ARTICLE 3: BILL OF RIGHTSRights of the Accused

Ms. Joyce dela Cruz | Department of Social Sciences

SECTION 12(1) Any person under investigation for the commission of an offense

shall have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. If the person cannot afford the service of counsel, he must be provided with one.

(2) No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free will shall be used against him. Secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention are prohibited.

(3) Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section 17 hereof shall be inadmissible in evidence against him.

(4) The law shall provide for penal and civil sanctions for violations of this section as well as compensation to and rehabilitation of victims of torture or similar practices, and families.

“under investigation”• When a particular suspect is taken in custody by

the police who carry out the process of investigation and interrogation.

• The authorities must ensure that the accused who has already been arrested or detained (with or without warranted) shall be protected of his rights.

• The right of silence and to counsel can only be waived if it is expressed in writing and in the presence of counsel.

SECTION 13All persons, except those charged with punishable by reclusion perpetua when evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, or be released on recognizance as may be provided by law. The right to bail shall not be impaired even when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended. Excessive bail shall not be required.

“bail”• To relieve an accused from imprisonment until his conviction

and yet secure his appearance at the trial.• The right to bail is granted because in all criminal

prosecutions, the accused is presumed innocent• May be in the form of cash deposit, property bond, secured

from a surety company, or recognizance.• A person in hiding or at large cannot invoke this right.• Not available to persons charges with capital offense,

especially if the evidence against him is strong• No bail shall be allowed after the judgement has become

final, or after the accused has commenced to serve his sentence

• Except on capital offense, right to bail can still be practice even if the writ of habeas corpus is suspended.

Considerations on determining the bail• Nature of the offense• Penalty which the law attached to it• The probability of the guilt• Financial condition of the accused

– Under the discretion of the judge

SECTION 14(1) No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense

without due process of law.(2) In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be

presumed innocent until the contrary is proved, and shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to have a speedy, impartial, and public trial, to meet the witness face to face, and to have compulsory process to secure the attendance of witness and the production of evidence in his behalf. However, after arraignment, trial may proceed notwithstanding the absence of the accused provided that he has been duly notified and his failure to appear is unjustifiable.

Right to due process of the accused• Trial before a court having jurisdiction• Provision of fair and impartial trial• Provision of all legal means and opportunity to

defend himself

• The judgment awarded against him must be within the authority of a valid law

Presumption of innocence• No person shall be convicted of a crime except upon

confession or unless his guilt is established by proof beyond reasonable doubt

• Evidence(s) must be strong enough to convince the court that the accused is clearly and unmistakably guilty, not because he cannot prove that he is innocent, but because the evidence(s) proved that the accused is guilty without reasonable doubt

• It is better to acquit a person upon the ground of reasonable doubt even though he may in reality be guilty, than to inflict imprisonment on one who may be innocent

• The State is only required to establish a prima facie case after which the accused is given an opportunity to present evidence to rebut it

Right to be heard by himself and counsel• The defendant shall be entitled to be present and

defend in person at every stage of the proceedings, from the arraignment to the promulgation of judgment

• The accused must personally enter his plea• After a plea of not guilty, the accused is entitled to 2

days to prepare for trial unless the court for good cause grants him further time

• Before arraignment, the court shall inform the accused of his right to counsel and provide him one if he wishes to

• A hearing is indispensable even if the guilt of the defendant is very apparent

Right to counsel• To avoid instances wherein the accused has been

convicted not because he is guilty but because he does not know how to establish his innocence

Right to be informed of the nature and cause of accusations against him• To criminal complaint or information should be

sufficiently clear to a person of ordinary intelligence as to what the charge is as to enable him to prepare for his defense

• There is a violation of the right where an accused has been charged with an offense and convicted of another, or where no arraignment of the accused has taken place

Right to have a speedy, impartial and public trial• A trial conducted according to fixed rules,

regulations, and proceedings of law free from vexatious, capricious and oppressive delays

• A long delay in the judicial process serves as a refuge of the accused if he is guilty and a continuing injustice for him if he is innocent

Right to have a speedy, impartial and public trial• No man can be a judge of his own case and no

man is permitted to try cases where he has an interest in the outcome

• Every procedure which would offer even only a possible temptation to the judge to forget the burden of proof required to convict the defendant, denies to latter due process of law

Right to have a speedy, impartial and public trial• It is open to all (i.e., the accused friends and

relatives and others who may be inclined to watch the proceedings in order to see if justice is intelligently and impartially if administered

• However, there may be occasions to exclude from a trial those who are inclined to attend from idle or morbid curiosity only, especially when public morals and decency required it

Right to confrontation of witnesses• To give the accused an opportunity to cross-

examine witness against him to test their recollection and veracity

• To give the judge an opportunity to see the demeanour and appearance of witnesses while testifying, in aid of the judge’s trial of facts

Right to compulsory production of witnesses and evidence • Subpoenas are offered to compel the attendance

of witnesses in his favor, including warrant of arrest, if needed

• The accused must provide reasonable and diligent effort to have the witnesses appear and testify

• The accused can also ask the court to order a person to produce in court certain evidences and testify with respect to them

• The accused has also the right to inspect evidences that might be presented to prove his guilty, provided that it is under the supervision of the law-investigating authority

Trial in the absence of the accused, provided that:• He has been arraigned• He has been duly notified of the trial• His failure to appear is unjustifiable

SECTION 15The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of invasion or rebellion when the public safety requires it.

Writ of habeas corpus• An order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction,

directed to the person detained another:1. commanding him to produce the body of the prisoner at a

designated time and place, and 2. to show sufficient cause for holding in custody the individual

so detained.

• The writ is the proper remedy of the accused in each and every case of detention without legal cause or authority

• The privilege of the writ is the further order from the court to release an individual if it finds his detention without legal cause or authority

Suspension of the writ of habeas corpus• The detained person can still be presented in

court, but the official who detained him may ask the court not to continue the proceedings. Thus, the judge may be prevented to determine whether or not the person’s detention is authorized by law

• Can only be done in case of invasion, rebellion or when public safety requires it

• Suspension is done to hold in preventive imprisonment pending investigation and trial of persons who plot against or commit acts that endanger its very existence

SECTION 16All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.

Right to a speedy disposition of cases• While Section 14 guarantees the right to speedy

trial in criminal cases, Section 16 covers all phases of any case before judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies from its filing to its disposition

• All courts (including bodes as NLRC and SEC) have appropriate time frames in the disposition of cases, which is based on the last pleading submitted

SECTION 17No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.

Rationale• A person would be tempted to commit perjury to

defend himself• Prevents extortion of confession by duress• An accused has also the right to silence, implying

that his refusal to testify may not be used as a presumption of guilt or taken as evidence against him

Conditionalities• Purely personal and cannot be done by a third person• Only in cases of:

– testimonial compulsion (i.e., if a person has to admit guilt against his will)

– production of evidence that will compel him to make a statement against him

– involuntary affixing of signature • Does not apply:

– to protect a person from presenting facts that may expose him of public ridicule or disgrace

– If the testimony may subject a person to a liability that does not arise from any criminal action

– To protect a person from a past criminality, or if the crime has already been prescribed

SECTION 18(1) No person shall be detained solely by reason of his

political beliefs and aspirations.(2) No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except

as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.

Right against detention solely be reason of political beliefs and aspirations

• People can freely speak of what they think is wrong with the government and its leaders, or seek changes to the government and its policies which they believe to be necessary or the removal of public officials unworthy of their trust

Right against involuntary servitude• Protection against slavery and peonage• Exceptions:

– When it is imposed as a punishment of a crime where the person has been duly convicted

– When personal military or civil service so requires– To injunctions requiring striking of laborers to return to

work– Military and naval enlistment– When parents of their authority require their children to

perform reasonable amount of work– When there is a proper exercise of police power

SECTION 19(1) Excessive fines shall not be impaired, nor cruel,

degrading or inhuman punishment inflicted. Neither shall death penalty be imposed, unless, for compelling reasons involving heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter provides for it. Any death penalty already imposed shall be reduced to reclusion perpetua.

(2) The employment of physical, psychological, or degrading punishment against any prisoner or detainee or the use of substandard or inadequate penal facilities under subhuman conditions shall be dealt with by law.

Right against cruel, degrading or inhuman punishments• Includes punishments that involve torture of

lingering death and subhuman penal facilities • Excludes death by hanging and electrocution and

banishment• Punishment is degrading when it brings shame

and humiliation to the victim or exposes him of public ridicule, or lowers his human dignity

• Gravity of punishment must correlate to the gravity of the offense

SECTION 20No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of tax

Debt and poll tax• Debt refers to civil or contractual debt or one not

arising from a criminal offense. A person may be imprisoned for failure to pay tax as it is not a debt.

• Poll tax refers to a tax of fixed amount imposed on individuals residing within a specified territory, whether citizens or not, without regard to their property or the occupation in which they may be engaged (i.e., community tax)

SECTION 21No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. If an act is punished by law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution of the same act.

Double Jeopardy• When the person is charged with an offense and

the case is terminated either by acquittal or conviction or in any other manner without the express consent of the accused, the latter cannot again be charged with the same or identical offense.

SECTION 22No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.

Ex post facto law• Deprives a person’s protection or defense

previously available• Operates retroactively

– Before passage of the law, the person is innocent; afterwards, the person is guilty

– Aggravates a crime or makes it greater than when it is committed

– Changes the punishment and inflicts greater punishment what the law annexed to the crime

– Alters the legal rules of evidence

Bill of Attainder• Legislative act which inflicts punishment without due

trial • Includes trial by legislature

QUIZ

Which violates the right against double jeopardy clause?• A person was charged with murder and was eventually

proven not guilty. On his way home, he drove a car and accidentally hit a pedestrian who eventually died. He was immediately arrested and held under custody.

• A person trespassed a house, raped the owner of the house, stabbed her to death, robbed her properties, then burned her house down. He was being charged with multiple crimes at the same case.

• A person burned his garbage in an open flame. He was charged in violation of a city ordinance and the clean air act. Both law stipulates the prohibition of such action.