EVIDENCE FINALS There was a case decided on Dec 8 2010 about the testimony of a witness who dies before

e cross-examination. So her testimony shall be expunged where there is no showing of delay of the parties to cross exam. In short, a witness has been presented and the other party who should cross is not at fault why he was not able to cross, and that person to be cross died, what will happen to the testimony because of her death? In this case, it is said that it should be expunged from the records provided that the person who is to cross is not at fault but if it is the person who did not cross who is at fault, meaning he postponed and delayed, then he could not, by his own act now use the death of the said witness to expunge or to strick off the testimony of which was testified to by the deceased. This is the case of Sps. Ruben Dela Cruz et al vs. Ramon Papa, Dec 8 2010. Pp. v. Janjalani Jan 10 2011 inter alios acta Tamaling v. Salvador Apr 4 2011 -conflicting expert testimonies Pp. v. Ladiana May 30 2011 confession to a private person is admissible in evidence Rule 132, Sec. 30-Rule 133 Burden of proof must always be on the side of one who allege Burden of evidence may change from one party to the other if he was able to present something which the other may have to present evidence in order to overcome that then there is a shifting of burden

Weight & sufficiency of evidence may be admissible but not sufficient enough to convict. The judge may appreciate this in cross and direct examination to prove the evidence on the guilt of the accused as well as in civil actions by means of preponderance of evidence. (quantum of evidence) Conspiracy must be proven Take note of the res inter alios acta rule, especially in a conspiracy Presentation of evidence Testimonial evidence make an offer before question is asked In direct examination, leading questions are not allowed except in preliminary matters except when the witness is ignorant or is too young or too old In cross, you can ask all leading questions that you want, but not misleading questions. Misleading questions are not allowed as it states that something ahs been said when in truth and in fact there is none or as if you are presenting the witness as your own. Witness must answer the questions asked of him except incriminatory questions Direct? Cross? How to impeach a witness? (lay the predicate and ask clarificatory questions)

Witness may also be recalled, if his testimony is still necessary, with leave of court Identification of the accused failure to identify him is fatal to your cause Out-of-court identification e.g. Mug shots, Police line up Authentication & proof of documents Ancient documents Offer and objection Real or object evidence (existence of the document) vs. best evidence (contents) should be objected to at the time it was offered Make a formal manifestation of a Continuing objection Inconsistencies are not disallowed per se, as long as they are not material, because if there are no inconsistencies made, then he may be a coached witness Extrajudicial confession is admissible in evidence if made to a private person; if under police custody, it is inadmissible. It is considered Incompetent evidence, but this may be submitted if not objected to; even so, it has no probative value Recantation of a witness is not favored because these are usually done after the witness has already testified. Sometimes it is just for the purpose of showing to the court that it is a declaration against her interest to pursue the case, but this would

still create doubts and may result to an acquittal Child witness competent witness as long as he is qualified. How about a mental retardate? Not disqualified because he may make known his perception through other forms of manifestation. Child witness rule it shall apply to child witnesses who are victims, witnesses, etc. Victim/complainant Accused -filed in the Family Court, which has jurisdiction over the case Child must be supported by her parents, social workers e.g. CASAtants? Court appointed Social assistants. You should not badger her, intimidate or harass her thats why there is this live-link TV, and she should be made comfortable before making her testimony. Hearsay evidence admissible if done by a child witness; she cannot be asked of her previous sexual bouts as this is confined in the Rape shield rule Writ of amparo longer than a writ of habeas corpus; there must be an explanation as to why Writ of habeas data with respect to documents; there must be a petition Genuineness of a writing Public document

Proof of notarial document -It is considered public document if it is acknowledged, not if it is subscribed. It should be acknowledged, because the law says so. Alterations in a doc, you have to explain it, if made before, during or after change the alteration, explain Seal, will the absence of seal, make the docs void? Is there no difference between sealed and unsealed docs? But there are docs which requires to be placed with seals, particularly those coming from abroad, e.g. red ribbon Documentary evidence in an official language, take note that we only have Filipino and English. If the doc that is supposed to be an exhibit, the same must be translated to the official language before the same could be marked because any docs not in the official language will not be admissible in evidence unless they are transcribed into its official language Offer of objection and cause Case of testimonial evidence it must be offered to the person being asked questions. If you fail to make an objection and then they cross, then waived, so that if you object and the same will not be heeded to by the person making the testimony, then it is considered to be not offered. Remember even if it is not offered, they are not considered as evidence at all. In the case of documentary evidence, it will only be offered after you have no more witnesses, after they have been identified, after they are marked and before you will rest your case. If it is not to be objected to during the trial, the Xerox copy you will not object them, just take note, so that

next time it is offered and it is a Xerox copy and it is not admissible if it calls for the best evidence rule. When you say best evidence, only the original should be presented except, there are 4 exceptions where you have to prove the loss in the hands of the other party or what but if it is only for the purpose of presenting a doc without touching the content, then that Xerox copy is admissible in evidence because that becomes now object evidence. When to make an offer? In case of testimonial, before the witness is asked, in the case of documentary, before resting your case and after you have presented your testimony Objection should be done during the formal offer but there are objections that can be made during the trial, such as leading, impertinent or irrelevant or immaterial questions, then you can always object. Objection, your honor, the question calls for an incriminatory answer, or the question is offensive, etc. If an evidence is admitted because you failed to object, would this be considered in the resolution of the case? Yes. But the problem is whether it is sufficient or not, that is another matter. If the evidence is incompetent and is not objected to, it has no probative value, including hearsay evidence. When is a petition for objection not necessary? In case of continuing objection. The ruling must immediately be done in the case of objection during trial. But if it is an offer of the document, after you are through with your presentation, the objection must be made after it was offered as spelling out what the purpose of those

exhibits are. If there are comments or objections, it must be so stated. An answer would be stricken off if one has not been given an opportunity to object the same. Although there is a question that is asked and then it was immediately answered, then you can say objection, your honor, the question has already been answered even before the question is through. You may tell the court that your honor, may we move that the witness not immediately answer the question and give time for the opposing counsel to make the necessary objection,. The court will grant that. Testimony of the witness to be stricken off if that witness is not present for crossexamination because on the day of the cross, there was no justifiable reason for his failure to appear. The counsel may then request that his testimony be stricken out of the records and this will not be considered anymore. If the objection was sustained, what will you do? You have to tender an offer of excluded evidence. The purpose is to put it on record for purposes of appeal, so that you can bring it out as an irreversible error on your appeal. The weight and sufficiency of evidence. An evidence is sufficient, it depends upon quantum of evidence necessary in an issue that is brought before the court. If it is a criminal offense, it is sufficient if it is actually grounded on evidence beyond reasonable doubt. This does not mean that there is no iota or piece of doubt but that there is a moral certainty of a person to believe that the same has been committed. In the case of quasi-judicial or administrative cases, the quantum of evidence is substantial evidence. In the case

of civil action, mere preponderance of evidence, thats why there is such a distinction for preponderance of evidence and burden of proof. Burden of proof is when the one who allege must prove. In the case of quantum of evidence, when one presents an evidence and the other one presents the evidence and it is overcome, then the burden shifts to the other party. In short, burden of evidence shifts from one party to the other but not in the case of burden of proof. Extrajudicial confessions are admissible provided that these are done to a person who is not a police officer and that person making the extrajudicial confession is not under custodial investigation. If it is a police officer, well, theres something wrong. How to prove Circumstantial evidence? There must be more than one, and the facts from which the inferences are derived should be proven. Bubble bursting theory: Inference are like bats of the law, fleeting/flitting in the twilight night, but disappearing in the sunshine of actual facts. These inference are not considered as evidence unless it is clear, if you are being charged, the same remains charged unless such time it can be proven when the tales are clear, that you are not guilty, then that is where what we call the sunshine of actual facts, thats why the bubble bursting theory. Weight of the sufficiency of evidence, power of the court to stop further evidence. The court need not hear all witnesses, if you have 100 witnesses, the court need not hear

all of them if these are all corroborative to that of the testimony of the rest, there is no need for you to present witnesses because the evidence does not rest on how many witnesses you present, it is on the basis of whether such evidence are really believable, credible, coming from the mouth of a credible witness because the witness may be credible but the testimony is incredible. Can the lone testimony of a witness convict an accused? Of course, yes. In the case of rape, even if not in rape if there is positive identification of the testimony that he is the victim and the accused is the one who actually committed the crime, thats why it is the cross that will make the necessary move of determining whether a witness is telling the truth or not. Which is more believable, documentary evidence or testimony of the evidence? If it is the content of the document, the best evidence is the document itself. The testimony of the witness has to be tested whether it is actually coming from a witness who is credible, who has actually observed, made that perception, and can make his perception to others as these are the qualifications of a credible and qualified witness. The testimony of a witness must be credible in itself and likewise the witness is also credible. Can a person who is convicted of perjury testify and make his testimony credible? Yes. But he cannot be discharged as a State witness because that is a disqualification. With respect to the test of determining or proving, blood test, DNA test, expert witnesses. So, these are all admissible provided that the same was taken not in violation of the rights of the accused. Are

footprints admissible? Yes. How about a mark? tattoo? Yes. DNA examination Quantum of evidence, what is prima facie evidence? Mere preponderance of evidence cannot overcome the so-called prima facie evidence because the latter is enough unless it is not overwhelming to contradict the evidence. Probable cause is also different, it is the basis that the crime may be committed, only for the purpose of finding probable cause so that the case may be filed in court, as an information, for the purpose of proving such allegations in the information,. It is the information that must be proven in order to convict the accused, not anything else. You cannot present evidence that is outside the information. The moment a question is asked that is not actually found in the information, that is considered objectionable. The moment you present an evidence outside of the information, that is objectionable, if you fail to object, that would be admissible. Thats why when you try a case, do not be sleepy, you should be attentive. Otherwise, that would be prejudicial to your cause.