...EN BANC A.C. No. 1037. December 14, 1998 VICTORIANO P. RESURRECCION, complainant, vs. ATTY. CIRIACO C. SAYSON, Respondent. D E C I S I O N PER CURIAM: To say that lawyers must at all times uphold and respect the law is to state the obvious, but such statement can never be overemphasized. Considering that, "of all classes and professions, [lawyers are] most sacredly bound to uphold the law,"1 it is imperative that they live by the law. Accordingly, lawyers who violate their oath and engage in deceitful conduct have no place in the legal profession. In a Complaint-Affidavit, Victoriano P. Resurrecion charged Respondent Atty. Ciriaco C. Sayson with acts constituting "malpractice, deceit and gross misconduct in his office and a violation of his duties and oath as a lawyer." The Complaint arose from a homicide through reckless imprudence case, in which Complainant Resurrecion was the defendant and Respondent Sayson was the counsel for the offended party, Mr. Armando Basto Sr. The complainant alleged that, pursuant to the amicable settlement previously reached by the parties, he gave P2,500 to the respondent who, however, never gave the money to his client. Thus, the complainant was compelled to give anotherP2,500 to Mr. Basto as settlement of the case. The complainant then demanded the return of the money from respondent, to no avail. Thus, the Complaint for Disbarment. The records show that the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) conducted several hearings on the matter;...
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...Roe vs.Wade The Roe vs. Wade case was a challenge to a Texas law that made it illegal for a woman to have an abortion unless her own life was at risk or in the case of rape or incest.This case was brought about by “Jane Roe”also known as Norma L. McCorvey,an unmarried woman who, in June 1969, discovered she was pregnant with her third child.When she returned to Dallas,Texas her friends encouraged her to alledge that she had been raped in order to legally obtain a medical abortion.However,this allegation held no merit as there was no record of a police report reporting the rape.Norma then sought the help of attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington.They took on the case.In 1970, Coffee and Weddington filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on behalf of McCorvey (under the alias Jane Roe). The defendant in the case was Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade, who represented the State of Texas.On June 17, 1970, a three-judge panel of the District Court unanimously declared the Texas law unconstitutional,stating that it violated the constitutional right to freedom found in the ninth amendment. However the judges decided to not place a mandatory punishment of states that enforce the law.This prompted McCorvey’s attorneys to take this case to the supreme court. The supreme court judges were hesitant to hear this case because they felt the appeals raised difficult questions on judicial jurisdiction.But,the case reached the Supreme...
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...arbitration process is fairly quick. Once an arbitrator is selected, the case can be heard immediately. In a civil litigation, on the other hand, a case must wait until the court has time to hear it; this can mean many months, even years, before the case is heard. Cost of the Process The costs for the arbitration process are limited to the fee of the arbitrator(depending on the size of the claim, expertise of the arbitrator, and expenses), and attorney fees. Costs for litigation include attorney fees and court costs, which can be very high. Selection of Arbitrator/Judge The parties in the arbitration process decide jointly on the arbitrator; in a litigation, the judge is appointed and the parties have little or no say in the selection. The parties may have some say in whether a case is heard by a judge or a jury. Use of Attorneys Attorneys may represent the parties in an arbitration, but their role is limited; in civil litigation, attorneys spend much time gathering evidence, making motions, and presenting their cases; attorney costs in a litigation can be very high. Evidence Allowed The arbitration process has a limited evidence process, and the arbitrator...
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...vs reality Fiction versus Reality Axia College of University of Phoenix As soon as a couple decades ago there was no such thing as media. Children played hop scotch for fun, chewing gum in class was the worst moral crime committed and sexual promiscuity was a folklore that was thought to originate with a few prostitutes that were as rare as Bigfoot. As the introduction of television introduced waves of crime, sex and betrayal into the homes of Americans the crime rate began to spike like never before. This spike in crime sparked a deep yearning to investigate the uncharted criminal mind. As media has expanded from radio to television and the Internet, crime has exploded all over the world and the need to control this wild horse has sparked worldwide interest in reality based television shows that depict the inner workings of a convicts mind and how the hero police officers, detectives, crime scene investigators and judges outwit, catch and then prosecute these lawbreakers. This exciting new fad has people watching these half hour shows and believing that they are entirely accurate. There are some television shows that use a great deal of fact in the creation of the show while other shows do not even come close. Since people have become enamored with courtroom based movies and television shows this has created a false sense of knowledge among common viewers that almost an entire nation believing that courtrooms consist of a defendant and a plaintiff (or a prosecuting...
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...ADVERSARY SYSTEM vs. CIVIL LAW METHOD “The goal of both the adversarial system and the inquisitorial system is to find the truth. But the adversarial system seeks the truth by pitting the parties against each other in the hope that competition will reveal it, whereas the inquisitorial system seeks the truth by questioning those most familiar with the events in dispute. The adversarial system places a premium on the individual rights of the accused, whereas the inquisitorial system places the rights of the accused secondary to the search for truth.” This, taken from a website I found on a comparison of the adversary system vs. the inquisitorial (or civil) system of justice. By definition, theadversary system isthe system of law that relies on the contest between each advocate representing his or her party's positions to an impartial person or group of people, usually a jury or judge, trying to determine the truth of the case. By contrast, in the inquisitorial system, the judgeactively steers the search for evidence and questions the witnesses, including the respondent or defendant. Attorneys play a more passive role, suggesting routes of inquiry for the presiding judge and following the judge's questioning with questions of their own. The questioning done by the attorney is often brief because the judge tries to ask all relevant questions. With the adversarial system of law, the side with the “best case” or best presentation to the court usually prevails. During this process...
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...reconsideration of their grades without, however, invoking the law in question. To avoid injustice to individual petitioners, the court first reviewed the motions for reconsideration, irrespective of whether or not they had invoked Republic Act No. 972. Issue: Whether or Not RA No. 972 is constitutional and valid. Held: RA No. 972 has for its object, according to its author, to admit to the Bar, those candidates who suffered from insufficiency of reading materials and inadequate preparation. In the judicial system from which ours has been evolved, the admission, suspension, disbarment and reinstatement of attorneys at law in the practice of the profession and their supervision have been indisputably a judicial function and responsibility. We have said that in the judicial system from which ours has been derived, the admission, suspension, disbarment or reinstatement of attorneys at law in the practice of the profession is concededly judicial. On this matter, there is certainly a clear distinction between the functions of the judicial and legislative departments of the government. It is obvious, therefore, that the ultimate power to grant license for the practice of law belongs...
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...technology on court proceedings at each level. State courts are established by each individual state and within the state there being local courts that are established by cities, counties, and other municipalities. Federal courts, however, are established under the US Constitution and their main focus is to decide disputes involving the Constitution and the laws that have been passed by Congress. Each level of the court system has key players that include but are not limited to the judge, prosecutor, defense attorney and jury. At the state level, both the judge and the prosecutor are elected officials. These individuals are elected for an eight year term by the majority vote of both houses in the General Assembly. For example in the case of Commonwealth of VA vs. George Huguely V, the presiding judge was Honorable Edward L. Hogshire, Judge and the Commonwealth’s Attorney was Warner D. Chapman. Federal judges such as the Supreme Court justices, court of appeals judges and district court judges are all nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate as stated in the US Constitution. These officials are typically of the President’s political party and appointed for life long terms. Jurisdiction is different for each level of the court system. Jurisdiction simply means the kinds of cases a court is authorized to hear. Jurisdiction for state courts is broader and their cases generally involve individual citizens that...
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...Criminal vs. Civil Law Jennifer M. Martin Kaplan University Professor Hardgrave 9pm Criminal vs. Civil Law The American Legal System consist of two types of case laws. They are civil and criminal case laws. In Civil case, it begins when a person or entity (plaintiff) claims a person or entity (defendant) didn’t fulfill their legal obligation to the plaintiff. Whereas, Criminal case begins when a Government (United States Attorney or States Attorney) prosecutes a defendant if charged with a state or federal crime. In this essay, I will discuss the difference between the two case laws. (Cheeseman) The punishment in criminal law begins when anyone who is found guilty of a crime, whether misdemeanor or felony, will result in punishment by incarceration, fines, probation or even in some states death penalty if was results in deaths. For example, when someone is sentenced to so many years in jail for a felony robbery or murder. Whereas, Civil law the defendant is remanded by the court to pay restitution with no incarceration. For example, when Capital One takes a client to court for defaulting on his or her agreed contract to pay on the credit card. The court may have the defendant pay restitution to the plaintiff, which is Capital one. The standard proof of crimes must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. Meaning, when the accused is being prosecuted, the prosecutor has to prove whether or not the defendant is guilty or not. When there is beyond reasonable doubt between the...
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...While researching the “adversary system” and the “civil system” I found them both to have different approaches to obtain the same results, “the truth”. The court procedures in a civil system vary from country to country. The adversary system is more effective in having a fair trial. This system uses two attorneys to represent their respective clients. There is also an impartial judge (and jury if needed) to render a verdict. The jury is group of 12 peers that are sworn to listen to the facts of a case. Jurors are questioned by the prosecution and defense to try to insure they are not biased. A unanimous decision is required for conviction. While opposing attorneys are to represent their clients to the best of their abilities they are also officers of the court. As officers of the court lawyers have an ethical duty to tell judges the truth. In the civil system the judge establishes the facts of the case, brings charges, gathers the evidence, and questions plaintiffs and defendants. Attorneys play a less active role in defending their clients, they are charged with finding the truth. In a criminal trial the decision is made by a judge or group of judges and a small group of lay assessors. Lay assessors are selected randomly from the population. They are not questioned by the prosecution or the defense, so they could be biased. A two-thirds majority is usually required for conviction. The US Constitution gives us certain rights that the civil law system does not. For example...
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...CRM-260 Mrs. Patterson 1/5/13 Courtroom observation The purpose of this paper is to show what I observed throughout the three hours that I spent in the Green County judicial courtroom number V. This was the first time that I had ever been in any courthouse and I felt like I was entering an airport terminal when I had to go through security in order to enter the building. When I first arrived the judge was not in the courtroom and we had to wait around twenty minutes for him to enter, when he finally arrived we all stood as he entered and the sentencing for the case of State vs. Raymond was under way. In this case the prosecutor was seeking a twelve year prison sentence for the defendant. the defendant, Raymond was being brought up on charges for meth use and violating parole ten times. The defense attorney wanted a 100 to 120 day in-patient treatment sentence. His defense was that he had been conviction free for the last three years, in last few months he had paid quote “ several thousands of dollars in child support,” and lastly he has lately been focusing on his family more. I thought the reasons that the defense stated were not adequate enough to receive a 100 to 120 day in-patient treatment, and neither did the state. When it was the states turn to prove that his actions were in fact worthy of a twelve year prison sentence, it was a much more convincing argument. The main points that the prosecutor hit on where: he failed to find employment, failed to meet...
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...America has seen a fair share of changes throughout history, one of which is the story of Clarence Earl Gideon. Gideon Petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States of America for a writ of certiorari, founded in his belief that he, a poor man, should have the right to an attorney after he was convicted of robbing a pool house in the early 1960’s. Despite originally being found guilty, Gideon was determined to appeal to the courts and gain his freedom under the premise that his right to due process of law was violated. He created a movement in history that led to the establishment of universal right to counsel within the United States legal system. After a tedious case, that did not look as though it would bode well for Gideon, he was successful in persuading the Supreme Court to accept his appeal....
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...Max McClellan 9/20/15 APUSH Schneider The Bill of Rights Supreme Court Cases Case 1: Texas vs. Johnson (1989) A.) Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag outside of the convention center where the 1984 Republican National Convention was being held in Dallas, Texas. Johnson burned the flag because he was angered by Reagan’s policies. He was arrested and charged with violating a Texas statute that prevented the desecration of a venerated object, including the American flag. A Texas court tried and convicted Johnson. He appealed, arguing that his actions were "symbolic speech" protected by the First Amendment. B.) Does the burning of the American flag constitute as "symbolic speech” which is protected by the First Amendment? C.) The burning of the flag was found to be considered as free speech which is protected by the First Amendment. D.) The majority of the court believed Johnson’s acts to be a representation of symbolic speech. While many might be angered by the action, Johnson’s right of free speech cannot be taken away. F.) Writing for the dissent, Justice Stevens argued that the flag's unique status as a symbol of national unity outweighed "symbolic speech" concerns so the government could lawfully prohibit flag burning. Case 2: Escobedo vs. Illinois (1964) A.) Danny Escobedo was arrested without a warrant for the murder of his...
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...Fiction vs. Reality Jessica Nefedov University of Phoenix The United State’s judicial system is one that controls the everyday sentencing and hearing of cases. These cases range from civil matters, such as divorce, evictions, small claims and child custody to misdemeanors and felonies. Misdemeanors and felonies are criminal cases. Our Judicial system is made up of three branches of government; the Legislative branch which examines, debates and votes on bills, the Executive branch that initiates and administers the law, and the Judiciary branch, that we will be discussing in this paper. The Judiciary branch applies the law, as is seen in courtrooms across America and in homes on televisions. Television shows are popular for their dramatics, which increase their ratings. The more dramatic and action packed a show is, the more people tune in to watch it, therefore making it a successful show or series. In the world today popular crime shows such as Law & Order, CSI, Raising the Bar, and Peoples Court, show the dramatics of a case. Of these shows, Law and Order and Raising the Bar, both portray the legal drama and police procedures taken in a case. Upon watching an episode of Law & Order or Raising the Bar, one will see a lot of discrepancies of the fiction versus reality of today in the courtroom. It is important to remember that television shows are not real, unless stated so. Again the idea of creating a successful series is to have it appeal...
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...Maulid Rezki BUS 201 12/02/2013 Court Paper Assignment Part 1 What courthouse did you attend? King County Court House What was the date? November 25, 2013 What was the judge’s name? Mary Yu What type of proceeding was it? (criminal or civil) Criminal What was the subject of the case (murder, personal injury, divorce, assault, etc)? Murder What stage of proceeding did you observe (direct testimony, voir dire, opening arguments, closing arguments, motions, expert witness testimony, ect.)? Trial , Expert witness testimony, witness testimony, motions. The court visit on Monday, November 25, 2013 was the second time I stepped in to the King County Superior Court in Seattle. I went there by car with two of my classmates around twelve o’clock. As usual people were lining up before the security check in. We had to put all our bags on a conveyor belt to go to through the x-ray check, just like any other security check in. After the security check, we asked one of the security guards about the locations for the cases that we wanted to watch. We checked the schedule and decided to watch a murder case. The person who work at the information table saw us wandering around the schedule, she spotted us and know that we are student. She gave us the directions to the room that the cases would be held. She was really friendly in answering questions for the first time and giving us basic court room manner. All other cases was already started about an hour before, the...
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...Max McClellan 9/20/15 APUSH Schneider The Bill of Rights Supreme Court Cases Case 1: Texas vs. Johnson (1989) A.) Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag outside of the convention center where the 1984 Republican National Convention was being held in Dallas, Texas. Johnson burned the flag to protest the policies of President Ronald Reagan. He was arrested and charged with violating a Texas statute that prevented the desecration of a venerated object, including the American flag. A Texas court tried and convicted Johnson. He appealed, arguing that his actions were "symbolic speech" protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed to hear his case. B.) Does the burning of the American flag constitute as "symbolic speech” which...
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