CONTENTS 1 Legal Wilting nn Scope of Legal Writing [Aims ofthe Book... 2. The Legal Dispute... se Meaning of Legal Dispute. 1ts Significance in Legal Writing... Lega Dispute and The Principal Issue. Importance of Principal Issue. 2. Stages of Writing ‘Two Stages of Legal Writing. Value of Pre- Work. 4. Getting atthe Facts ofthe Case Facts of a Case Random Notes versus Summary. Facts Seen through the Issue. (Clutered Facts. Relevant Facts Extracted . Facts Set in Sequence Writing Exercises “The Case ofa Child and a Neighbor’s Dog Knowing the Applicable Law or Rule Sources of Law OF RU eeonnnon Facts Reexamined... Writing Exerc 6 Getting into the 1s6t68 Issues in Multiple Legal Disputes seetese eee sees Scanned by CamScannerJump Of Points 101 : ‘Three Statements of an Argument .. “ va 2 Persuasive Arguments .. 105 Convincing Rule Statement ns 105 Convincing Fact Statement ces soc OB Correct Conclusion Statement... m2 Positioning Variation... : Building Blocks of Arguments. Omitted Statement cccneneernreen roa Closing Statement aoe 125 Writing Exercises... see 126 ‘Tightening Your Work. 7 wz Language Problems .. 7 Needless WORdS sense en 1B ‘Active versus Passive Voice er ui Third Person Speaks ... 14 Block Quotations Ww Writing Exercises 150 Writing Cleaty.. sn 8 Right Connectives. — 153 ‘Abstract versus Concrete Writing a 10) Substitute Names can - 163 Headings on Writing Exercises. Writing Legalese Legal Clichés.. (Old English Sounding Formal... ‘Cheap Words... 74 SelE aise cone 7% Sentence-length Variety 176 Scanned by CamScanner13. 4 Writing Exercises Waiting Legal Opinions IMlusteative Case: Cha 1, Century Bark ‘Writing Trial Memoranda IMlusteative Case: Maranan x. Gonzalo Realty Writing Exercises Writing Petitions For Review IMlustrative Case: Excl Corp Jimenez Writing Exercises 4 Waiting a Decision Iustrative Case: Hudson Power Corp. &. Nemo Shipping Writing Exercises APPENDICES ‘Appendix A — People v-Takad Appendix B— Garcia v.Silver Films, Inc. “Appendix C — National Supplies Authority v. ‘Appendix D — Pointers in Answer Schoo! Allied Shipping Corp. ‘and Bar Examination Questions This edition includes pointers in answering law school and bar ‘examination questions, Scanned by CamScanner1. Legal Writing ‘Scope of Legal Writing ‘This book is about the things that lawyers write to win others overto their point of view. Ifyou were a practicing lawyer, ‘you would be doing a lot ofthis kind of work. For instance, when ‘your client, say, a restaurant owner, writes to you regarding the ‘threat of a possible lawsuit from a customer who was taken ill after eating in your client's restaurant, you may have to write hhim back, giving him your views regarding his probable liability bbased on the facts he tells you, This is legal triting, When the case gets to court, you would be filing a number ‘of pleadings like an answer tothe customer's complaint, denying, your client liability or minimizing it. Further down the road, you would probably file for him assorted pleadings, motions, ‘oppositions, replies, rjoinders, memoranda, and other papers. ‘These are legal writings. ‘And if you were to be the judge, who is also a lawyer ‘must decide the case, you would have to put your deci ing, announce its results, and reveal to the parties your reasons for the decision. Under our laws, the parties are entitled to know why they won or lost a case. The strength of your decision lies in the validity and persuasiveness of the opinion supporting it. This, too, is legal writing, But legal writing does not only begin when you pass the bar. As law students, you begin to churn out some form of legal Writing once youenterlaw school. When you digest cases, answer ‘examination questions, and write your thesis or any other paper Scanned by CamScannerFUNDAMENTAISOF LEGAL WRITING sin to train yourself for actual legal writing int sha Ya ply i digesting most basic element the same ones because the most Past Maw school exams are cases and answering your in the practice of law the fact, the you wil se in eal so pnp of law that resolve ‘Aims of the Book is book is to help you write plea- Te principal im of ep and ter poston paper ngs eS) cing, and to win others t0 your point of clearly a cor part from learning the general structure o Cal writing tis book will do more . One. Tiss i eed Asa le eothpuhieiaeel anal ante on a you study the document, hold interviews with the discover volved, or simply examine the records, that the re vat Pt avo ae far from organized and come mixed up wit fat ae sable enact and ogarize the relevant ald ave the advantage of arguing from unclliered frat. You can get there if you persevere in took 30 help you find the law or rule that oe ek wenenatre othe legal pu invalved spb wl scver hat as are not restricted to those enacted by dy cnstted legislative bois called “lta lo” A great fe ola evolves rom jucial precedents, where courts interpre laws as these apply to specific cases. This body rebred to a5 "case law” Your knowledge of the law involved in your case, both statute law and case law, must complement ‘your knowledge ofthe facts to prepare you for the job of writing {to persuade your reader to your point of view. Thre. This book will help you comrectly identify the issue ‘or issues ina case. The issue does for an opinion or a pleading what the rudder does for a ship. If you argue the wrong issue, it would be like pointing your rudder to the wrong di ler to the wrong direction such that your argument would not touch port and miss the real issue that the case presents. When this happens, your case would be decided onan issue that you chose not to be heard on, Yous ean avoid this. 4 is book will help you pack power into your arguments. It will show you the elements of a. balanced presentation of those arguments and what it takes to destroy the argument of the opposite side while building up your own. It will aso show you the importance of a closing statement and hhow you could prepare a most effective one. Five, This book will show you how to edit your work, tighten your sentences, and make your writing come through to ‘your reader clearly. A number of legal writing prescriptions in this book may appear controversial to some but controversies initiate discussion and the free marketplace of ideas always Profits from it. All that is required is an open mind. Six. This book aims to help you write better. Some say that the ability to write wel i a natural gift that is not available to al ‘This might be true. But the fact that you have gotten this far in your studies gives you the right to assume that you have the gift to write. All you have todo now is improve on your gift. Master a few refurbished techniques collected in this book and you are on your way to preparing adequate, clear, and convincing pleadings, legal opinions, memoranda, and other pposition papers. Of course, the greatest secret of success in ‘writing well isin constantly striving to use what you learn. They will not work unless you put them into practice. ‘And beyond practice, to be a good a writer one must be a prolific reader. Learn the styles of effective writers such as best selling authors, opinion writers, and respectable journalists. During your stay in law school you are forced to absorb the writing style used in laws and jurispruclence, which may seem impressive but not the most effective way of communication. This book will encourage you to view legal writing as a communication skill as much as an advocacy skill Scanned by CamScanner2. The Legal Dispute Atal etch sed to argaig ead notving wach dlopute Meaning of Legal Dispute rpose ofthis bok, there i Tegal dispute when ightapbins ofsveiton of his sgt by ante o cake Sine Hand, denies sucha violation. A eyal diopune ty Misenon in akin ts nce of wan ina Gvilsall in wc {herdant denies the claim against him. 1s thi denial tht Geert denies al dispute Seer om th eed mony ens et ete ave Not Tea dispute arises, This consis of ie purine ert Sum thatthe tenant fails to pay the agreed monthly rent a San lave hi ens and (Fe tenons denial of he ce Tid insistence to retain the unit. You have in this cane a ght prokcedby evs anallegedvction of euch dh ere el Erte allegtion™a legal dispute ee The ight dim hae bn ltd maf cone be 2 tl ight cca wl pol ad inate oly ow Flip may clan that he Sorrento be alowed to ave ie the United States. But ifthe US. embasoy denies ham the ia ine for entry into that country, he cannot file a Insult Compe ts ssuante since Philippine laws donot grant him that ght Ukewise, than English be made levelsof eduction snes in an actual violation of some rig cont a ihough TA ner eto aE alg the dispute of rub no by Tigaton on £ aT ASP hen spe alin g Ihe debt epee aa debtor unjly refuses apap tee note that he issu¢ fhe ced nd ler promissory c inttver of the creditor and) the denen, Serial of such a claim. Again. you hone ra right protected Tegan” aleed violation of the night ned ae 1 of the allegation, rial ae the ea dispute cont in he tas cclaim that the accused ha ae t pela + violate is righ to compa otra sratgh the ters dna he ae ferlarment So what does the legal dapat cath i Haren itraude another sting ake Raisers en tein of agentineone? seman ota he sane Roles acgured defrauded the complainant by selling a fake seceatach ohm forthe price ofs genuine soe yee accused's denial ofthe charge ts Significance in Legal Writing spy isi importantin legal writing that you arabe to knoe and ‘dentify the legal dispute incolved tn a ce?” Since a legal dispute involves a vi lation of aright protected by law or which violation the law Punishes, nothing less than the Scanned by CamScannerFUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL WRITING. Lega! Dispute and the Principal eaue sasarlethe legal dapate, recast inthe format ofan inve, prov ne principal nei every cae Take th ar cee vides oro could not pay the agrecdanthly rents yet ofthe en his apartment unt Wesaid thatthe legal dispute uty apartment overs cia thatthe ena ale com ped wey cet ond vt eae fl nl and (8) toy to ato the aim and insistence 0 retain the ut the ea at ofan sue the elncipa sue Is “whether or Pat who fils to pay the monthly rents must leave the apartment unit” “Take also the case of the Looe Sr aeest to, Pe ne debt. Wee itn egal dispute es (dhe crits lai that Me ay fines py Ns debt under a promissory the de a infor ofthe creditor and (t) the debtors oe tht Pera cam. Rewten in the format of an issue the seria ou swhether not the debtor anjully refuses rina eb unde» promsor note that he sued in favor ofthe creditor” Ta the criminal ease discussed above, we said that the egal apa coats () the Sta’ cage thatthe acoused, deg i Scomplainant by selling afake Rolex watch to him sero a yenine one’ and (the acuse's denial ofthe forthe Peat san seve the principal issue is “whether oF not hare ey defrauded the complainant by selling a fake Rolex veejch ta him for the price of «genuine one.” What dos the legal disput consists of when a uding oficial seoues thc caner an sccupancy permit fora ilding with inadequate fireexits? Itconsists oF: (a) the complainant's clai Feilding offical isued tothe owner an occupancy permit for & Paling with inadequate fie exits in violation of Section 30) of Republig Act 3019; and (the respondent's denial ofthat aim. ‘Transformed into an issue, the principal issue is “whether or not ‘eved to the owner an occupancy permit covering # building that has inadequate fire exits in Fiolation of Section 3b) of Republic Act 3019." WELECAL oneunE Importance of Principal issue yt importa rete of the principal issue important sepa ieee etm seeding an fe se Scanned by CamScanner3. Stages of Writing when methodically done, is much like a tts, So grat extn i tae te a ihn er ne ‘wo Stages of Legal Writing opal wring ao moves in stages thas a ges parr siape sheer. Ht, ouare at the being te rel anda oking atthe facts and of ye ws ere they ae made avaiable to you fit is a re cen pes mht ed ne ae sor es haterals would be absolutely ra, Quite often, Re a Te porantevents tok place remind up. On the other hand, ifit is a case that has undergone trial, you might be looking atthe transcript ofthe testimonies of witnesses and the documentary exhibits presented in the case. ight, Pree prcs Whatever yout wsigument mig youre weld be mde unos you go tough a It evel tors 1. Establishing where the legal dispute lies inthe case; 2 Discovering its relevant facts; 3. Knowing the laws or rules that apply toi STAGES OF WRITING . 4 dentitying the sue or ssues that you would address 5. Roughing out the arguments that you would use The Second Stage is Write-up. Here, having all the ideas you need concerning your legal wrting assignment, your task is to put flesh color and shape to ther, You will ow transform the sketches and outlines you produced during pre-work into a full draft ofthe paper required of you—a pleading, a legal opinion, a petition, a comment, a memorandum, a position paper or even a decision. Editing and rewriting will complete the write-up stage. Value of Pre-work Most haphazardly finished legal writing can be traced to lack of pre-work or to preswork hastily done. The need for pre-work is true fr all kinds of presentations that ate aimed to convince others toa certain point of view. A successful salesman needs to have a complete knowledge and mastery of his product, all its good points and bad. With this edge, he can then develop is sales pitch or the line of arguments he could draw from, polish them to perfection, and make a sale, Ina real sense, legal ‘writing is a sort of presentation. The lawyer should be able to make a convincing presentation of his case in the limited time that he is able to hold his weader’s attention. To succeed in this, the lawyer needs pre-work, Lack of time to do pre-work, a frequent excuse, cannot be 4 valid justification for dispensing with one. The writer who settles for an opinion, pleading, or position paper not based ‘on pre-work does not care about the comprehensiveness and convincing quality of his work. He just submits his work to his, client or tothe court forthe sake of meeting the deadline given to him, Hie does not care about its result. This attitude, however, is the reason behind many failed legal writings and careers. You do not want this. Scanned by CamScanner4 Getting at the Fac ofthe Case two legs: (1) the at weting stands om 0 le: sect ar dina An prewenk nays starts with geting the facts ight Facts of a Case facts ofa case, you should not leave sr fo mpc understanding of what "When you are abe to examine is about from every angle et pane st you have examined hat tte ret you would be abet el the late that you know sae at his case than he does. You shor-change your client a ally eed te fact fom your source materials itock tly understanding. and absorbing. their contents Deep concentration acd absorption is required of every good preparation fora case. When you study them until you have coms Random Notes versus Summary Ce way to study casemate iso make short random of the fat of the case that you consider important as you go over them. Ths isa good practice. But purely random notes do not sive you the complete picture. Because they are random, they are ten uncorrelated and are therefore, useful only for work done imone sitting, When you set aside your work and return toit after, «long duration, your random notes would have lost their correct ‘meaning and you have to start all over again. You would never be able to use these incomplete notes as a permanent catalogue » GETTING ATTHE FACIS OF THECASE " of the facts that you want to go back to repeatedly at various stages ofthe proceedings in a case. What you need is systematically prepared notes that adequately capture the etre factual trzan ofthe case, withthe important points properly marked out. Studies in some English colleges show that theresa beter way than taking random notes for absorbing complex or dificult texts or written material. It is summarizing, You can best understand and absorb written ‘materials when you summarize their contents. Your summary serves a3 a detailed map in your hand, able to guide you in negotiating your way through the dispute involved. ‘Summarizing to compress the information you need, forces you tosearch your materials for what is important. Itcompels you to toss an item of fact over in your mind, assess its importance and relevance to the issues in the case, and decide whether to keep it in or throw it out of your summary. When you come to an item of fact and ask yourself, “What is the significance of this fact to this case?” you begin to wonder. Then, all your accumulated knowledge and experience bear on that item of fact and, usually, ‘your mind produces the right answer. Facts seen through the Issue ‘When handling a new case, whatever stage you may find ‘you need to go over the materials very quickly and determine preliminarily the principal issue or issues involved in the case. ‘Thatis your key to pre-work. Only when youhave anideaof what the principal isuels could you make a good job ofextactng te relevant facts from your materials. ad * Ina classroom experiment, the professor asked the students to do pre-work by carefully reading the following facts about a case: The Beers War Atlas Brewery Company discovered that distributors of San Manuel Brewery in Metro Manila had in their warehouses hundreds of cases Scanned by CamScannerFUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL WRITING, of empty beer bottles owned by Allas Brewery, The distributors of San Manuel beer apparently bought the empty bottles from retailers to reduce the volume of sales of Atlas beer in their areas, The San Manuel beer distributors claimed,on the other hand, that they merely retaliated against Atlas beer distributors who, had been buying and destroying the empty bottles of San Manuel beer in their areas, ‘A law student, Fred Sanchez, complained that when he drank beer with friends one evening in June {ta restaurant near his school, he found a cockroach in the bottle of San Manuel beer that he had drunk from. He vomited upon such discovery and suffered anxiety over fear that he would get sick. He got angry with the restaurant owner for serving the beer and threw the bottle with the pest in it at him, causing injury on the owner's head. The restaurant owner blamed San Manuel Brewery for the incident and sued it. San Manuel Brewery, on the other hand, blamed Atlas Brewery and its distributors. for tampering with its products. Fred Sanchez and his friends created a lot of noise about poisoned San Manuel beer products and initiated a boycott of those products. Their action found them friends from among the Atlas Brewery distributors. ‘After the students read the above, they were asked to write in one sentence a comprehensive summary of what the case all about. They were to complete the sentence: “The case is about...” Stop reading after this paragraph for a moment and try to complete the sentence yourself without re-reading the fact “The case is about ...” ‘The students gave a variety of answers but most of them gave the equivalent ofthe following summaries: 1. The case is about the struggle between San Manuel Brewery and Atlas Beer Company over the ibution oftheir competing products. GETTING AT HE FACTS OF TH CASE » 2 The case is about how fierce competition in beer distibution could be very ugly. 2. The case is about a law student's crusade against unsafe products that come out of the market. 4. The case is about tampering with bottled products and the dangers it presents. Actually, the facts above spoke of only one “case” ever having developed among the parties involved. This is the lawsuit that the restaurant owner filed against San Manuel Brewery for the injury he suffered in the hands of an outraged customer whom he served with a pest-laden bottle of beer. Did you get it right? Do not be discouraged if you did not. Very few Students perceived this detail because they did not know what Was expected of them when they read the article the first time, ‘The point in the exercise is that, not knowing what they are looking for, different people would tend to get different impressions out ofthe same material that they have read. Inthe exercise, it is only after reading the material are the students Informed that they are to state what the “case” is about. Jest fo do you maa complet summary from deta? One way Isto takeout the norresental facts fom your writen materastike contract deeds letter records book testimonies Gr sworn statements. Cross out those nowesentl fact eaving only the esenta ones onthe page ofeach documento Consider his problem asked ina bar evamination The exact probably picked up the fac from the syllabus othe case and so indiscriminately coped alt of details that are ot esental fo the problem Section 10 of Ordinance No. 105 of Tagaytay City provides that at least 5% of the total area of memorial park established within its jurisdiction shall be set aside for charity burial of its pauper residents and that no permit to establish, operate, and ‘maintain a private memorial park shall be granted without the applicant's conformity or agreeing to Scanned by CamScannerFUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL WRITING Rarer such condition. Tm city a ate _ mcg ep Terie rl er tes aaa area int to its duty to provide for the health ane scuss the constitutionalty of sald ordinance, er Tel tae fe ora cui re coma eed Eo ao cpr tee the tex vrecise pruning knife. As already stated, that pruning aime pre pring kn Ms ey et pm ine nag ies teefhave a preliminary idea of what it is, could you do a correct elaune Taway useless data to get to the essential facts you ns nately in the above problem, the bar examiner himself sates the princtpal issue for you: he wants you to “discuss the 2 a SO eden cantata te no areas one hep tt ae sta relevant to it, Consider the first sentence of the problem: Section 10 of Ordinance No, 105 of Tagaytay City provides that at least 5% of the total area of any memorial park established within its jurisdiction shall be set aside for charity burial of its pauper residents and that no permit to establish, operate, and ‘maintain a private memorial park shall be granted Surely, the particular number of the ordinance involved (Ordinance No. 105), the particular number of the section of the ordinance (Section 10), or the particular place where it was NAVY Soon aaa} ad EHCperymcme 2 Tenth ‘enacted (Tagaytay City) are not relevant to the constitutionality of the ordinance. You will also note that some details of the quoted problem are superfluous. For instance, ifthe lots taken were to be “for charity burial,” it would be superfluous to say that it would benefit “pauper residents.” Also inthe phrase "no permit to establish, operate, and maintain a private memerial park,” the words “esablish” and “maintain” are superfluous because "10 operate” assumes these two terms, ‘The above sentence needed 63 words to describe the facts of the problem. By crossing out the unneeded facts, what remains could be summarized in only 26 words, less than half the original ‘number. Thus, rid of irrelevant details, your summary should read: ‘Section-10-of Ordinance No-105-of Tagaytay City provides that at least 5% of the totab-aree of any ‘memorial park eotablished-within ite jurisdiction ‘shall be set aside for charity burial of i ‘esidenteand that no permit to establish; operate-and i ‘shall be granted without the applicant's conformity or-agrecing +0 such-condition. In practice, however, crossing out portions of the documents will damage such documents and render them useless for other ‘Purposes. Quite often, you need to preserve the documents in ‘their original state. Your alternative isto go over them, identify ‘those facts that are essential to your understanding of the issues in the case, and put those facts in your outline. Section 10 of Ordinance No. 105 of Tagaytay City provides that at least 5% of the total area of any ‘memorial park established within its jurisdiction shall be set aside for charity burial ofits pauper residents and that no permit to establish, operate, and maintain 4 private memorial park shall be granted without the applicant's conformity or agreeing to such condition. Scanned by CamScannerINIVERSILY epartiient Sco ul ti requires memorial parks to give tc of theit land area asa condition vd nt tre eta ith the facts sus the problem in its simplest form. Do con resto e PS Sey aninpora and parc in ne aac co cs Ne cme You stared Facts itis only when you know the principal septa te sect nae gay ofthe aco you could doa cor Molowing testimonies, some coniting, urease Css in an actual ape case, The names have, of ave by wit. To make the example simple for study, couse is have been edited and the cross-examination by tare als pens wih, Co avert once tenable you ore oe of what he sue or ssues are between the patie, Transcript of Stenographic Notes (TSN) October’ (Abridged and edited for study) COURT STAFF: (After swearing in the witness) State your name and personal circumstances, WITNESS: I am Julia Torres, eighteen years old, single, and a resident of Barrio Talaan, Lian, Batangas. PROSECUTOR: With the Court's permission. Do you know Ronald Galang, the accused in this case? A. Yes, sir. Heisthere (pointing to the accused). Why do you know him? A. He raped me. Q. Where did this happen? A. It happened on the rice field near Mario's Q. How did Ronald rape you? A. 1 struggled to get free but he pointed a ‘knife at my side and threatened to stab me if I called {for help or persisted in fighting back, ‘So what did you do? ‘Out of fear I gave in and he raped me. What did you do after Ronald raped you? kept the matter to myself for a while. Why? Because I was afraid of the trouble that will ‘happen if my parents and brothers found out. They loved me 50 much. porere Q. For how long did you keep the matter to yourself? A. After two days of worrying and feeling bad, I finally told my aunt about it and she in turn told my parents, Q. What was the reaction of your parents? ‘A. | They were quite furious and wanted to take the matter into their own hands but cooler heads prevailed. Q. So what did you do after that? ‘A. went to the police to complain. Q.Isthat all that you did? A I also submitted myself to medical tion. Scanned by CamScannerWhen did Ronald rape you? He raped me on June 12 at7 p.m, How did you meet Ronald on June 127 went to the house of Celia in our barrio to tena wedding pot and Usaw hin there, Q. Doyou have any relationship with Ronald? ‘A. None. He was only my suitor. (Q. What were your feelings during the party? ‘A. Lwas in high spirit because I met a lot of friends and had a good time. Do you recall any unusual thing that happened at that wedding party? ‘A. Someone exploded firecrackers nearby and this caused a scare for a while Q. You said that you saw your suitor, Ronald, at the party. Did you have occasion to talk to each other? ‘A. He wanted to talk to me but ignored him because I disliked him for a suitor. In fact, I stayed away from him. (Q. What happened after you ignored him? ‘A. The married couple danced after supper and people joined in. Q. What did you do after the dancing? ‘A. AtTI pm. [ took leave to go and started to ‘walk home alone in the moonlight. Q. Did anything unusual happen during your walk home? was about fifty meters from Mario's sows ona came behind ne and rue a he walk me home. ore What was your reaction to him? 1 really did not like him. 1 declined doubled my steps. Q Sowhat happened after you walked faster? ‘A. Ronald caught my arm and wrestled me to the ground? Q. What kind was the ground over there? ‘A. Itwas rough ground and dry. Q. What did Ronald do while your were down fon the ground? ‘A. He covered my mouth with a hand so I ‘could not shout. He pointed a knife at me and forced me to yield to him, Q. Did it not bother you that you left the wedding party alone by yourself? A. No, sir. Walking alone did not bother me because I knew everyone in the barrio. Q. What route did you take going home? A. took a short cut across Mario’s farm, in the direction of our house. Q Can you describe the path that you took? A. The path was quite uneven and difficult, How wast? ‘A. Twas used to it and I managed very well. PROSECUTOR: That is all, ee ‘Transcript of Stenographic Notes (TSN) October 12 (Abridged and edited for study) Scanned by CamScannerearing inthe witness) COURT STAFF: (After swearing stateyour name and personal circumstances, “WITNESS: I am Dr. Amado Ampil, of legal age, cath ned medical examiner forthe Province of Farrage and a resident of Batangas City. [CUTOR: Have you ever examined a vonTROSECUTOR ts Joe | Yes, 1 examined Julia Torres after she ined to the Lian police that she had been Sipe. I took her two days before reporting the incident. Q. Could you describe her physical built? 'A.. She was of small built, 4 feet 11 inches in height and of fair complexion. (Q. What was your Sindinglel after conducting a medical examination of her? ‘A. I found after examining her body that she suffered from laceration of the cervix posterior portion and laceration of the vaginal canal posterior portion. The lacerations are about two days old. Q. Did you find any other injuries on her body? A. None, sit. Q. Did you prepare a medical report showing such finding? A. Yes, sir. This is my report. (Marked as it A) PROSECUTOR: That will be all. ‘Transcript of Stenographic Notes (TSN) October 16 (Abridged and edited for study) COURT STAFF: (After swearing in the witness) ‘State your name and personal circumstances. WITNESS: I am Ronald Galang, twenty years old, single, and a resident of Barrio Talaan, Lian, Batangas. DEFENSE COUNSEL: With the Court's permission. Do you know the complainant in this case, Ms. Julia Torres? AL Yes sir. Q. She testified that you raped her, what can you say about that? A. Tdid not rape Julia. Q. But did you have sexual relation with her fon the evening of June 12? A. Yes, sir. But she freely agreed to make love with me that night of the wedding party at Celia’s house. Q. The medical examiner testified that she found lacerations on Julia's vaginal canal when he ‘examined her two days later. What can you say about that? A. Thatmustbe true. I discovered that evening that Julia was a virgin because she bled. It worried ‘me but she said that it was not too painful. Q. Did you communicate with each other after that evening of June 12? A. Julia called for me the following day, insisting that I marry her because she was afraid she ‘might have become pregnant. What was your reply to her? ‘A. Because Ihad to look after my parents yet, 1 declined, asking her to wait a while. Scanned by CamScannerFUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL WRITING Q._ And what was her reaction to that? ‘A. Jolla became angry and threatened to complain to her parents that [raped her. {Q. What was your reaction to what she ‘A. Istill refused to marry her right away, Q. Sowhat did she do? A iad? ‘She accused me of raping her, Q. What relation, if any did you have with Julia about the time ofthe alleged rape? ‘A. Julia and I had been sweethearts for over two months before June 12. Q. How did you come to meet each other at that wedding in Celia’s house? ‘A. Onthat evening we met by prior agreement at Celia's house right in our barrio. Q. What happened when you met each other at that wedding party? ‘A. Things started out well and Thad some fun meeting my friends. But, because of their jokes that I hhad some other girl, Julia became angry and refused totalkto me. Q. What did you do then? A. [left to brood outside. Q. How long did you stay outside? ‘A. Nottoo long, Ireturned to the party an hour later after a friend called me inside. Q. What did you do when the wedding party ended? a ‘A. When the party ended, I walked alongsi Julia and tried to explain the jokes played by my friends. GETTING AT THE FACTS OF THE CASE a Q. How did she react to your explanation? ‘A. She did not want to believe me at frst. After awhile, T convinced her to sit with me on a piece of og near the house of Mario. Q._ What happened after you sat on that log? A. The evening was romantic and we ‘eventually reconciled. Q. What happened after you reconciled? ‘A. We kissed and embraced and, forgetting ourselves, we made love on the grass. peat Wis id you do ates you made love to julia ‘A. 1 walked with her up to about twenty meters of her house. DEFENSE COUNSEL: That is all. ‘Transcript of Stenographic Notes (TSN) October 25 (Abridged and edited for study) COURT STAFF: (After swearing in the witness) State your name and personal circumstances. WITNESS: I am Mario Perez, forty-five years ld, married, farmer, and a resident of Barrio Talaan, Lian, Batangas. DEFENSE COUNSEL: With the court's permission. Do you remember where you were on the evening of June 12? A. Tremember that I was home that evening of June 12. Q. Why do you remember that evening? Scanned by CamScannerFUNDAMENTAISOF LEGAL WRITING ‘A, Iwas told that a rape was committed on my farm that evening and it so happened that my two. year old daughter was then running a fever. Q. Is it possible you went to bed eatly that evening? ‘A. Tremember that I slept late because Thad to watch our sick daughter while my wife took her turn to rest. Q. Was the farm visible that night? A. The night was not 10 dark because the roan shone brightly in the sky. Q. What time did you go to bed after watching your sick daughter? ‘A. [took my tum to sleep after midnight. Q. During the time you were looking after your daughter, do you remember hearing the outcry ‘ofa woman from somewhere outside your house? ‘A. No. I heard no outcry from outside my house. DEFENSE COUNSEL: That is all. ‘GETTING AT THE FACTS OF THE CASE 5 charge that Ronald raped Julia; and (b) the latter's denial of the charge. Second, rewrite the legal dispute inthe format of an issue to produce your principal issue then put down this issue in bold print, and place it right before you as you do your summarizing. Using this issue as guide, you can then peel away from the narrations all the facts that are not connected to such issue. It will hold you to your aim, Alter rewriting your principal isu, it should read: WHETHER OR NOT RONALD RAPED JULIA. ‘See how these lessons are applied to the testimony of Julia, reproduced below. The facts relevant to the issue and essential to the outline have been put in bold. The explanations for doing, away with the non-essential facts have been bracketed and litaticized. ‘Transcript of Stenographic Notes (TSN) October8 (Abridged and edited for study) COURT STAFF: (After swearing in the witness) State your name and personal circumstances. [Note Obviously, you do not need to put in your outline this statement about th oath and the request made to the witness Obviously, the above testimonies contain much that is not connected to the rape issue. They are filled with details that usually accompany raw storytelling. When making a summary of them, whole sentences can go and these would not affect the essence ofthe story. Relevant Facts Extracted (Con you sort out the testimonies above and make a short summary of the facts that really matter to the case? This is not difficult, a5 you have earlier seen. Just remember the lesson you leamed. First, try to identify the egal dispute involved in the above case. Obviously, the legal dispute consists in: (a) the government's to state her personal circumstance. They do nol yield any {fat of the cae) on oe nt ape ore =o Pao oe eee Trine aera meee the legal dispute into its proper context. Consequently you ned them in your outline.} PROSECUTOR: With the Court's permission. Do ‘you know Ronald Galang, the accused in this case? Scanned by CamScannerFUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL WRITING A. Yes sir [Note: Wen the witness says, “ys, tp a question, the ats contained in the question, wih firms with her “yes” anster are implicitly in thro the ans. If those facts are relevant, they shoul into yer cutine Hes there (pointing tothe aceuseg Why do you know him? A. He raped me. [Note: Surely relevant] Q. Where did this happen? A._ It happened on the rice field near Matio’s house. [Note This answers the question “where?"] Q. How did Ronald rape you? A. _Istruggled to get free but he pointed a knife at my side and threatened to stab me if I called for help or persisted in fighting back. [Note: Shows how was committed.) Q. Sowhat did you do? A. Out of fear, I gave in [Note: Is this releaant to the issue? Of cours, frit shows twhy the rape succeeded} and he raped me. [Note: This is just a repeat ofa previous satement.} Q._ What did you do after Ronald raped you? A. I kept the matter to myself for a while. [Notes this relevant? Yes. Ordinarily, the victim ofa grave serongdoing would complain about it to someone. fli’ silence could aft the credibility of her claim} Q Why? A. Because I was afraid of the trouble that will happen if my parents and brothers found out. INote: Since this is ula’ justification for incurring dey in reporting the crim, it shouldbe relevant like the preceding nse They loved me so much, [Note: That her pares 4nd brothers loved her 50 much would have no bearing on the issue of whether or not Ronald raped he] (GETTING AT THE FACTS OFTHE CASE 2 Q. For how long did you keep the matter to yourself? A. Aftertwo days of worrying and feeling bad, 1 inally told my aunt about it and she in turn told 1my parents, [Note: Her reason for changing her mind and eventuaily reporting the matter should also be considered releant in judging her credibility.) What was the reaction of your parents? ‘A. They were quite furious and wanted to take the matter into their own hands but cooler heads prevailed. [Note: The reactom is limited to her parents and brothers; itis ireleoant to the rae issue.) Q So what did you do after that? A. went to the police to complain. [Note: Is this relecant? Yes. Complaining to the police about the ‘commission of a crime lends credence to the claim that it took place] QIsthat all that you did? A. I also submitted myself to medical ‘examination. [Note Same reason asthe above. When did Ronald rape you? A. He raped me on June 12 at 7 pam. [Note ‘States te time} How did you meet Ronald on June 127 ‘A. I went to the house of Celia in our barrio ‘to attend a wedding party and I saw him there. [Note. This factis essential to an understanding of the antecedents ofthe lleged crime] @ Doyou have any relationship with Ronald? ‘A. None. He was only my suitor. [Note: Some say that this is ireleoant sine itis possible for Ronald to rape Julia whatever be their relationship. Others think, however, that this is important since it shows that Ronald twas attracted to Julia.) Scanned by CamScanner