I

ij
yi3, i:. METHODS OF LEGAL RESEARCH
1hf;fl,1rfi1 3TnUflfl*t}
to the inquiry, if it exists, is usually there to be unearthed. If it
is not dug up, the research is'a dismal failure.
No true researcher gives up easily. No excuses are accept-
able. True research is, indeed, a search that is diligent,
CHAPTER ELEVEN intelligent and continued. If time is of the essence, he must
know how to zoom toward his object of search swiftly and easily.
He must, therefore, employ all the means and resources avail-
able at his command, including befriending the librarian, if
necessary.

METHODS OF LEGAL The general problem, at any rate, is that the researcher
does not have all the time in the world. In this day and age, time
RESEARCH is a prime commodity one can ill afford to waste. Lawyers, and
even judges, have their deadlines to meet. Those who need the
research cannot wait forever. Hence, hit-and-miss tactics have
specifrc soulce materi- no place in any intelligent research. What is required is a
BEING AWARE of the existence of
unleis they are used and scientifrc use of the books. To be able to undertake the legal
als in law does not mean anything research with facility, one needs skill and technique.s
research'
tfr"o r." is maximized' This means legal
Skill and technique compose the art of legal research.
RESEARCH These qualities, however, cannot form part of the normal
I. THE ESSENCE OF LEGAL
equipment of the researcher unless he is thoroughiy at home
a continued repeti- with the legal tomes the tools of his trade. Only then can he
Originally, the term "research" meant -
thus means a compre- exploit his search time to the hilt.a
tion of slarch. Genuine legal research
mere aimless' unrecorded'
hensive search ,r.J'"-t"u'"th' But Since the basic research approach to a specific problem will
unchecked search, so it is s vary from country to country and depend on the subject under
repeated. It can never, exce consideration and the published sources available for that
sions. Research is diligent, jurisdiction, it is impossible to offer one effective model proce-
arch is not a dure.5
asPectoflife'
veritablY co-
I

is to emerge from it with

As a legal tool, how valuable is research in the practice of
The great pitfall in legal rese-arch law and the administration of justice in the Philippines?
a product of haphazard or
an incomplete or "t'o""oit result'
or the precedent material
superfrcial i.rve.tig;tio"' ttt" statute sHenry Brandt, How To Find the Lau,3rd ed., 1940, p. 1.
aVicente J. Francisco, Legal Researclz (1950), p. 2.
Srd ed 1942' ssee also: Price and Bitner, Effectiue Legal Research ( 1953); Moreno, Phitippine
tFrederick C Hicks, Materials and Methods of Legal Research' '
Legal Bibliography (3rd 3d., 1966); Bumanglag, Wlrcre and Hout to Find and Apply
o.23. the Law (1951); Cohen, How to Find the Law, 7th ed., (1976); Kunz, Schcmdemann,
rHicks, oP- cit', 30'
Erliner, Downs, The Process of Legal Research ( 1986).
354
 A GUIDE TO PIIITJPPINE I,EGAL MATERIAIS
METHODS OFLEGALRESEARCH \E'T
ard to euantify because
Pnswer one way or the The "Livin g Law" Approach
for legal research is Step 1: Go to a Law Finder
nd source books, and Step 2: Go to the Law
creases in direct proportion Step 3: Supplement it.
On this, we cdn .ry .o_"_ . Common Methods of Search
rs in the provinces far from The Fact Word Method
n about the scarcity of law The Topic Method
The Case Method
philippines, we are The Dictionary Method
l* lll:f:l{8,,-dthe happy to say,
The Popular Name Method
il*i::*::::":",h,"g"u""1-i-r,-iJl,"#'"iil1tfl X,iii,;
llf i11;.;X5Xr:1..^1."uJi"tr,",,.iir",;;;;;;::ffi
b;i"; ia"a
i#::
rrri," r-^^ .opilTii A. The "Living Law" Approach
:ilillT::"^9o,'o*','.:" Z,Ii;iii"l
r-.of
"j
*l;r*iX9_":1:flbri.atio.,,
Supreme Court, which t u. ,6ii-i'I-i;;;;i
;"p'ff One very clear piece of advice is to be found in the Liuing
over Law, the guide furnished by LCP/BW or the Lawyers' Co-
!h"T, they are gradually
more and more operative Publishing Company and the Bancroft-Whitney
legal tomes depending on
Company, publishers ofthe Total Client Service Library (TCSL),
foremost among which is the famous Arz Jur. Ttre advice is to
the lawyers have access to law
the effect that any legal research activity must have a minimum
nal collections, office libraries or
ofthree steps:
dings in general indicate
by those who file them. Step 1:
. Some lawyers, however,
use s by citing many
over_
of ;
prac
unn
sense of the rear issues
-too
T,l::lT"J,:.J_XX$T,::ffi**
ofthe case. This sometimes misreads
them
The most widely used Law Finders (or Search Books, as
they are sometimes called) are:
j"ds? into favoring the adverse the
rrt.gr"t when the equities ofthe Indexes
case belong to the party r"p."r"rrt"d
erroneously or wrongfully used legal
by th" il;il Jf,o rrra
Tables
Digests
authorities.
Citators I

III. RECOMMENDED METHODS Cross References

OF SEARCH
Words and Phrases
Classifrcation Schemes (or Tables of Contents)
Step 2:

- ita
GO TO THE LAW: Go to wher,e your answer-isfound
may not always be where you thought it would be, but
cross reference will no doubt direct you to the proper place.
This !s the book which contains the statement ojlhe law.
di-o .+-+^-.-^-+ L; ^ ^^ .^-=" ^r^r--r^ ^: -^--t^a:^- ^--
-^.,
 359
METHODSOFLEGALRESEARCH
A GUIDE TO PHILIPHNE LEGAL MATERTALS
B. Gommon Methods of Search
or is deter-
The specifrc method of search depends upon
search book being used' It is the search book
that
-ir"a Uyi'tte method'
tells you how to co.rdrct the search' It prescribes the
of books and services are found:
Common methods are at least five:
Statutes (Annotated and unannotated) Fact Word Method
'
'o Topic Method
ffiil*tt Rulings and Regulations Case Method
"ative
Annotations in ALR and Lawyers'Edition DictionarY Method
of U. S. RePorts '
' Popular Name Method
Textbooks or in
EncycloPedias The methods may be used isolatedly' consecutiv^ely
the given facts, the
Restatements and Commentaries combination with one lnother depending on
results'
Loose Leaf Services available search books and subsequently on the
Handbooks and Manuals
Articles in Periodicals
ullg uv6uu
Step 3: iar with the fact words used in theI
obviously
search book he will consult. The index is constructed
i" .".ota.nce with the predilections of the indexer'
a
Ifthe subject ofthe research is a car accident between
various intervals. Tlpical supplements are: instead of using
motorcycle crossing a road and speeding truck'
may look
Cumulative Pocket Parts G.i .or."pts as tile iearch, the researcher
Bound SuPPlements up such fact words
Replacement Volumes LIMIT,VEHICLES,
Later Editions like. These suggested terms we
exist'
Advance OPinions Iar search book in mind; hence, they may or may not
irr
Legislative Services If a person eating in a restaurant had a frshbone stuck
Slip Laws his throat and he *rit. to sue, the search for legal authglJy
Loose Leaf Releases ;;y;" through the fact words rime, RESTAURANT' FOOD' FISH'
BO"IrfE, or FIS--H BONOS. This these terms come to mind
from a previous personal experience'
The T onic Method - This is also
Saoroh i s eo The FiliPino lawYer
f-^*
from |ho
the
Iegal prootem ano lf,s components
---^-^-+^

standpoint of the .Jt"gi subjects he took 1d 1n

*::11*
r :-- rI- ^ ^^-+^v+

of the eight bar subjects already mentioned

previously:
""r#.t.tiotts
l.
360 A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAI MATERIAI.S METHODS OF I.EGALRESEARCH 361

. Political and International Law began in 1985 or ten Years;

. Labor and Social Legislation compendium series of Al
. Civil [,aw tions of lhe SuPreme Court R
. Taxation follows the same manner of classifrcation, although its Quick
. Mercantile Law IidexDige.sf classifies the courtmlings under an alphabetically
. Criminal Law arranged scheme of legal toPics'E
. Remedial Law If a researcher, for example, wants to know whether a
' Legal Ethics and Judicial Ethics foreign company rnay frle a irrit in Philippine courts, the
the
His four years'stay in college has so programmed his mind reseircher's-programmed mind would probably ^pinpoint
to this system of classification that Iong after he becomes a law subject,
i*"" ,.-U"i.rg "ia"r "Corporations," a collegeofofMercantile
general classifrcation or
member of the Bar, he instinctivbly approaches a legal problem *t i.r, falls u-nder the
Gupit's
Commercial Law, a bar &amination subject' UsingDean
from this viewpoint. Some search books and frnding-tools have
been formatted to make them compatible with his programmed Supreme Court Doctrines
memory. search would turn to the
proceed to the sub-heading "
A historical fact is that Dean Gupit's series on Supreme subject, the different items are i
Court Doctrines, which began in 1975, originated the main t"g; tire frrst words of each item which is usually a topic.
classification of the eight bar subjects, subdivided generally Again, if a lawyer wants to know if there have been
into the college of law subjects, although, for precision pur- annotations on suits bY or ag
poses, some subjects are broken up into more specifrc topics.6 SCRA, he couid consult the '
The success ofthis classifrcation is evidenced by the reaction of appendedto the SCRA Quick
those who are able to use the digests easily. They simply recall main classifrcation "Commer
their school days when they search for authorities.
This classification, with some modifications, is basically
the format of Martinez' Summary of Supreme Court Decisions,
Vol. 17, p. 1041 of SCRA.

ation is
dThe topic classification in Gupit's Supreme Court Doclrittes is generally as
: Consti , Administrative Law, Suffrage

follows: and E s, Local s and Public Corporations' and

I. CryIL LAW: Agency, Contracts, Credit Transactions, Damages,
Donations, Family Relations, Land Titles, Leases, ObligaLions, Ownership, Partner-
ships, Persons, Property, Quasi-Contracts, QuasiDelicts, Sales, Succession and
Suretyship.
II. MERCA]IIILE ["AW: Banks, Corporations, Customs Laws, Insurance,
Negotiable Instruments, Public Utilities, Trademarks, Transportation.
III. REMEDIAI LAW: Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Spe-
cial Civil Actions, Special Proceedings.
rV. POLIICAI LAW: Administrative Law, Citizenship, Constitutional Law,
Elections, Immigration, Municipal Corporations, Public Officers.
V. CRIMINAL LAW.
VI. L,ABOR: Labor, Agrarian Relations.
vII. TAXATION.
VIII. LEGAL AI'ID JITDICIAI EIIIICS'
V[I. LEGAL ETHICS: Legal Ethics, Judicial Ethics, Statutoty Construction.
hhose bY-Products of SCRA'
"re
 METHODS OF LEGAL RESEARCH
362 A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAI MATERIALS

started meanings oflegal or

The tomes of the Philippine Digest, as continued by ths to the mind of the
Republic of the Phitippines Digest, were original underta[ings factual
researc e Problemhinges on
of American lawyers working for Lawy ers' C o-operative
adopted the topic system in t "\,rh1ct1 such terms.
American Jurisprudence. As
cation was a mind-boggling
structure was used on decisio
for which reason, the Philippi
Philippines Digest are valuab
well a happy blend between t
systems.
The Case Method.. Usually aftet retfieving a case or two
from existinglegal materials, the res the case is a de facto offtcer in the frrst place'
in the original. H" go"r through titl tors. ThebookswhichcanbeusedfortheDictionaryMethod
A legal expert can often remember the titles of landrnqrk bed likewise in a Previous
cas heir citations. Ballentine's Law D iction-
ber e title indexes Law DictionarY'
are nd to those wh
under him. Available at present are the title indexes of the
Ateneo de Manila Libraries and the Title Indexto Supreme Court
Decisions of the U. P. Law Center prepared by Milagros Santos-
Ong. Old indexes are Justice Moreno's Desk Book (1958) qr6
know that the index he will consult uses popular names'
the case indexes of Phitippine Digest and the Republic of the
Philippines Digest.
C. ComPuterized Search
SCRA now makes within its volumes a list of cases s1 6
yearly basis.
Ifthere ofaU.S. SupremeCourtcase,
for instance, d through the use ofthe tq61e
ofcases intheLaw. Ed. Digest. The case can be located even rfthe
researcher knows onlv the name of one ofthe parties, because il1s
table provides direct and reverse titles of every U. S. Suprsmg
Court case in alphabetical sequence. Cases reported in the Natiolsl
Reporter System of the West Publishing can be located in the
appropriate unit of the West Digest system.
Needless to state, as shall be discussed, the cases retrieved
have to be updated and evaluated.
A common LEXIS search is for a particular word or phrase
The Dictionary Method,. This is also otherwise known ss
likely to appear in cases in which the researcher is interested.
the Words and Phrases Method. Sometimes, research may 5"
 364 A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE I.EGAL MATERIALS
Supposeyou are handlingaproduct liabilitycase involvingpajamas
that caught fire. You instruct LE)trs to find cases in which the
word "pajamas" appears in proximityto the word.fire" or 1flamma_
ble" or "inflammable." other potentially relevant words may be
included such as'bu,r," ",ig!it*," "spark,,,,.flame," etc. LEXIS will
then search through the cases electronically and retrieve those
that contain your "search words." The cases may be reviewed
immediately on the screen. LEXIS can scan only the section ofthe
case in which your search words appear.
LEXIS can find specific cases in several ways: (1) by judge;
Q)by court;(3) by date (before a given date, after a given aaie,
on a given date, or between two given dates); (a) bV words or
phrases or combinations of words or phrasos used in the
decision; (6) bv counsel (in some libraries); or (7) by section of a
statute or regulation.
The researcher may also use combination searches to find,
say, the opinions of a particular circuit court judge between two
specific dates, or from a specifrc date to the present. perhaps the
researcher needs to review chief Justice warren Burger's
opinions on double jeopardy.
If a lawyer wishes to undertake a thorough research for a
case he is handling, he would most likely review pertinent case
law, study the judge's previous decisions and opinions, analyze
prior tactics of opposing counsel and gain background material
on the litigants by reading relevant news stories. All of this
information may be obtained through LEXIS.
As pictured by LEXIS itself, it can do the following:
"1. Locating cases involving specif,rc fact pat_
terns. For example, what are the legal consequences
of leaving an ignition key in an unattended boat?
LEXIS permits searching for specifrc fact patterns
independently of the legal concepts and principles
involved. Fact pattern searches are particularly useful
in areas of law in which principles are well defrned
and cases are decided on nuances offact.
"2. Finding cases involving two or more distinct
frelds oflaw. Using hierarchically organized indices is
METHODS OF LEGAL RESEARCH
particularly frustrating when this type of situation is
Lncountered. For instance, in researching the tax
consequences of a particular kind of contract, do you
consider tax the primary issue and the contract sec-
ondary, or vice versa? With LEXIS you have the
flexibility to combine the ideas without worrying
about how an indexer would classify a case which
involves legal principles from more than one ipe-
cialty.
"3. Locating cases involving specific legal
principles, such as res ipsa loquitur an.d mens rea'
"4. Identifying opinions written by a particular
judge, or in which particular counsel appeared.
"5. Locating cases or statutes containing particu-
Iar terms or phrases (e.g., de facto segregation,
unconscionable, short swing profrts).
"6. Retrieving cases that discuss the language
contained in a standard contract.
"7. Finding cases that construe particular statu-
tory provisions or contain defrnitions of statutory
Ianguage or discuss several statutory provisions'
"8. Locating a case when only the name of a
party, or docket number, or other limited information
is known.
"9. Using LEXIS as a citator to locate the most
recent cases citing an earlier decision, statute, trea-
tise or article. I
"10. Obtaining the text of a recent opinion lhat is
not yet available in the advance sheets.
"11. Obtaining the text of a U.S. district court
decision that was not included in any case Iaw reporter'
"L2. Deterrnining how federal circuit or district
courts have applied a U.S. Supreme Court decision in
subsequent cases.
"13. Double checking other research. LEXIS can
be used to examine the accuracy of previously pre-
 366 AGUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAI MATERIALS
METHODS OFLEGALRESEARCH 367
pared work or of a brief submitted by opposing
counsel." current materials that come their way. The files are either
called reference materials or research materials or both. For
The foregoing should be enough to illustrate how
the instance, articles of incorporation of specifrc types of corpora_
computer can facilitate search.
tions are frled and used as models.
D. Creating Own Sources and Methods of Search
E. Preparing the Search
In the ultimate analysis, storage and retrieval problems
Before you even start your adventure into the law books,
are personal to the res_earcher. If legal research is
a regular there are indispensable preparatory steps that you have to take:
activity to him, he will doubtless his
-"i.rt"i, own stJe of ,
source materials, small or big depending on his resources, as Get the Facts
well as his own ways of sea".ti"j through them. 7- Analyze the Facts
-a
Form a Preliminary Hypothesis
The beginner in law is unconsciously inaugurated
into the /a List Access Words
world of storage the moment he buys lawbooksl"a
t"te. ao*r, a Search
If he writes all his notes in one lecture notebook,
wishes that he should have placed his notes for 1. Get the Facts.
subjects in separate notebooks. That is his frrst
experience at classification and simpry marking
the cover of a
lecture notebook with the name of irr! u* subject
is already
establishing a method of retrieval.

are fondofwriting court rulings

and blank spaces of their law
aluable. That is a crude but very
individualized basis.
Law libraries and some lawyers clip the newspaper
case
diges ex cards and file them. Sr# p""pi"
just c
them
one place, and browse trr"o"gi.iiof
eed arises. among states has been violated.
F or some time own com,u- In the 1983 bar exqminations, the problems in remedihl
teizedsystems of s law were very lengthy. It was obvioui that the examiner
o,en to the
public, much less to ' included a lot of raw facts that had no relation at all to the
comPlaint of
those who use them problem. T required to determine the relevant
the legalinfo;;il, inline wit :;HX-:1'; facts. That cal. When a client narrates his/her
garbage out. Whatever, their systems problem, the facts narrated to the lawyer are disorganized and
should.""rr" tf," fo.'po""
of their existence to some extent. unclassified. It is up to the lawyer to organize them for legal
analysis and search purposes.
Law offrces devise their own files of legal information.
Aside from their offrce libraries, partners instruct 2. Analyze the Facts.
their crerks
or librarians, if they have them, to frle for future To aid the researcher in his
,"f"""r." statute or
judicial precedent, he must break ebments.
 A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAL MATERIALS
Legal problems are rarely simple. Law, it is said, is a
"seamless web." One cannot simply tag a case as just a labor
problem, or merely one involving contracts or procedure. There
are more sides to a case than meets the eye. Because a legal
problem is often multifaceted, no one case can be said to be on
"all fours" with another case as to resolve all the issues that may
arise in the latter. No two cases are exactly alike in much the
same way that no two faces, even those of Siamese twins, are
perfectly identical. There are bound to be some variations that
would distinguish one case from the other.
AII this only illustrates the need to analyze a legal problem
thoroughly and to leave nothing to chance. As a pathologist
would minutely dissect the tissues of a patient, so must the
researcher examine in detail the facts of a case, if he is to arrive
at a correct perspective for proper search. But the researcher
need not do a search of authorities on al! the perceived compo-
nents of the problem. His search may be confined to just one or
two aspects of the case, or he may need just a couple of decided
cases to support a principle oflaw he hasjust cited. This brings
us to the next preparatory step.
3. Form a preliminary hypoihesis.
A-b,p"q!hesis":san-i4&t-",tl.-e*o:a-q-o-qi-9g!ure-a---rr__q{y
offered as a formula or as a proposition based on
ifrable data. It is tentative because evidence is
not sufficient or is incomplete,ind remains so until validated
by trut_h tested by authorities.
Th
in relation to the facts of the case."o-p.i.a."AftsiinguEea
The hypothesis, therefore,
serves merely as a pointer to guide the researcher in his hunt
for authorities. Viewed from another angle, a hypothesis is seen
as the most reasonable formula, explanation, or solution con-
sidering the existing and verifrable facts or data.
Hypothesis must be distinguished from theory, which
means a little more than mere hypothesis or conjecture.
Theory is a validated hypothesis. It presupposes that there is
much more supporting evidence or authority than hypothesis
does, and greater likelihood for truth. Hypothesis, if not valid-
ated, is either modifred or fiscarded. After proper evaluation,
\
MEII{ODSOFLEGALRESEARCH 369
the theory is the final formula, thdcourse of action, or the game
plan by which the lawyer puisues his objective and hofts to
achieve it.
A couple of things, however, must be constantly kept in
mind in developing a theory from a hypothesis. First, hypothe-
sis being tentative, the researcher must always keep an open
mind, be alert for other possibilities, accept new twists and
turns, and be ready to modify, even to discard, the hypothesis
if the results of his search do not validate its accuracy or truth.
second, he must carefully examine the facts before formulating
ihe hypothesis. with the formulated hypothesis as a guideline,
the researcher can then begin to gather the pertinent Iaws and
cases.
4. List access words.
It should go without saying that as one goes through the
process of getting the facts, analyzing the facts, and forming a
preliminary hypothesis, possible access words should already
be listed, having in mind all the prescribed methods of search
as well as the specific search books to be consulted.
lhe key.ryo1ds- or the index words
t is highly possible that some of the
wn may not be found at all in the
search books. That is why as many possible access words as the
irnagination would permit, should be included in the list to
assure a truly comprehensive search.
If in taking down the facts and forming your hl,pothesis, you
have not really thought of making a list of accer.
*oid., then you
can always make them as you review your notes before you
actually begin the sea_rch. Ifyou have good notes, you can even;udt
,nderline or highlight the words in your notes that you plan touse
as access words, which may be fact words or topic words.
' 5. Search.
T!-e. qct_qql__qeg.fch- begrns with finding-toois or search
b.gqriss.described at some length in th6previous chapter. The
Filipino lawyer's search for authority, however, is not confined
to Philippine law and jurisprudence l:ut reaches out to the
American and Spanish authorities. In recent years though,
 370 A GI,,IDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAL MATERIAIS
METHODS OF I,EGAL RESEARCH 377
there has been a noticeable departure from dependence on
them. Recent supreme court decisions show ress reriance on his citation turns out to be wrong, no amount ofjustifrcation can
spanish and American authorities. still, the Filipino rawyer make his citation right.
knows the high esteem his colleagues place on both Spanish and
American authorities, and the great persuasive effect that they IV. EVALUATTON
have on our courts; so we still look into them.
As previously disEussed, the Filipino lawyer,s preference
^
for textbooks as his frrst searchbooks is undisputed. in the first
place, he generally has them as part ofhis personal collection
from his student days. In the second prace, he is most famiriar
with them and frnds them easy to use through the table of
contents even if they may have no index or a defrcient index at
the end of the books. In the third place, he feels that the A. Evaluation of Law
textbooks, rightly or wrongly, give him an extensive treatment
ofthe subject ofhis search. Law, as we use it here, is the Constitution, the statute, or
the administrative regulation with the force of law. It must be
Finding the pertinent case or statute in a search book is subjected to both internal and external evaluations.
often the end of the search for many lawyers, which is very
incorrect. They are content with citing the encyclopedia, the
dictionary, the digest or the textbook. some do not even bother
to mention the search book and simply cite the case or the
statute without bothering to go to any source book of primary
authority. In terms of the "Living Law,, approach, ihey go
through the initial step oflaw finding only without going to til"
law itself.
It is nbt an uncommon experience ofresearchers who go to
the books of primary authority to discover erroneous, mislead_ ceases, then the law has no more reason for being.
ing or imprecise summaries, restatements or digests of court
rulings. This is due primarily to the lack of skill ortl" staffers
who made them.
There is nothing basically wrong with secondary author_
ity; in fact it is highly desirable if
it consists of a profound
exposition or critique of law by an eminent legal scholar or a
well reasoned case review by even an unknown writer. But
secondary authority should not ordinarily be acceptable.
The problem sometimes is not so much laziness or lack of Evaluation of statutory revisions is a combination of both
time to go to a book of primary authority as its non- accessibility external ev guage ofthe law as
to the lawyer. Oftenwise, he has to make do with what he has. subsequent and interpreted to
It may be understandable but it cannot be excusabre in that if e true inten
372 A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAL MATERIALS ME"TIIODS OF I,EGALRESEABCH 3

voting in said appellate court have to conform to B'P'

129.e
\4)Incorporatittg. New case rulings are them-
selves inserted into the rules, such as those issued in
Roy Padilla vs. Court of Appeals, L39999, May 31,
tgga, 129 SCRA 558; People vs' Daniel, 86 SCRA 51;
People vs. TYaYa, 89 SCRA 274'
'\5) Innouating.New concepts are formulated to
improve the rules. Example: A person i
may be visited not only by counsel as
Section 18 of the old Rule 113 but also by
under Section 14 of the new Rule 113'
'\6) Harmonizing. Rules found conflicting are
irOne secu-
tions ed is,
unde itY or

court cases.
"(7) Repealizg. Rules considered obsolete or
irrelevant are deleted. Example: The provisions in
the rules regarding the function of the municipal
apr on
frled ted
onge na-

'To be presumed innocent until the contrary

is
proved beyond reasonable doubt.,
watranted."
Revised rules are furthermore to be viewed
follows:
eUnder EO 33, amending BP 129, the Intermediate Appellate Court has be
the Court of Appeals once again.
 METHODS OF LEGAL RESEARCH 375
374 A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAL MATERIALS
or may not
merely await new court pronouncements which may
"If no change at all is.effected;.or if the change is
affirm the old ru1ings.ll
clearly formal rather than substantial, the court in-
terpretations of old are still valid. If there are sub- The value of an annotation, therefore, is viewed chiefly
stantial changes, then the problem begins. In fact, the fromlts scholarly qualities. The text or treatise where the
annotation o..o-*6ntary is found should also be evaluated,
as
diffrculty may even arise in deciding whether a change this matter' Morris
*" ftu"" discussed in a previous chapter' On
is merely formal or is actually substantial. Then a
deletion will have to be studied carefully as to whether L. Cohen had this to saY:
it is only due to redundancy or is a repeal. Substitu- "It is often difficult for the researcher to evaluate
tions, insertions, or additions, on the otherhand, have texts, but the following considerations may aid selec-
to be analyzed to ascertain the rationale therefor. tion from among the -it-y available: the purpose of the
This is clear in some instances, but it rriay not be so in putation ofthe author and
f their Previous books; the
other instances, particularly to the inexperienced.
Anyway, the basic precept in legal hermeneutics has th of research in this work;
otnotes, tables, bibliogra-
always been that the meaning of a rule is to be and pres-
phy, etc.); the adequacy of supplementation
discovered primarily from the language embodying
the rule. Doubts and ambiguities, conflicts and in- eni tlmeliness; and how it has been reviewed'"i2
consistencies, should be immediately pinpointed so
that an attempt to resolve them is as quickly made.,,ro B. Evaluation of Precedents

In evaluating statutes, annotations thereof are helpful. 1. Internal Eualuation

They serve an important purpose. They can clarify and explain.
Restatembnts alone are already guides to understanding.
However, if improperly made, they can confuse, and herein lies
the danger of the annotator's imprecise comprehension, or
undeveloped analysis, or careless commentaries.
To convert a positive rule to a negative statement or vice
versa should already illumine but the conversions may be
erroneous. The reverse implication that is made, may not be the
intention ofthe rule makers. On the other hand, personal
interpretations or comments on the rules may not have consid-
ered controlling case law or other existinglaws or provisions in
The internal evaluation of a case occurs when one exam-
ines it as to the meaning the language of the decision conveys,
t}re ratio d.ecid.end.i, reconciling, if necessary, pronouncements
i" tfr" body of the decision ard its dispositive portion which
should prevail in any event. The case is also analyzed in the
context of the factuaiconfrguration of the problem at hand. The
evaluator must, therefore, consider various factors, such as:
(a) The court.
The Supreme Court, as we have seen, is the only court that
can lay down jurisprudence. Decisions of the Court of Appeals'
however, are persu o

other parts ofthe rules. This is one pitfall of all annotators. They follow doctrines es r
have to be alert. jurisdictions, it is e

decision emanates because some courts are highly respected

in
Another perilous area lies in recalling past jurisprud.ence. certain frelds oflaw. so in this jurisdiction also when it involves
It may not be applicable anymore. Hence, unless the case law decisions of quasi-judicial agencies, Iike the Court of Tax
is basic, it is preferable for annotators to be on the safe side, and Appeals and the National Labor Relations Commission'
that is not to mention the old case rulings anymore and to
rlIbid.
l0Fortunato Gupit, Jr., Rules 12Moruis L. Cohen, Legal Researclz, Srd ed, West Publishing Company' St'
-licatiqns, of Critninal procedure, euezon City, Rex Pub- Paul Minnesota, p. 294.
1986 ed,, pB.ix-x.

l.
 376 A CUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAI MATRIAI.S
METHODSOFLEGAIRESEAXCH 377
(b) The ponente.

- Some justices or jirdges have developed a reputation for

learning and ability. Judge Learned Hand rr"rr""i"r.h"Jth"
U.S. Federal Supreme Court, but his decisions
regarded. -" iighfv court to have been betrayed.,,
(c) The date of the depision. On the other hand, Mr. Justice Jorge Bocobo of our own
The date is important because the decision may Supreme Court declared:
have been
rendered prior to the adoption of a borrowed statute
or an "The existence ofa forceful dissenting opinion _
amendatory statute.
and dissenting opinions are often ofthat character _
(d) The uote on the decision. dulls the edge ofthe majority decision. It would seem
The nature of the vote, whether it is urianimous that an opinion whose power is thus impaired, while
or by mere
majority vote, and so forth, is determinative basically technically it may be cited as a precedent _ because
of the it is presumed to be the correct view until the contrary
value of the case being evaluated.
is maintained by the court in a subsequent decision _
In any internal evaluation of a case, it is imporbalt to nevertheless practically leaves the legal question
see
the result of the voting. The opinion of the majority open for further examination in future cases. If the
of a divided
court, with one or two dissents frled, is not as strong original interpretation is intrinsically sound, it can
as that
of
a unanimous court. The opinion of an equally divided court is stand the pressure of additional discussion and in_
not a precedent. An opinion is weak where concurrences quiry in subsequent cases, and instead ofbeing weak_
in the
result abound. ened, it will gather greater strength and momentum.
But if on the other hand, the original view of the
Ifthe votingis unanimous, the authority ofthe case carries minority bears within itself the puissant urge of
the full weight of the court. If the decision is merery
the result reason and the driving impetus of justice, it will
ofamajorityvote, with some dissents, the dissents dlminish eventually, after one or more searching re_examina_
the
authority depending on the strength of such dissents, which
may actually carry the majority vote at some future day.
Decisions that are dotted with concurrences in the
result do rrot
constitute authority if the unqualifred votes of the justices
do
not reach a majority.
However, when there are points in the main decision
where the court appearc to be unanimous, the authority Justice Bocobo continues to say:
of the
case for those points is not diminished.
"The stability of judicial decisions, which is
As for the fissenting opinion, its importance shouicl not
be
minimized. It may become the majority view in a subsequent
case. But, for the present, it may be used to draw lines
of
distinctron. In the elegant language ofMr. ChiefJusti." Ur.gl*
in his work , The Su,preme Court of the United, States:
some reverence as a primitive taboo. On the contrary,

ir&

378 A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAI MATERIALS
it shouid be openly subjected to the most thorough
discussion in order to frnd out whether it is suffi-
ciently solid and enduring to be incorporated into the
lega1 structure. Without such a rigid and severe test,
the rule of law announced by a majority of the court
will continue to Ianguish in the penumbra of doubt,
whereas the doctrin e af stare decisis can thrive only in
the life-giving sunshine of reason and justice, and in
the clear atmosphere of widespread concord in the
Iegal profession."13
(e) The facts of the case.
In looking at the facts of the decision, study the facts well
in relation particularly to the rulings made. The facts may be
unclear and incomplete. They affect the ruling and determine
to a large extent the value of the case.
authority, the researcher must
To be able to use the case as
frnd a substantial similarity between the controiling facts ofthe
authority and those of the problem. At the same time, he must
be able to distinguish between dicta and ratio decidendi. The
latter governs. The former are merely persuasive.
(fl The scholarly qualities of the decision.
Decisions without supporting authorities or citations are
not generallyheld in high esteem. They pale in comparison with
those that have been carefully crafted with the desirable ear-
marks of contemplative wisdom and show scholarly qualities,
reflecting the effort and industry behind the lines, not to
mention gems ofjuristic brillance produced by the writer of the
decision.
The evaluator must be able to discern with an expert eye
the point where the elimination of an element in the factual
composition changes the legal principle applicable. This is a
delicate and complex art that can be acquired afber some
experience and with the help of innate ability.
2. External eualuation
rsConcurring Opinion of Bocobo, J., in Erefia us. Vera (July 27, 1943, 74 Phil.
METHODS OF LEGAL RESEARCH 379
External evaluation, on the other hand, is the process of
examining the case (1) in the light of its subsequent history as
juridical authority, whetherthe courts have affirmed, modifred,
diminished, or overruled the doctrine expounded; and (2) in
relation to other decisions on the same or similar points.
There is a substantial distinction between stare decisis
all.d res judicata- Prof. Juan A. Rivera puts it this way:
"Stare decisis applies to settled questions of law
and res judicata to settled questions of law or fact
between the same litigants. Stare decisis extracts a
rule for general guidance for like cases in the future.
Res judicalo has nothing to do with precedent and a
case subject to the rule of resjudicata may or may not
also be a precedent. Stare decisis is applied without
respect to the parties, whereas res judicata works as
an estoppel between the parties.,,
In truth, the relevance of a case to an inquiry depends
much upon the researcher. This is where his imagination and
creative thinking come into play. He, of course, has to seek the
help ofseveral sources, particularly, encyclopedias, treatises or
articles, annotations or case notes in various raw reviews. But,
in the frnal analysis, what matters is his own personal evalu-
ation of everything that he has read.
We have to distinguish between doctrine established
through a long line of cases and a single case which, in the
extreme, has not even been followed by the court when the
opportunity offered itself. The court is not apt to turn its back
on the long line of cases that it has carefully taken pains to
establish. It may make branches of the line if the advocate is
able to convince the court to create such branches through
astute argument, but generaliy the 1ine has to hold.
On the other hand, when a case is ignored, one will have to
determine first whether the sub-silencio treatment of the court
is deliberate or is only out of the failure of the court to recall the
 381
METHODSOFLEGALRESEARCH
A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE
LEGAL MATERIALS
)
Backed up with a sound theory, the truth and correctness
for some time' Of course' of which are validated by authorities, the lawyer can
now
,mputerizes, this problem may exist
a case ruling into account' confrdently prepare the proper pleadings and the
needed
hether or not the court has taken
nary aynotknow' Still' chances evidence to pursue the indicated course ofaction'
someth is not mentioned in the
re that bein
s not red bY the court' VI. PRESENTING THE FRUITS OF LEGAL
ecision,
it may be'freely
y overruled' but RESEARCH: LEGAL WRITING
A case
subsequent decisions although
riticized. b without
b is not
At the same time' the court We cannot end this discussion on Legal Research
point the
" the case it m a pre\lous touching on legal writing. No matter how squarely in
nay merely distinguish the
but it may be that it is actu
the d'octrine fruits .." - tt L laws anJ cases picked out and gathered in
:ase, st be in the solution ofparticular controvet.i"., ifsuch fruits are
not palat-
:stablished in the previous. case judge or whoever will act
ably presented by the gatherer to the
:onsciousness of the evaluator'
o.t inl problem, all his efforts may be in vain'
THE LAW
V. FINALIZING THE THEORY OF Legal writing is to be found generally in three areas:
(1) Legal opinions and Memoranda; (2) Trial Court Pleadings;
is used in
The search that starts w ig) ep"p"ff"ie Court Pleadings' The term "pleadings"
not include motions'
r loore sense- Technically, pleadings do submit
memorand.a and briefs.la The frrst kind is what lawyers
tothetrialcourt;thethird,beforetheappellatecourt'Decisions
penned by not included in the last two
groups but frrst group since they would
be covered
Each one of these three kinds of legal writing may
be
not the
treated according to their nature and purposes' This is
conclusions- This means' rn so pru""todiscussthem'butitisnotdiffi.cuittohaveaccesstogood
Iosses in time, effort and moneY' books on them'
A researcher may be a go
A. The Process
Legal writing involves the communication process'
It has
at least thr"" thought, language and symbols; and
"o-io.tents: a writer
at least two participants: a sender and a receiver' or
and a reader.

r{Pleafings are delined as the writt'en allegations of the parties of their re-
tion ofjustice' spectiveclaimsanddef.ensessubmittedtothecourtfortrialandjudgment.Rule6'
Cross-claim' Reply' Third-Parby
frnalizing Sec. t. Example", Compianl, ellt*"t, Counterclaim'
--^.^ +^ -ll +hic ic to tro dead slow in /r^mnlaint Forrrf.h-Partv Complaint, etc. Rule 6, Sec' 2'
 382 A GUIDE TO PHIUPPINE
LEGA.L MATERIATS
METHODSOFLEGALRESEARCH 383
tstowrite anything, he must certainlyhave
lfat i9 why the .._r""ri"#o"., O.o.".. understood. write like a nonlawyer or a layman to readers
who
should be imagined also as being nonlawyers or laymen.
see

ffi:lH'o"""'i3u'f
lated to symtols,
Lffi;T?ill#::J TI;.f ;.* how clear the writing will turn out to be'

Conciseness means expressing a lot in a few words, need-

receiver or the rea less or superfluous language having been pruned away' In
*fti.rg, foim and substance intertwine. To be concise is to be
brief, b"ut brevity does not mean an inflexible use of short words
and simple sentences. The formula may well be found in
the
writer is able to convey to the
what he wants reader following piece of advice:
" "li?::le
Communic3ti_on is both
a skill.and an art. There
l'We must use short words, except when long
in a welr-turned prr."r.. nrrilr"#i. is magic words are necessary. Simple sentences are to be
involved, it
art's sake' It is art with
a runcu;;". fun tional
is not art for preferred, except when the complexity of the idea
message that is to be put
across .rri _r.rytimes,
art. There is a iequires a compound sentence' We must attain that
in the most persuasive *.r
r*.ii]e. This means
as wa.ranted, ,rr*.or" of brevity which falls short of the point
work or industry and taleit'.. a lot of hard where overcomprehension obscures meaning'"16
*"ri
coherence is, in aword, understandability. It calls forlogic
B. Efforts in Writing
and common sense in the composition, proper choice of words'
Writing is and balance in substance and style'
iE".ri
ttrinr<ins. l=:t:lt:.writing involves
nrng to think' Industry As once remarked: "Clarity is the lawyer's frrst burden;
trrintirrlls-.reeie in persuasion, his next' But with a clear exposition, persuasion
have n Jin.r i".tl o"
"::] .*,i,J:Hyrifl
ear Iin court but
yIfi:.
;:; should not be far behind."1?
whenit.o*". iriti.rg
to
gr"ut diffrcutty. They know tt aiii realy D. Persuasion
t to think in order to write. Thegeneralpurposeoflegalwritingisoftenpersuasion.
It is said that to be a good writer, We should not be misled into thinking, however, that persua-
observatio n; (2) *id" .";i;;iii.""r*"t.he must have: (1) keen in
sion simply means the use of cold logic' As a rule, arguments
well be the motto oru"yo.ru writing. This may
iirro";*i;". cold terms, by themselves, will not be able to convince anybody'
writing, including legai*;;;. "*' ,o improve himself in
some kind of an emotive approach, transcending cold logic, is
I

C. often needed.
The Three C,s
Long ago, Aristotle himself has classifred proof into three
the three C,s: clarity, conciseness kinds: togi"at, emotional, and personal' Logical proof certainly
,r, involveslogic or reason, but emotional proof, using the emo-
"ff;|"Xir",]ngmusthave
Clarity in legal_writing is-a-big
.rs orten
^ problgT, because a lawyer tions, is far stronger than logical proof' Personal proof is
tempted to use too *""rrr"s?ie.".,u cr..itvr""ri.i"irrg furnished by the writer himself.

Gupit, Jr. *Too Much Legal r6Frank E. Cooper, Writing in Law Practice (New York: The Bobbs-Merill
err*':1"**ato ese,, Integmted Bar Journal,1976
second Company,
' Inc., Indianapolis, 1963), p' 4.
of the Law," The Lawyers'Reuiew'
"i'ortrnato Gupit, Jr.; 'Thep,i{uman Side
vol- TV- No. 8. .Aueust 31. 1990, 56.
 A GLTIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAI MATERIALS METIIODS OF LEGA], RESEARCH 385

Logical proof ernploys, for instance, the syllogism

method of reasoning, including the enthymime'and as a
dilemma. the
e aswords,
ihoughin e calproof,
may be t d swer the
Ietter." It otive connotation at all. If the no proper paragraphing or no paragraphing at all, w.here the
statement, however, is con.irerted to the sentence: .,The writing has kilometric paragraphs or one long paragraph is
ant faiied to answer the letter" or "The defendant defend_ found in one page or two. Then, not much will be expected of the
confessed
that he did not answer the letter," emotive ranguage writing.
is evident.
As for bias words, instead of writing ,,subordila co
te,,, ,,en._ uponus. trVordprocessinghas
ployee," or "assistant,,, for cxaniple,
if wJ wa,t to i";""t a"_"
evil implication, we may,se,,hireling,,,,,stooge,,,,,henJhrnan,,
a have justified paragraphing,
"crony." We are actually saying thl same or an ing with fantastic fonts and
thing, but rve are amazing graphics. one need not have the luxury of expensive
giving more meaning to the word.
computer equipment, ho'ever, tc be able to put the writing i'
Personal proof is heai,y if the writer is a neat and basically presentabl-: form.
-lawyer' a distinguishe.
People listen to or .lad hirn. rf the lawyer
has .ot yet
made a name for himself. it - Vll. GONCLUSTON: PRCFTCIENCY tN LEGAL
does not have any personal p RESE*\RCH
the writing itself, the ideas ii
presented. The writing reflects
in legai writing, it may well
of the writer. be a prof-rcient in legal research?
No two people have the same style in writing. The
A writer has
certain patterns and rhy'thms- which are easily
distinguishabre . Intelligence
inone who constantty writes. supreme court
deci"sions, fbr . Diligence
instance, are distinctive depen,ling upon
the justice who writes . Expet'ience
them. Supreme Courtjusti."s hrrl thei. ow., pu.rrtiu..iyles"
regular reader of the High Tribunal's decisio.r. A A. lnte!ligence
k.ro*. trri. ,"ry
well.

E. Appeat to the Eye

trnthe end, it needs to be said that the job of
a writer does
not
ties
e writer,s responsibili_ B. Diligence
releasedtothereader.
The to the clerk for typing
and then forget it. proofreading
The writer may have produceJ
not reflected properly in the writ
presented, they will not look good
other endeavor, is indispen.rUt".
 386 A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAI MATERIALS
METTIODS OF LEGAL RESEARCH

cardinal sin. A researcher who fails to undertake an intensive
inquiry proceeds at his own risk.
C. Experience
But to attain real profrciency, there is no substitute for
experience. Experience not only speeds up the research process
because of the skills already obtained, but also gives substan-
tial assurance as to the validity of the conclusion reached.
For one, a lawyer who has researched often enough, aI-
ready possesses a working knowledge of the books. The topic
classifrcations are so farniliar to him that he can pick up the
relevant materials almost instantly.
For another, from constant research work on various
subjects, the researcher has already assimilated many legal
and jurisprudential principles along the way such that in his
appreciation of alegal problem, pertinent principles, which are
readily accessible to him, immediately come to mind. In fact, the
chances for the more experienced to arrive at a correct solution
to a legal problem are far greater, as compared to the less
experienced, because he may see meaningin certain facts inthe
problem in the light of established principles of which he is
the search and index books, even mastering their placements in
the library, and perusing them as often as he can. Browsing
through a law library is like browsing through a supermarket.
It can be highly educational.
As a matter of fact, the lawyer who is just planning to
plunge into research, should already prepare himself by per-
sonally acquiring books, if possible, and compiling notes and
clippings on legal materials. The key to elfrciency is knowing in
advance where to frnd the answer, if not the answer itself,
before any legal query is even posed.
What the future has in store for us, however, in legal
bibliography and legal research may already be envisioned
with the giant strides in computer and fax technology. Those
who know the advances being made are all excited about their
developments and wait with bated breath. The revolution has
started and all forthe good. Meantime, the lawyerwho does not
{D
i) wish to lag behind, must prepare himself to keep abreast. Let
u us all have open arms to welcome these exciting developments.
I
t
,
a

aware, which the less experienced would not see at all. It may
H
c
rt
-$$s-
thus be said perhaps that a highly experienced researcher is a I
)
walking tertiary authority himself. t{
U

Of course, experience is gained only after spending a good

deal ofresearch hours for different legal queries. Teaching law t
also helps a lot if the teacher prepares his material well. If an
opportunity to teach comes by, grab it but be disposed to meet
n
the imposing commitments on a law teacher. t

A neophyte can nevertheless hasten and widen his expo- u

sure to the freld through self-orientations, exercises, and simu- a

f
lations. The co-author ofthis book advocates and practices in ;)

his seminar lectures what he cails "Legaresex" or Legal 6

I
:]
Research RoIe-PIay Exercises. Seminar participants are I
,l

assigned play roles, perform legal research exercises, and make o

self--evaluations of their performance.

The beginner may obtain by himself some sort of an
equivalence for experience by learning as much as he can about