VIKKI MAE J.

AMORIO Court Observation: A Reaction Paper

JMC Law – 5yr. Program Civil Procedure | Judge Ronald Tolentino

On April 11, 2019, I had the opportunity to attend a civil proceeding in the
Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 34 in Panabo City under Judge Dax Gonzaga Xenos.
It was a difficult task to find a civil case to observe, as bulk of the cases assigned under
his court and to the other RTC branch in the same city are criminal cases.

On that day, only one (1) civil case was heard, the rest were criminal cases which
involved drug offenses in violation of R.A. 9165. To my dismay, the only civil case on
that day was heard through a Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR). According to the court
interpreter, JDR is privileged and confidential in nature, hence, only the parties and
their respective counsels are allowed to attend the mediation proceeding. However, I
was fortunate enough to be given the approval of the Judge and consent of the
concerned parties to observe their case.

Unfortunately, the JDR failed and only lasted for thirty minutes or less. The
parties cannot arrive in a compromise agreement because the other party litigant was
not present. Though his counsel was given a Special Power of Attorney, there was no
stipulation that the counsel is fully empowered to offer, negotiate, accept, decide, and
enter into a compromise agreement without need of further approval from the
authorizing parties. According to the mediator judge, allowing the counsel to decide in
the settlement through the SPA may only complicate the case, should the settlement not
pass the approval of the party he represents.

With this, the case was turned over to the nearest/pair judge who will try the
unsettled case. As explained by Judge Xenos, the trial judge shall continue with the pre-
trial proper and thereafter, proceed to try and decide the case.

In all honesty, my experience during my court observation was insufficient as the

only case I was able to observe was not yet under a full-blown trial. But as I recall
during my stint as a news writer in a local newspaper, the reality in court proceedings
is not always similar to what is depicted in the movies, wherein it is full of drama and
action featuring feisty and relentless lawyers. There are proceedings which are
dragging, and there are cases which could spark one’s interest. Nevertheless, what I
have always witnessed in court that struck me most is that despite the competitive
nature of a lawyer, most opposing counsels, if not all, remain cordial in their dealings
and are both yielding to the trial judge. Clearly, arrogance and lack of respect and
courtesy has no place in the chambers of the court.

More importantly, my exposure in court has imprinted a lesson that I must live
by every day -- to develop a high level of discipline in studying and always come to
school prepared. Being able to do this will hone me to become a competent and efficient
lawyer in the future, and be able to help and bring justice to those who need it.

Notably, what I have seen in the proceedings is only a tip of the iceberg. The
Rules of Procedure that we have discussed in class, particularly the filing of pleadings,
motions, and other papers are done behind the scenes by submitting it first to the clerk
of court. What is done in open court is a matter of presentation, thus it is important for a
legal counsel to always come prepared with the right and just appreciation of law, and
seize each opportunity to persuade the judge to decide the case in their favour.

Ultimately, coming to court has fuelled my desire to do my best in improving my

public speaking and interpersonal skills. While convincing the trial judge starts with a
good presentation of facts and law on paper, it is equally important to be able to
communicate great ideas stipulated on paper through actual conversation or excellent
presentation in court. By having these two powerful communication skills and by
always coming prepared for trial, there are greater chances for a lawyer to win a case.