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CRIMPRO; SUFFICIENCY OF
COMPLAINT OR INFORMATION

A complaint or information is deemed
sufficient if it contains the following:
The NAME of the accused;

(a) The DESIGNATION of the offense given
by statute;
(b) The ACTS or OMISSIONS complained
of as constituting the offense;
(c) The NAME of the offended party;
(d) The approximate DATE of the
commission of the offense; and
(e) The PLACE of the commission of the
offense.
(f) CRIMPRO; CAUSE OF THE
ACCUSATION
(g) Every information must state the
QUALIFYING and the AGGRAVATING
circumstances attending the
commission of the crime for them to be
considered in the imposition of the
penalty.


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CRIMPRO; ELEMENTS OF A
PREJUDICIAL QUESTION

The elements of a prejudicial question are:

(a) The PREVIOUSLY instituted CIVIL
ACTION involves an issue SIMILAR
or INTIMATELY RELATED to the
issue raised in the SUBSEQUENT
CRIMINAL ACTION; and

(b) The resolution of such issue
DETERMINES whether or not the
criminal action may proceed.












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CRIMPRO; EXTINCTION OF
PENAL ACTIONS

The extinction of the penal action does not
carry with it the extinction of the civil action
where:

(a) The ACQUITTAL is based on
REASONABLE DOUBT as only
PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE
is required;

(b) The court declares that the LIABILITY
OF THE ACCUSED IS ONLY CIVIL;
and

(c) The civil liability of the accused DOES
NOT ARISE from or is NOT BASED
UPON the crime of which the accused
was acquitted.






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CRIMPRO; WHEN BAIL IS
A MATTER OF RIGHT

The general rule is that all persons in
custody shall be admitted to bail as a matter
of right. This rule applies to the following
situations:

(a) BEFORE or AFTER conviction by the
MeTC, MTC, MTCC, MCTC; and

(b) BEFORE conviction by the RTC of an
offense NOT punishable by DEATH,
RECLUSION PERPETUA or LIFE
IMPRISONMENT.


CRIMPRO; WHEN BAIL IS
DISCRETIONARY

UPON conviction by the RTC of an offense
NOT punishable by DEATH, RECLUSION
PERPETUA or LIFE IMPRISONMENT,
admission to bail is discretionary.


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CRIMPRO; PROBABLE CAUSE

The existence of such facts and
circumstances as would lead a person of
ordinary caution and prudence to entertain
an honest and strong suspicion that the
person charged is guilty of the crime subject
of the investigation.


CRIMPRO; PROBABLE CAUSE;
SEARCH WARRANT

Probable cause for a search warrant means
such facts and circumstances which would
lead a reasonably discreet and prudent man
to believe that an offense has been
committed and that the objects sought in
connection with the offense are in the place
to be searched.




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CRIMPRO; PRELIMINARY
INVESTIGATION V. INQUEST
PROCEEDING

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION is an
inquiry or a proceeding the purpose of which
is to determine whether there is sufficient
ground to engender a well-founded belief
that a crime has been committed and the
respondent is PROBABLY GUILTY
thereof, and SHOULD BE HELD FOR
TRIAL.


An INQUEST is an investigation conducted
by a prosecutor in criminal cases where a
person has been LAWFULLY arrested and
detained WITHOUT A WARRANT OF
ARREST.






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CRIMPRO; WHEN A PLEA OF NOT
GUILTY SHALL BE ENTERED

Aside from an actual of plea of not guilty, a
plea of not guilty shall be entered for the
accused if:

(a) He REFUSES to plead;

(b) He makes a CONDITIONAL PLEA;

(c) When he PLEADS GUILTY but presents
EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE in which
case the guilty plea shall be deemed
withdrawn and a plea of not guilty
shall be entered.










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CRIMPRO; WARRANTLESS ARREST,
WHEN LAWFUL

A peace officer or a private person may,
WITHOUT a warrant, arrest a person:
(a) When IN HIS PRESENCE, the person
to be arrested has COMMITTED, is
ACTUALLY COMMITTING, or is
ATTEMPTING TO COMMIT an
offense (in flagrante exception);
(b) When an offense HAS JUST BEEN
COMMITTED, and he has
PROBABLE CAUSE to believe based
on PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF
FACTS or CIRCUMSTANCES that
the person to be arrested has committed
it (hot pursuit exception); and
(c) When the person to be arrested is a
prisoner who has ESCAPED from a
penal establishment or place where he is
serving final judgment or is temporarily
confined while his case is pending, or
has escaped while being transferred
from one confinement to another
(escapee exception).

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CRIMPRO; PROPERTY SUBJECT OF A
SEARCH WARRANT

A search warrant may be issued not only for
the search but also for the seizure of the
following:

(a) Personal property SUBJECT of the
offense;

(b) Personal property STOLEN or
EMBEZZELED and other
PROCEEDS or FRUITS of the offense;
and

(c) Personal property USED or
INTENDED to be used as a means of
committing an offense.








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CRIMPRO; PLAIN VIEW DOCTRINE;
REQUISITES

Under the Plain View doctrine, objects falling
in the plain view of an officer who has a
right to be in the position to have that view
are subject to seizure and may be presented
as evidence.

The Plain View doctrine applies when the
following requisites concur:

(a) The law enforcement officer in search of
the evidence has a prior justification for
an intrusion or is in a position from
which he can view a particular area;

(b) The discovery of the evidence in plain
view is INADVERTENT; and

(c) It is IMMEDIATELY APPARENT to
the officer that the item he observes may
be evidence of a crime, contraband or
otherwise subject to seizure.


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CRIMPRO; CUSTODIAL
INVESTIGATION

Custodial investigation is the stage where the
police investigation is no longer a general
inquiry into an unsolved crime but has
begun to focus on a particular suspect
taken into custody by the police who carry
out a process of interrogation that tends
itself to elicit incriminating statements.

Custodial investigation shall include the
practice of issuing an invitation to a person
who is investigated in connection with an
offense he is suspected to have committed,
without prejudice to the liability of the
inviting officer for any violation of the law.

NOTE: A police line-up is not part of
custodial investigation since the accused at
that stage is not yet being investigated.




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CRIMPRO; PLEA OF GUILTY TO A
CAPITAL OFFENSE

When the accused pleads guilty to a capital
offense, it is not proper for the court to
immediately render judgment on the basis of
the guilty plea.

Instead, the court is mandated to perform the
following acts:
(a) To conduct a SEARCHING INQUIRY
i. To ascertain the VOLUNTARINESS of
the plea, and
ii. To ascertain whether or not the accused
has FULL COMPREHENSION of the
consequences of his plea;

(b) To require the prosecution to PROVE the
following:
i. The GUILT of the accused, and
ii. The PRECISE DEGREE of his
culpability; and

(c) To ask the accused if he wishes to present
evidence and allow the accused to present
evidence in his behalf when he so desires.


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