Art. 36.

Prejudicial questions, which must be decided before any criminal prosecution may be instituted or may proceed, shall be governed by the rules of court which the Supreme Court shall promulgate and which shall not be in conflict with the provisions of this Code. - Precedence. The general rule is that where both a civil and criminal case arising from the same facts are filed in court, the criminal case takes precedence. EXCEPTION: if there is a prejudicial question one that arises in a case, the resolution of which is a logical antecedent of the issue involved therein, and the cognizance of which pertains to another tribunal. There are always 2 cases involved, civil and criminal. The criminal case is always suspended because the issues in the civil is determinative of the outcome of the criminal case. - Two essential elements of a prejudicial question: o The civil action involved an issue similar or intimately related to the issue raised in the criminal action o The resolution of such issue determined whether or not the criminal action may proceed. prejudicial (pr j -d sh l) adj. 1. Detrimental; injurious. 2. Causing or tending to preconceived judgment or convictions: Jurors were told not to read the newspapers to avoid being exposed to prejudicial publicity for the defendant What is a prejudicial question? A prejudicial question is a question which arises in a case, the resolution of which is a logical antecedent of the issue involved in said case, and the cognizance of which pertains to another tribunal (Art.36, NCC). NOTE: For a civil case to be considered prejudicial to a criminal action as to cause the suspension of the latter pending the final determination of the former, it must appear not only that the civil case involves the same facts upon which the criminal prosecution would be based, but also that in the resolution of the issues raised in said civil action, the guilt or innocence of the accused would necessarily be determined. What are its elements? The following are the elements of prejudicial question: (1) It must be determinative of the guilt or innocence of the accused in the criminal case; and (2) Jurisdiction to try said question must be lodged in another tribunal. What is its effect upon a criminal action? Its effect upon a criminal case is to suspend it if one has already been commenced. Q. A, under duress, married B. During the pendency of the case for annulment filed by A, B and C married. The Fiscal, upon the complaint of C, prosecuted B for bigamy. Can B successfully interpose a prejudicial question to suspend the prosecution of the bigamy charge? ANS. B cannot successfully interpose a prejudicial question to suspend the prosecution of the bigamy charge. As held by the SC in People v. Aragon (94 Phil. 257), where the nullity of the marriage is due to the fault of the party who is accused of bigamy, such party may not avail himself of his own malfeasance in order to defeat the action based on his criminal act. Otherwise, if he is permitted to do so, that would violate the principle that in order to obtain redress, a person must go to court with clean hands