LEGAL WRITING

ATTY. CECILIA J. JOVER-ANGELES, LECTURER

USEP COLLEGE OF LAW
SY 2019-2020

ASSIGNMENT FOR LEGAL WRITING

FINAL REQUIREMENT
PREPARING A LEGAL OPINION

Use letter size paper, 12 pt, Times New Roman, single space in between lines.
Double space between paragraphs.
Left margin should be 1.5 inch. Right margin 1 inch, top margin 1 inch, bottom margin 1 inch.

Considering that you will submit a PDF COPY of the opinion,

there is no more need to print a hard copy.

Omnivore is a computer program that circulates widely on the internet and appears as a form of a spam.
Omnivore is designed so that when it is downloaded onto a computer with a particular IP address, it uses
cookies to store or record site visits or livestreaming on pornographic sites – particularly child
pornography. The police can then track the location of these users and transmit these information from
the suspects computer to the police. No search warrant was obtained prior to the use of this program by
the police because they could not possibly identify who the possible users would be, until the suspects
actually visit the monitored child pornography sites or stream live videos online.
Using this program, the police tracked down a suspect in a condominium in Manila. The nature of online
visits and live streaming online is such that a user might log out any time and the police would have no
way of tracking that user again. So, the police conducted an immediate raid without a warrant. The police
was able to catch the suspect in flagrante delicto while having sex with a 12 year old child and
livestreaming the sexual act online.
The suspect is threatening to bring an administrative action before the Commission on Human Rights
(CHR) against the members of the Police Department who conducted the warrantless search for violation
of his human rights He argued that his right to privacy was violated. He also argued that the warrantless
search and arrest is illegal.
As the newly appointed Legal Officer of the Police Department, the Police Chief has asked you to draft a
legal opinion on the legal liability of the policemen who conducted the raid. The legal opinion will be the
basis for a defense for the policemen involved in the event that an administrative case will be brought
against them before the CHR.
In preparing the opinion, you will have to research on relevant provisions of the Constitution, the Anti-
Child Pornography Act, the Cyber Crime Prevention Act, Supreme Court Rules on Warrantless Search,
etc. as well as jurisprudence.
(For the problem, credit is given to Atty. Enrique Dela Cruz Jr. of the Divina Law, LLM Professor, UST
Graduate School of Law.)