JUDICIAL AFFIDAVIT RULE

PURPOSE

- Takes the place of direct testimony of witness in court

CASES APPLICABLE

- Civil cases
- Criminal cases (But penalty not more than 6 yrs. If more than 6 yrs, JA optional)

LANGUAGE USED IN JA

1. English
2. Filipino

WITNESS DOES NOT KNOW ENG/FIL; ONLY KNOWS LOCAL DIALECT

- Write Q & A in local dialect

- After which, accompany it by translation of Q & A in English
- Then explain the translation to client
- Hence, if using local dialect, there are actually 2 Q & As, local dialect and English

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

- State name of lawyer who interviewed witness

- State language/dialect is known to client which is either E or F. If client does not know E/F, state
local dialect client knows
- State that after writing Q & A in local dialect, explained the translation into English to client
- State that client answerd fully conscious under oath under penalty of law
CONTENTS OF JA

- Sec 3
- Personal circumstances of witness may be in Q & A format also
SAMPLE OF JA WRITTEN IN LOCAL DIALECT TRANSLATED IN ENGLISH
SIGNATURE OF WITNESS OVER NAME
JURAT
SWORN ATTESTATION OF LAWYER (ATTESTATION CLAUSE)

- Sec 4
- Last part of JA
- Scilicet first before attestation
- It must be notarized other than the lawyer who conducted the examination
- For the JA it is okay for the lawyer to notarize it. But for the attestation it must be a different
lawyer.
EFFECT OF NONCOMPLIANCE WITH JAR

- Sec 10
- The court shall not admit as evidence judicial affidavits that do
not conform to the content requirements of Section 3 and the attestation
requirement of Section 4 above
- Must comply with rules of evidence
- Make sure question is not leading (because this is direct examination),
irrelevant, incompetent***

LEADING QUESTION

- Answer is found in question

- Remedy: use What When Where Why How, question does not give any idea to the answer

ASS: Read rules on leading questions and direct examination

WITNESS OF ADVERSE PARTY

- No need for JA