strictly required to act with circumspection and prudence and great ‘caution is observed so that their reputation will ‘remain intact. (People v. Godoy, 250 SCRA 676.) In rape cases, the testimony of the offended party must not be accepted with credulity. (People &. Godoy, 250 SCRA 676) ‘As to be reasonably expected, a ravished woman would instinctively call for help or at least flee her Techerous captor to safer ground when opportunity resent itself, (Prople ». Sinatao, 249 SCRA 554.) It is strange that even as complainant asserts sexual abuse through violence and intimidation, she did not offer any resistance when assaulted, fan unlikely impulse for a woman confronted with such an affront to her honor, and it is odd that her suppoted rape appears to be punctiliously made. (People v. Sinatav, 249 SCRA 554.) ‘Apart from above sources of laws and rules, you have rules that derive from the wisdom of common experience. These are especially useful in resolving factual issues. Our jurisprudence is rich in these. For example: Errorless recollection of a harrowing incident cannot be expected of a witness, especially when she is recounting details of an experience so humiliating ‘and so painful as rape. (People v. Cala ~ spe. (Peop! 1yea, 301 SCRA Fear has its bizarre way of rendering peopl a people immobile even in life-and-death situations. (People v. Realin, 301 SCRA 495.) Scanned by CamScanner fuNDAMENTALSOFLEGALWRITING athe most trstful witnesses can sometimy ase idahes ol sch ineacet lapses do na ily affect their credibility. (People v, Reducg, 301 SCRA 516.) Evidence to be believed must not only proceed from the mouth ofa credible witness but it must al te credible in itself, uch that common experience vad observation of mankind lead to the inference of its probability under the circumstances. (People v, Perucho, 305 SCRA 770; People v. Lagmay, 306 SCRA 157) Inconsistency concerning a minor matter does ot affect the credibility of complainants testimony. (People v. Empante, 306 SCRA 250.) ‘Wicklamps, Sashlights, even moonlight or starlight may, in proper situation, be considered ‘sufficient illumination, making the attack on the SRaibility of witnesses solely on that ground ‘unmeritorious, (People v. Adoviso, 309 SCRA 1.) ‘The test to determine the value of the testimony ‘of a witness is whether or not such is in conformity with human knowledge and consistent with the experience of mankind. (People v. Dela Cruz, 313 ‘SCRA 189.) Match the applicable laws or rules with the relevant facts of your ease and you are ready to work on your arguments. Get a 00d book in legal bibliography and learn how to search for the statutes and judicial precedents that you need. These topics are not embraced in this book. Facts Reexamined ‘Having discovered the laws or rules that ay to your case, yaashuldnow bens te poston ovina) KNOWING THE APPLICABLE LAW OR RULE of the facts and add to it the other relevant facts that you may ave omitted. You could also subtract from your summary those facts that now appear irrelevant to the applicable laws or rules and precedents that you have discovered. Writing Exercises Go back to the case that Peter Banag consulted you with, namely, the dog's attack of her little daughter. Presumably, you did your pre-work, sorted out the rel- evant from the irrelevant facts, and put your facts in order. Consequently, you must already have on paper an outline of the facts that you abstracted from your interview with Fred Puzon and from Arthur Sison’s letter to your client. Based on the issues and the facts, check out and copy the laws or the rules that should properly govern them. ‘Check out too those parallel cases that the Supreme Court has previously decided. See if the rulings and doctrines established in these cases could be cited against you or to your advantage. Put them all on pa- peras part of your pre-work. Scanned by CamScanner 6. Getting Into the Issues ter making a short outline of the relevant facts ofthe case saat rig nc laws or rules that apply to those facts, sre nsc ep in pre-werksto pinpoint the species that Jou reiting claims of the partes present and to put those ee egown in writing, Identifying the issues and writing them seep are indispensable 10 all kinds of legal writing ox 9 Srepie peason: everything you wrte—the fact, the law, the saeinent andl the elit —must take bearing on those sss, You areglesly when you are unable to understand the issues in Your ease or are unable to hold on tot You have learned that, a a general rule, the legal dispute iteef seaat in the format ofan ssi, provides the principal issue Jetkcry case You also learned that knowledge of the principal isos ic important because ary argument you make will benefit only tothe exten that you are able to relate it to that issue, For example the isu of whether or not Julla Torres ignored Ronald Galang at the wedding party because she disliked him (rather than, 35 Ronald claimed, she was angry with him because of the jokes played by his friends) is remotely relevant to the principal issue of whether or not Ronald raped Julia. In both Paces, che ignored him and whether she did for one or the other tenon will not shed much ight on the issue of rape. Issues in Multiple Legal Disputes Not al cases present one legal dispute that converts into one principal issue. A lawsuit could involve multiple legal disputes ‘nd. therefore, multiple principal issues. This is particularly true Py carne mromie sues ° in civil cases where there could be as many legal disputes as there are claims of violations of separate rights ofthe parties. In these cases, you should address each ofthe principal issues that the several legal disputes present Occasionally, however, multiple legal disputes could converge into one controling issue. For example, in a lawsuit, Rudy Solis, a music composer. claims that his friend Sergio ‘Gomez appropriated as his own and sold to a record company 2 song, that he (Solis) had created. Gomer’s denial of this claim would create the first legal dispute. A further cleim of Solis that Gomer. maligned him as a thief of intellectual property land Gomez's denial of this additional claim would constitute 4 second legal dispute in the case. Gomez, on the other hard, Claims that it was Solis who tried to steal the song from him. Solis’ denial ofthis claim would ereate the thied legal dispute. A further claim by Gomez that the lawsuit was maliciousand Solis’

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