[CRIM 1] Absolutory Causes + Module 6: Exempting Circumstances

Absolutory Causes

• The act is a crime and the actor acted with voluntariness and intent, but the law chooses not to punish the offender due to overarching public policy considerations.

Article 6(3), RPC

What is the provision for Spontaneous Desistance?

Spontaneous Desistance

• voluntary discontinuation or abandonment by an offender of the commission of a felony before performing all the acts of execution.

Spontaneous Desistance

• When the offender voluntarily stops on their own initiative during the attempted stage, _______ acts as an absolutory cause, completely exempting the offender from criminal liability for the attempted felony.

Spontaneous Desistance

• viewed as a reward granted by law to a person who, having taken initial steps toward a crime, heeds the call of conscience or reason and retreats before crossing into the point of no return.

• The law provides this incentive to encourage individuals to abandon their unlawful intent.

1. commencement of the felony by overt acts, 2. non-completion of the acts of execution, 3. desistance is voluntary and spontaneous, 4. desistance is not caused by an external force

What are the requisites for Spontaneous Desistance to Exempt Liability?

1. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the crime, 2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime or the effects/instruments thereof, 3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principal of the crime

What are the 3 elements of Accessories under Art. 19, RPC?

Article 20, RPC

What is the provision for Accessories Exempt from Criminal Liability?

Article 247, RPC

What is the provision for Death or Physical Injuries Under Exceptional Circumstances?

Death or Physical Injuries Under Exceptional Circumstances

• An absolutory cause where an accused kills or injures a spouse or paramour under the conditions of Art. 247. The law considers the accused as acting under a justified, overwhelming burst of passion.

• The court may impose the penalty of destierro (banishment) if the accused kills or inflicts serious physical injury on any or both of the parties, or declares the accused exempt from punishment if they inflict physical injuries of any other kind.

1. A legally married person surprises their spouse in the act of committing sexual intercourse with another person, OR A parent surprises their daughter—who is under 18 years of age and living with them—in the act of committing sexual intercourse with her seducer, 2. Offender kills any or both of them, or inflicts upon any or both of them serious physical injuries, in the act, 3. offender has not promoted or facilitated the prostitution of his wife or daughter, and has not consented to the infidelity of the spouse

What are the elements/requisites of Death or Physical Injuries Under Exceptional Circumstances (Art. 247, RPC)?

Destierro

• Under Article 87 of the RPC, any person sentenced to _______ is prohibited from entering the place or places designated in the sentence, as well as any area within a specified radius, which shall be not more than 250 kilometers and not less than 25 kilometers from the designated place

• Possible punishment under Art. 247, RPC (Death or Physical Injuries under Exceptional Circumstances).

Destierro

• A principal correctional penalty under the RPC that consists of banishment or prohibition from entering a designated geographical area.

• Duration: 6 months and 1 day to 6 years

Instigation

• An absolutory cause wherein the means by which the accused is lured into the commission of the offense charged in order to prosecute him.

Instigation

• In __________, officers of the law or their agents incite, induce, instigate or lure an accused into committing an offense which he or she would otherwise not commit and has no intention of committing.

• _______, where law enforces act as co-principals, the accused will have to be ACQUITTED.

Instigation

• __________ is said to be a “trap for the unwary innocent.”

Entrapment

• The employment of such ways and means for the purpose of trapping or capturing a lawbreaker.

• In _________, the criminal intent or design to commit the offense charged originates in the mind of the accused, and law enforcement officials merely facilitate in the apprehension of the criminal by employing ruses and schemes; thus, the accused cannot justify his or her conduct.

Entrapment

• __________ is said to be a “trap for the unwary criminal”. 

Article 280(3), RPC

What is the provision for Trespass to Dwelling Under Special Circumstances?

1. any person who shall enter another’s dwelling for the purpose of preventing some serious harm to himself or to the occupants of the dwelling or a third person, 2. enter a dwelling for the purpose of rendering some service to humanity or justice, 3. anyone who enters cafes, taverns, inns and other public houses while they are open

The provisions of Art. 280(3) or Trespass to Dwelling Under Special Circumstances are not applicable to which people?

Article 332, RPC

What is the provision/legal basis for Crimes Against Property Among Family Members?

1. Spouses, ascendants, descendants or relatives by affinity in the same line

2. Widowed spouse with respect to the property belonging to the deceased spouse before it is passed into the possession of another

3. Brothers and sisters, or brothers-in-law or sisters-in-law, if living together

Under Art. 332 of the RPC, acts that result from the commission of the crime of theft, swindling, or malicious mischief shall incur no criminal liability, only civil liability for which people?

Not applicable to strangers participating in the commission of a crime.

Who are the provisions of Crimes Against Property Among Family Members (Art. 332, RPC) not applicable to?

Section 21, R.A. No. 9165

What is the provision for the Chain of Custody Rule and the Saving Clause under the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002?

Corpus Delicti

• means “body of the crime”

• legal principle that a crime must be proven to have actually occurred before someone can be convicted of committing it.

Corpus Delicti

• In drug-related prosecutions (e.g., illegal sale or illegal possession under Sections 5 and 11), the dangerous drug is the very body of the crime: ___________.

Chain of Custody Rule

“the duly recorded authorized movements and custody of seized drugs or controlled chemicals or plant sources of dangerous drugs or laboratory equipment of each stage, from the time of seizure/confiscation to receipt in the forensic laboratory to safekeeping to presentation in court for destruction.”

Chain of Custody Rule

• A variation of the principle that real evidence must be authenticated prior to its admission into evidence.

• Basically, a method of authenticating evidence in relation to seized drugs or controlled chemicals.

1. The seizure and marking, if practicable, of the illegal drug recovered from the accused by the apprehending officer,

2. The turnover of the seized illegal drug by the apprehending officer to the investigating officer,

3. The turnover of the illegal drug by the investigating officer to the forensic chemist for laboratory examination

4. The turnover and submission of the illegal drug from the forensic chemist to the court.

What are the links in the Chain of Custody that must be established, as defined in People v. Romy Lim?

At the place of apprehension/seizure; OR At the nearest police station or nearest office of the apprehending team/agency, whichever is practicable

Where can the physical inventory and photographing of the seized drugs be done under the Chain of Custody Rule (Sec. 21, R.A. No. 9165)?

1. A media representative

2. A DOJ representative

3. An elected public official

Who are the required insulating witnesses under the Chain of Custody Rule (Sec. 21, R.A. No. 9165)?

1. The prosecution proves justifiable grounds for the non-compliance; AND

2. The integrity and evidentiary value of the seized items were properly preserved by the apprehending team.

What are the requisites for invoking the Saving Clause under Sec. 21 of R.A. No. 9165?

Battery

• refers to an act of inflicting personal harm upon the woman or her child resulting to the physical and psychological or emotional distress.

Battered Woman Syndrome

• refers to a scientifically defined pattern of psychological and behavioral symptoms found in women living in battering relationships as a result of cumulative abuse. 

Battered woman

• A woman who is repeatedly subjected to any forceful physical or psychological behavior by a man in order to coerce her to do something he wants her to do without concern for her rights.

• Includes wives or women in any form of intimate relationship with men.

at least twice

• To be classified as a battered woman, the couple must go through the battering cycle ______.

1. tension-building phase, 2. acute battering incident, 3. tranquil period

What are the 3 stages in the cycle of violence which are requisites in the Battered Woman Syndrome?

Tension-building phase

3 Stages of the Cycle of Violence; BWS

• Minor battering occurs; verbal or slight physical abuse or another form of hostile behavior. 

• The woman usually tries to pacify the batterer through a show of kind, nurturing behavior or simply staying out of his way. But the techniques adopted by the woman in her effort to placate him are not usually successful, and the verbal and/or physical abuse worsens.

Tension-building phase

3 Stages of the Cycle of Violence; BWS

• Each partner senses the imminent loss of control and the growing tension of despair. Exhausted from the persistent stress, the battered woman soon withdraws emotionally. But the more she becomes emotionally unavailable, the more the batterer becomes angry, oppressive, and abusive.

Acute battering incident

3 Stages of the Cycle of Violence; BWS

• During this phase, she has no control; only the batterer may put an end to the violence. Its nature can be as unpredictable as the time of its explosion, and so are his reasons for ending it. The battered woman usually realizes that she cannot reason with him, and that resistance would only exacerbate her condition.

• At this stage, she has a sense of detachment from the attack and the terrible pain, although she may later clearly remember every detail.

Tranquil period

3 Stages of the Cycle of Violence; BWS

• On the one hand, the batterer may show a tender and nurturing behavior towards his partner. He knows that he has been viciously cruel and tries to make up for it, begging for her forgiveness and promising never to beat her again. On the other hand, the battered woman also tries to convince herself that the battery will never happen again; that her partner will change for the better; and that this “good, gentle and caring man” is the real person whom she loves.

1. A child 15 years of age or under at the time of the commission of the offense

2. A child above 15 years but below 18 years of age, who acted without discernment, at the time of the commission of the offense

Who are exempted from criminal responsibility on the basis of minority?

Child in conflict with the law (CICL)

• Refers to a child who is alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, having committed an offense under Philippine laws.

Discernment may be shown by:

1. The manner the crime was committed

2. The conduct of the offender after its commission

How can you deduce that there is discernment shown by a CICL, under R.A. No. 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006?