I.

MCQ
1. What is the weight of the testimony of an Expert witness?
a. The testimony is merely advisory
2. In the prosecution of a criminal case for falsification arising from a forged signature, the
State during the trial could not produce and present the original document containing
the alleged forged signature despite diligent and extra efforts to do so. As a public
prosecutor, what course of action will you initiate in order to save the time of the court
and avoid unnecessary cost and expenses of the trial?
a. Move to present secondary evidence
3. What proper step or action would you take or initiate as a lawyer in a case where the
court refuses to allow to present testimony of competent witness which you assessed to
be competent, material and necessary to prove your case?
a. Make an offer of proof
4. What is the primary reason for the rejection of “Hearsay evidence”?
a. It deprives the right to cross-examine the declarant
5. On the hearing of criminal case, the prosecutor started with the presentation of its
witness on direct examination and finally completed the same. The accused asked for
deferment of the cross-examination of the said witness on the ground that counsel
needs to furnish with a copy of the stenographic notes from which he will base his
questions on cross examination. Over the objection of the prosecutor, the deferment
was granted. In the interim, the witness died and defense moved to strike out from the
record of the testimony of the said witness because of lack of cross-examination. The
prosecution vehemently objected on the ground of implied waiver by the accused. If
you were the judge, which of these rulings on the motion would you consider?
a. Deny motion because of implied waiver by the accused
6. In a prosecution for rape, the people presented a love letter which was testified to by
the complainant who was likewise cross-examined on said letter which contents were
read in record. During the progress of the trial, said letter was lost and could not
therefore be offered. Under this set of facts, will the lost love letter be considered
evidence by the court?
a. The court will consider it if secondary evidence is offered
7. The public prosecutor, after finding probable cause against respondent in the
preliminary investigation forthwith prepared and filed the information in court. During
the arraignment, accused requested for its postponement because he allegedly filed a
“motion for reinvestigation” with the City prosecutor’s office. The court denied the
request and proceeded with his arraignment. Is the court correct?
a. No, because of the pending Motion for reinvestigation
8. The court issued an order citing a party for direct contempt with the reasons and
contemptuous conduct of the respondent stated therein and judgment was rendered
without hearing. In general, what is the proper remedy of the respondent from the
judgment of said direct contempt?
a. Petition for certiorari or prohibition
 9. Accused was arrested through an invalid warrant of arrest. After the arrest he posted
bail for his provisional liberty. During the arraignment he pleaded not guilty. Before the
start of the trial he filed a motion to quash the said warrant of arrest and/or
information. The court rule to deny the motion on the ground that:
a. The motion to quash should have been filed before his plea.
10. What is the remedy of the accused against a defective information?
a. Motion to quash – filed before the defendant enters his plea.
b. Motion for bills of particulars – at or before arraignment
c. Motion to amend – if an alleged defect in the complaint or information can be
cured by amendment, the court shall order the amendment instead of quashing
the complaint or information. If after the amendment, the defect is not cured,
the motion to quash should be granted.
d. Demurer to evidence – after the prosecution has rested its case

II. ESSAY
1. What do you understand by Plea bargaining in criminal cases? At what stage of a
criminal proceeding is it allowed? Is plea bargaining demandable by the accused as a
matter of right? Explain your last answer.
a. Plea bargaining in criminal cases is a process whereby the accused and the
prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to
the approval of the court. It includes the defendant’s pleading to guilty to a
lesser offense or to one or some of the counts of a multi-count indictment in
return for a lower sentence than that for a graver charge.
b. It is made at the arraignment, pre-trial, trial proper and even after the
prosecution has finished presenting its evidence and rested its case.
c. It is demandable by the accused as a matter of right but only when the
prosecution does not have sufficient evidence to establish guilt of the crime
charged. But not allowed as a matter of right when the accused is charged in a
drug case where the imposable penalty is reclusion perpetua.
2. What are the requirement before “Trial in absentia” of the accused may be allowed
a. Trial in absentia is allowed only if:
i. The accused has been validly arraigned
ii. Accused has been validly notified of the trial
iii. His failure to appear is unjustifiable
3. Generally, when is an Impeachment of witness made and how? Is a party allowed to
impeach his own witness? Give exceptions, if any.
a. A witness may be impeached by the party against whom he was called, by:
i. Contradictory evidence
ii. By evidence that his general reputation for truth, honesty and integrity
is bad
iii. Evidence that he has made at other times statements which are
inconsistent with his present testimony
 b. As a general rule, a party is not allowed to impeach his own witness, except for
the following instances:
i. An unwilling witness
ii. A hostile witness
iii. A witness who is an adverse party or an officer, director, or managing
agent of a public or private corporation or a partnership or corporation
which is an adverse party.
4. What is “Rebuttal evidence”? When is it received by the court?
a. Rebuttal evidence – is that kind, which is given to explain, repel, counteract or
disprove facts given in evidence by the adverse party. It is evidence in denial of
some affirmative case or fact which the adverse party has attempted to prove
b. The court may refuse receipt of the rebuttal evidence if it is repetitive or
cumulative. The court may or may not, on its own discretion, admit such
evidence.
5. What is a Continuing objection? How will you actually and properly demonstrate before
the court for it to take note of your continuing objection in the course of the trial?
a. Under Sec 37 of Rule 132, when it becomes reasonably apparent in the course
of the examination of a witness that the questions being propounded are of the
same class as those to which objection has been made, whether such objection
was sustained or overruled, it shall not be necessary to repeat the objection, it
being sufficient for the adverse party to record his continuing objection.
6. What is Demurrer to evidence? What are the requisites and distinguish a demurer in a
criminal case to that of the civil case and the effects thereof
a. Demurer to evidence is a motion to dismiss due to the insufficiency of evidence
presented by the prosecution to overturn the presumption of innocence in favor
of the accused
b. After the prosecution has rested its case, the court may dismiss the action on
the ground of insufficiency of evidence:
i. On its own initiative after giving the prosecution the opportunity to be
heard
ii. Upon demurrer to evidence filed by the accused with or without leave
of court
c. Demurrer to evidence in a civil case versus demurrer to evidence in a criminal
case
i. (1) In a civil case, leave of court is not required before filing a
demurrer. In a criminal case, leave of court is filed with or without leave
of court (Sec. 23, Rule 119).
ii. (2) In a civil case, if the demurrer is granted, the order of dismissal is
appealable—since the motion is interlocutory. In a criminal case, the
order of dismissal is not appealable because of the constitutional policy
against double jeopardy—denial is tantamount to acquittal, final and
executory.
 iii. (3) In civil case, if the demurrer is denied, the defendant may proceed
to present his evidence. In a criminal case, the accused may adduce his
evidence only if the demurrer is filed with leave of court. He cannot
present his evidence if he filed the demurrer without leave of court
(Sec. 23, Rule 119).
d. Effects in civil vs criminal
7. What do you understand by a “Motion to strike out evidence”? why is it so nominated
as motion to strike out?
a. It is form of objection. It is nominated as such because the evidence has already
been received when the grounds for objection became apparent to the
objecting party. It may be invoked in the following instances:
i. Evidence is admitted conditionally
ii. A certain class of testimony which is required by law to be corroborated
in order to be legally effective
iii. A document which was not properly authenticated
iv. Any means of evidence which appears insufficient for the particular
issue
v. An answer to an objectionable question is inadmissible and non-
responsive
8. What is Incriminating evidence? On what constitutional provision is it founded? Who
claims it? Can a party who offered him as witness claim it? Explain your answer in the
last question.
a. Incriminating evidence - a type of evidence, which when presented, violates the
constitutional right against self-incrimination
b. Art III, Sec 17 – The Right Against Self-Incrimination; no person shall be
compelled to be a witness against himself.
c. An ordinary witness may invoke the right but he may only do so as each
incriminating question is asked.
The accused himself may invoke the right, but unlike the ordinary witness, he
may altogether refuse to take the witness stand and refuse to answer any and
all questions.
But once the accused waives his right and chooses to testify on testify in his
behalf, he may be cross-examined on matters covered in his direct examination.
He cannot refuse to answer questions during cross examination by claiming that
the answer that he will give could incriminate him for the crime he is being
charged.
However, if the question during the cross examination relates to a crime
different from that which was charged, he can still invoke the right and refuse to
answer.
d. A party who offered him as witness cannot claim it. Only the ordinary witness,
when asked specific incriminating questions, or the accused himself prior to his
taking the witness stand are the only ones who can claim it. OR
 e. One of the privileges of a witness is to refuse to answer any question which may
tend to subject him to punishment for an offense. This privilege is founded on
the constitutional right that no person shall be compelled to be a witness
against himself
f. The privilege of a witness against self-incrimination is strictly personal. The party
who offered him cannot claim privilege. The witness must claim it in his own
capacity. The court, however, may appraise the witness of his constitutional
right and the party who called him may ask the court to do so.
9. What is the scope or extent of Cross-examination of a witness?
a. The witness may be cross-examined by the adverse party as to any matters
stated in the direct examination or connected therewith, with sufficient fullness
and freedom to test his accuracy and truthfulness from interest or bias or the
reverse, and to elicit all important facts bearing the same issue.
b. Where a witness is called to a peculiar fact, he is a witness to all purposes and
may be fully examined to the whole case.
10. If A was arrested not in flagrante delicto or under the circumstances where he has
waived or given consent to a search but as an incident thereto, the search yielded in his
person a prohibited drug. Is the search valid? Is the seized drug admissible in evidence?
Qualify your answer.
a. Yes, the search is valid. The subject, A, has consented to the search which
waived his right against warrantless or unlawful search and seizure. Such
consent or waiver if freely, wilfully and knowingly or intelligibly given will
validate the search.
b. The prohibited drug seized is admissible in evidence because a contraband like
the seized drug is a violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 on mere
possession of such drug. No person has the right to possess for the purpose of
issue or disposition, and are not embraced in the protection of the
constitutional guaranty.
c. Sec 13 of Rule 127, search incidental to a lawful arrest – a person lawfully
arrested may be searched for dangerous weapons or anything which may have
been used or constitute proof in the commission of an offense without a search
warrant.
11. When is the opinion of Ordinary witness not admissible? What are the exceptions
a. General rule is that opinion of ordinary witness is not admissible in evidence.
b. Exceptions are, if the ordinary witness testifies to the:
i. Identity of the person he has adequate knowledge
ii. Handwriting of the person he is sufficiently familiar
iii. Mental sanity of a person whom he has adequately acquainted with
iv. Impressions with regard to emotion, behaviour, condition and
appearance of such person
12. Hearsay evidence
 a. Hearsay evidence are evidence not of own or personal knowledge of the
witness. These statements arise from circumstance when a person overheard
statements not of his own perception
b. Failure to object to hearsay evidence may be considered a waiver and it will
form part of the records of the case. However, there are exceptions such as res
gestae, dying declaration and learned treaties.
13. Omnibus Motion rule
a. The omnibus motion rule embodied in Rule 15, Section 8, of the Rules of Court
reads as follows: Sec. 8. Omnibus motion. — A motion attacking a pleading or a
proceeding shall include all objections then available, and all objections not so
included shall be deemed waived.
b. Exceptions are:
i. Court has no jurisdiction
ii. Litis pendencia
iii. Res judicata
iv. prescription
14. Disputable presumption of evidence
a. Rebuttable Presumption In the law of evidence. A presumption which may be
rebutted by evidence. Otherwise called a disputable presumption. A species of
legal presumption which holds good until disproved.
15. Custodial investigation (with subquestions)