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INTRODUCTION
Legal Reasoning
- apply laws, rules, and regulations to particular facts and cases
- interpret constitutions and statutes
- balance fundamental principles and policies
- evaluate evidence
- make judgments to render legal decisions
LEGAL REASONING
Arguments
- with which logic is chiefly concerned
- claim put forward and defended with reasons
- a group of statements in which one statement is claimed to be true on the basis of another
statement/s
- categorized as logical or illogical, valid or invalid, sound or unsound
Fact (What are the facts that are relevant to the rule cited?)
- “material” facts
- should not be one-sided
Conclusion (What is the implication of applying the rule to the given facts)
- ultimate end of a legal argument
EVALUATING LEGAL REASONING
Two general criteria:
Truth
- presentation of facts
- deals with the question “Are the premises provided in the argument true or acceptable?”
- Only after the facts have been determined can the legal rules be applied to those facts by the
court.
Logic
- inference (deriving a claim or judgment from the given laws and facts)
- Is the reasoning of the argument correct or logical?
CHAPTER II
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS IN LEGAL REASONING
BURDEN OF PROOF
- duty of any party to present evidence to establish his claim or defense by the amount of
evidence required by law
- lies upon him who asserts it, not upon him who denies
In civil cases
- plaintiff has the burden of proving the material allegations of the complaint which are denied
by the answer
- defendant has the burden of proving the material allegations in his answer, which sets up new
matter as a defense
In administrative proceedings
- the burden of proof that respondent committed the acts complained of rests on the
complainant
EVIDENCE
- the means sanctioned by the Rules of Court, of ascertaining in a judicial proceeding the truth
respecting a matter of fact
“Best evidence rule” encapsulated in Rule 130, Section 3, Revised Rules of Civil Procedure
- applies only when the content of such document is the subject of the inquiry
- Evidence is deemed admissible if it is relevant to the issue and more importantly, if it is not
excluded by provision of law or by the Rules of Court.
- Evidence is relevant if it has a relation to the fact in issue as to induce belief in its existence
or non-existence.
TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES
- generally confined to personal knowledge; and therefore excludes hearsay
Hearsay Rule
- A witness can testify only to those facts which he knows of or comes from his personal
knowledge, that is, which are derived from his perception.
- Exception: entries in official records made in the performance of duty by a public officer
EXPERT TESTIMONY
- statements made by individuals who are considered as experts in a particular field
EXAMINATION
Direct Examination by the Proponent
- examination-in-chief of a witness by the party presenting him on the facts relevant to the
issue
NOTE! After the examination of a witness by both sides has been concluded, the witness cannot be
recalled without leave of the court. The court will grant or withhold leave in its discretion, as the
interests of justice may require.
DEPENDENCE OF PRECEDENTS
- When a point has been settled by a decision, it becomes a precedent which should be
followed in subsequent cases before the same court. The rule is based wholly on policy, in
the interest of uniformity and certainty of the law, but is frequently departed from.
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FIN