2010 CRIMINAL LAW BAR QUESTIONS PART I I An agonizing and protracted trial having come to a close, the judge

found A guilty beyond reasonable doubt of homicide and imposed on him a straight penalty of SIX (6) !A"S and #$! (%) &A of prision mayor' (he public prosecutor objected to the sentence on the ground that the proper penalty should have been ()!*+! (%,) !A"S and #$! (%) &A of reclusion temporal. (he defense counsel chimed in, contending that application of the Indeterminate Sentence *a- should lead to the imposition of a straight penalty of SIX (6) .#$(/S and #$! (%) &A of prision correccional only' )ho of the three is on the right trac01 !2plain' (34) II a' )hat is the crime of 5ualified bribery1 (,4) b' .ay a judge be charged and prosecuted for such felony1 /o- about a public prosecutor1 A police officer1 !2plain' (64) III .ay a public officer charged under Section 3(b) of "epublic Act $o' 37%8 9:directly or indirectly re5uesting or receiving any gift, present, share, percentage or benefit, for himself or for any other person, in connection -ith any contract or transaction bet-een the government and any other party, -herein the public officer in his official capacity has to intervene under the la-:; also be simultaneously or successively charged -ith direct bribery under Article ,%7 of the "evised <enal =ode1 !2plain' (>4) IV ?ecause of the barbarity and hideousness of the acts committed by the suspects@respondents in cutting off their victimsA appendages, stuffing their torsos, legs, body parts into oil drums and bulletBriddled vehicles and later on burying these oil drums, vehicles -ith the use of bac0hoes and other earthB moving machinery, the =ommission on /uman "ights (=/") investigating team recommended to the panel of public prosecutors that all respondents be charged -ith violation of the C/einous =rimes *a-'D (he prosecution panel agreed -ith the =/"' As the =hief <rosecutor tas0ed -ith approving the filing of the Information, ho- -ill you pass upon the recommendation1 !2plain' (64) V Arlene is engaged in the buy and sell of used garments, more popularly 0no-n as ukay-ukay. Among the items found by the police in a raid of her store in ?aguio =ity -ere brandBne- Louie Feraud blazers' Arlene -as charged -ith Cfencing'D )ill the charge prosper1 )hy or -hy not1 (64)

VI (here being probable cause to believe that certain deposits and investments in a ban0 are related to an unla-ful activity of smuggling by Alessandro as defined under "epublic Act ("A) $o' 8%67, as amended (AntiB.oney *aundering Act) an application for an order to allo- in5uiry into his deposit -as filed -ith the "egional (rial =ourt' After hearing the application, the court granted the application and issued a freeze order' <ass upon the correctness of the courtAs order' !2plain' (34) VII A -ido-er of ten years, septuagenarian =anuto felt that he had license to engage in voyeurism' If not peeping into his neighborsA rooms through his po-erful singleBcylinder telescope, he -ould trail young, shapely damsels along the hall-ays of shopping malls' )hile going up the escalator, he stayed a step behind a miniBs0irted one, and in a moment of e2citement, put his hand on her left hip and massaged it' (he damsel screamed and hollered for help' =anuto -as apprehended and brought up on in5uest' )hat charge@s, if any, may he be held responsible for1 !2plain' (64) VIII A as0ed financial support from her sho-biz friend ? -ho accommodated her by issuing in her favor a postdated chec0 in the sum of <87,777'77' ?oth of them 0ne- that the chec0 -ould not be honored because ?As account had just been closed' (he t-o then approached trader = -hom they as0ed to change the chec0 -ith cash, even agreeing that the e2change be discounted at <E6,777'77 -ith the assurance that the chec0 shall be funded upon maturity' Fpon =As presentment of the chec0 for payment on due date, it -as dishonored because the account had already been closed' )hat action@s may = commence against A and ? to hold them to account for the loss of her <E6,777'771 !2plain' (64) IX <roserfina, an assistant public high school principal, acted to facilitate the release of salary differentials and election duty per diem of classroom teachers -ith the agreement that they -ould reimburse her for her e2penses' &id <roserfina commit a crime1 !2plain' (64) X A, ? and = are members of SG= Graternity' )hile eating in a seaside restaurant, they -ere attac0ed by X, and H, members of a rival fraternity' A rumble ensued in -hich the abovenamed members of the t-o fraternities assaulted each other in a confused and tumultuous manner resulting in the death of A' As it cannot be ascertained -ho actually 0illed A, the members of the t-o fraternities -ho too0 part in the rumble -ere charged for death caused in a tumultuous affray' )ill the charge prosper1 !2plain' (>4)

XI Angelina maintains a -ebsite -here visitors can give their comments on the posted pictures of the goods she sells in her e2clusive bouti5ue' ?ettina posted a comment that the red Birkin bag sho-n in AngelinaAs -ebsite is fa0e and that Angelina is 0no-n to sell counterfeit items' Angelina -ants to file a case against ?ettina' She see0s your advice' )hat advice -ill you give her1 (>4) PART II XII a' &efine .oney *aundering' )hat are the three (3) stages in money laundering1 (34) b' )hat is the doctrine of pro reo1 /o- does it relate to Article >E of the "evised <enal =ode1 (34) XIII )hile his -ife -as on a ,Byear scholarship abroad, "omeo -as having an affair -ith his maid &ulcinea' "ealizing that the affair -as going no-here, &ulcinea told "omeo that she -as going bac0 to the province to marry her childhood s-eetheart' =louded by anger and jealousy, "omeo strangled &ulcinea to death -hile she -as sleeping in the maidAs 5uarters' (he follo-ing day, "omeo -as found catatonic inside the maidAs 5uarters' /e -as brought to the $ational =enter for .ental /ealth ($=./) -here he -as diagnosed to be mentally unstable' =harged -ith murder, "omeo pleaded insanity as a defense' a' )ill "omeoAs defense prosper1 !2plain' (,4) b' )hat is the effect of the diagnosis of the $=./ on the case1 (,4) XIV <aul lives -ith his longBtime girlfriend Ioan in a ondominium in .a0ati' Gor more than a year, he has been secretly saving money in an envelope under their bed to buy her an engagement ring' #ne day, -hile Ioan -as cleaning their room, she found the envelope, too0 the money, and left <aul' As prosecutor, -hat crime, if any, -ould you charge Ioan1 !2plain' (34) XV Suspecting that her husband of t-enty years -as having an affair, *eilanie hired a private investigator to spy on him' After t-o -ee0s, the private investigator sho-ed *eilanie a video of her husband having se2ual intercourse -ith another -oman in a room of a fiveBstar hotel' ?ased on -hat she sa- on the video, *eilanie accused her husband of concubinage' )ill the case of concubinage prosper1 !2plain' (34)

XVI (he president, treasurer, and secretary of A?= =orporation -ere charged -ith syndicated estafa under the follo-ing InformationJ (hat on or about the %st -ee0 of Ianuary ,7%7 or subse5uent thereto in =ebu =ity and -ithin the jurisdiction of this /onorable =ourt, the aboveBnamed accused, conspiring and confederating together and all of them mutually helping and aiding one another in a syndicated manner, through a corporation registered -ith the Securities and !2change =ommission (S!=), -ith intention of carrying out the unla-ful or illegal act, transaction, enterprise or scheme, -ith intent to gain and by means of fraud and deceit, did then and there -ilfully, unla-fully, and feloniously defraud +irna, *ana, &eborah and several other persons by falsely or fraudulently pretending or representing in a transaction or series of transactions, -hich they made -ith complainants and the public in general, to the effect that they -ere in a legitimate business of foreign e2change trading successively or simultaneously operating under the name and style of A?= =orporation and &!G .anagement <hilippines, Incorporated, induced and succeeded in inducing complainants and several other persons to give and deliver to said accused the amount of at least <,7,777,777'77 on the strength of said manifestations and representations, the accused 0no-ing fully -ell that the abovenamed corporations registered -ith the S!= are not licensed nor authorized to engage in foreign e2change trading and that such manifestations and representations to transact in foreign e2change -ere false and fraudulent, that these resulted to the damage and prejudice of the complainants and other persons, and that the defraudation pertains to funds solicited from the public in general by such corporations@associations' )ill the case for syndicated estafa prosper1 !2plain' (64) XVII A 0illed his -ife and buried her in their bac0yard' /e immediately -ent into hiding in the mountains' (hree years later, the bones of AAs -ife -ere discovered by X, the gardener' Since X had a standing -arrant of arrest, he hid the bones in an old clay jar and 0ept 5uiet about it' After t-o years, H, the careta0er, found the bones and reported the matter to the police' After %6 years of hiding, A left the country but returned three years later to ta0e care of his ailing sibling' Si2 years thereafter, heK -as charged -ith parricide but raised the defense of prescription' a' Fnder the "evised <enal =ode, -hen does the period of prescription of a crime commence to run1 (%4) b' )hen is it interrupted1 (%4) c' Is AAs defense tenable1 !2plain' (34)

XVIII #n her -ay home, !va .arie sa- an injured cho- cho- puppy behind a bush' Since the puppy did not have a collar, she brought it home so she could have it as a pet' /er son in fact begged !va .arie to 0eep the puppy' (he follo-ing day, !va .arie bought a collar for the puppy and brought it to a veterinarian for treatment' a' &id !va .arie incur criminal liability in bringing the puppy home as a pet1 !2plain' (,4) b' &id she incur civil liability1 !2plain' (,4) XIX Iac0 and Iill have been married for seven years' #ne night, Iac0 came home drun0' Ginding no food on the table, Iac0 started hitting Iill only to apologize the follo-ing day' A -ee0 later, the same episode occurred L Iac0 came home drun0 and started hitting Iill' Gearing for her life, Iill left and stayed -ith her sister' (o -oo Iill bac0, Iac0 sent her floral arrangements of spotted lilies and confectioneries' (-o days later, Iill returned home and decided to give Iac0 another chance' After several days, ho-ever, Iac0 again came home drun0' (he follo-ing day, he -as found dead' Iill -as charged -ith parricide but raised the defense of Cbattered -oman syndrome'D a' &efine C?attered )oman Syndrome'D (,4) b' )hat are the three phases of the C?attered )oman SyndromeD1 (3 4) c' )ould the defense prosper despite the absence of any of the elements for justifying circumstances of selfBdefense under the "evised <enal =ode1 !2plain' (,4) XX .att -as found guilty of drug traffic0ing -hile his younger brother Ieff -as found guilty of possession of e5uipment, instrument, apparatus and other paraphernalia for dangerous drugs under Section %, of "epublic Act $o' 8%66' .att filed a petition for probation' Ieff appealed his conviction during the pendency of -hich he also filed a petition for probation' (he brothersA counsel argued that they being first time offenders, their petitions for probation should be granted' /o-ould you resolve the brothersA petitions for probation1 !2plain' (34) XXI ?ecause peace negotiations on the Spratlys situation had failed, the <eopleAs "epublic of =hina declared -ar against the <hilippines' .yra, a Gilipina -ho lives -ith her Italian e2patriate boyfriend, discovered eBmail correspondence bet-een him and a certain Meneral (ung Nat Su of =hina' #n .arch %,, ,7%7, .yra discovered that on even date her boyfriend had sent an eBmail to Meneral (ung Nat Su, in -hich he agreed to provide vital information on the military defense of the <hilippines to the =hinese government in e2change for <% million and his safe return to Italy' (-o -ee0s later, .yra decided to report the matter to the proper authorities' &id .yra commit a crime1 !2plain' (34)

XXII Immediately after murdering ?ob, Ia0e -ent to his mother to see0 refuge' /is mother told him to hide in the maidAs 5uarters until she finds a better place for him to hide' After t-o days, Ia0e transferred to his auntAs house' A -ee0 later, Ia0e -as apprehended by the police' =an Ia0eAs mother and aunt be made criminally liable as accessories to the crime of murder1 !2plain' (3 4) XXIII =hristopher, Iohn, "ichard, and *u0e are fraternity brothers' (o protect themselves from rival fraternities, they all carry guns -herever they go' #ne night, after attending a party, they boarded a ta2icab, held the driver at gunpoint and too0 the latterAs earnings' a' )hat crime, if any, did the four commit1 !numerate the elements of the crime' (,4) b' )ould your ans-er be the same if they 0illed the driver1 !2plain' (,4) NOTHING FOLLOW .