POST WRITING KEY :

It is year 2000. Joshua and Meryll were sweethearts, but they both were suffering from
anxiety disorders and were affected by some Armageddon phenomenon of the year 2000
being the end of the world. They each swore to each other and had a pact in writing that
they commit suicide. The agreement was to take their lives by shooting each other in the
head.
So, they rented in a motel , made love , and shoot each other . With the immediate
assistance of the motel staff and with timely medical assistance, Meryll survived. Is Meryll
criminally liable for the death of Joshua ? Explain. ( 5% )

Your clues:
1. Ruled in the Affirmative
2. Revised Penal Code, Article FOUR , regardless of the wrongful act done be different
from what he or she intends, a felony has been committed by a person who incurs
criminal liability .
3. Foreign jurisprudence cited by the Supreme Court in Versoza v People stating that a
Washington ban on assisted suicide was rationally related to legitimate state
interests, such as interests in the preservation of human life and protection of the
integrity and ethics of the medical profession.
4. Meryll killed Joshua
5. The pact is unjustified
6. Meryll directly contravened the constitutionally protected right of Joshua
7. The pact cannot be a justifying circumstance.
8. Meryll ‘s act can be an evident premeditation with a qualifying circumstance of
murder
9. The right to life is a right protected by our Constitution.
10. Article 253 of the Revised Penal Code substantially provides that the mere act of
assisting another to commit suicide is a crime.
11. The relationship between Joshua and Meryll and even their written pact is useless.
12. Meryll did not only help Joshua to commit suicide but also assisted to the extent of
doing the killing herself by shooting him in the head.

SUGGESTED ANSWER FORMAT

Under Article 4 of the Revised Penal Code, a person incurs criminal liability when he/she
commits a felony regardless if the wrongful act done be different from that he/she
intended. Furthermore, the Supreme Court cited foreign jurisprudence in Versoza v.
People which states that the Washington ban on assisted suicide was rationally related to
(or implicated) legitimate state interests, such as interests in the preservation of human
life and protection of the integrity and ethics of the medical profession. When Meryll
killed Joshua, she directly contravened the constitutionally protected right of Joshua. The
suicide pact entered into by Joshua and Meryll cannot justify Meryll’s act, but rather it is
a clear evidence of evident premeditation which is a qualifying circumstance for the
crime of murder. Therefore, Meryll committed a felony, specifically murder, and incurred
criminal liability when she killed Joshua and the fact that the parties had a pact cannot be
considered as a justifying circumstance.
Discussion Notes :
Legal writing requires correct grammar and accurate substance. But effective legal
writing must also communicate a clear message. Before putting your fingers to keyboard,
plan ahead and identify your audience and purpose. Outlining is a lost art that should
make a comeback, especially in the legal profession where all writing is inherently
complex.

Last week you were exposed to questions and we talked about identifying legal issues.
Definitely , you have seen in your persons complex, hypothetical fact patterns.
We have also arrived at an understanding that the best way to really develop issue –
spotting skills is to expose yourself to questions and by taking practice exams. Try to
collect al the available exams and try to answer them under simulated exam conditions.
ILAC – a system of answering hypothetical questions problems that consists of four
phases
Issue
Law or Rule
Application or Argument
Conclusion or Court Decision

An issue is a point of legitimate question or a matter over which two parties and their
lawyers would disagree and argue in court.
It must be identified before any discussion could follow.

The second phase requires the student to write then the applicable or relevant law or
rule in simple terms , including the general rule and its exceptions, the third phase is the
application of the facts to the elements of the applicable law This is where the student
must express his ability to formulate arguments for the plaintiff and the defendant using
key facts to determine if they fit the elements to the relevant law.

The fourth and final stage is making a prediction as to how the case will decide each issue
and the reasons for the ruling

Applying the law to the facts efficiently and skillfully is the BIGGEST challenge
Reasoning is very important because within it will fall the ratio decidendi.
The ratio is the part of the legal reasoning which is essential for the decision in the case
It is the ratio which is binding under the doctrine of precedent and which is thus part of
the law
The ratio and the reasons are not necessarily the same thing
Not all of the reasons given for the decision will be essential