Prescription of Offenses

Prescription of offenses is necessary in order to know if there is still time to file a case against a person. Once a case has prescribed, you can no longer file against another person. According to Article 91 of the Revised Penal Code:

"The period of prescription shall commence to run from the day on which the crime is DISCOVERED by the offended party, the authorities, or their agents, and shall be interrupted by filing of the complaint or information, and shall commence to run again when such proceedings terminate without the accused being convicted or acquitted, or are unjustifiably stopped for any reason not imputable to him."

Besides, filing of complaint with prosecutor's office or MTC for purposes of preliminary investigation interrupts the running period of prescription of offense charged. In the case of Republic vs. Desierto, the Supreme Court ruled that:

"If the commission of the crime is known, the prescriptive period shall commence to run on the day it was committed, but in cases where the time of commission is unknown, prescription shall run from its discovery and institution of judicial proceedings for its investigation and punishment."

...prescription of offenses...

 

House of Horrors' Suspect to face charges in court

I have been reading about Sowell who was caught by the authorities for allegedly killing eleven women. The decaying bodies of these victims were found in Sowell's home at Imperial Avenue right there in Ohio. That is the reason that his case was initially tagged as imperial avenue murders. At present, his house was referred to as house of horrors due to the brutal killings of eleven women committed in different occasions. Sowell's plea is that he is not guilty and he used insanity as a reason. For being suspected as doing such horrible murders, he could face death penalty if found guilty and eventually convicted.

According to CNN, Sowell faces eighty five charges involving kidnapping, rape, and murder. It was reported by the same site that "at least one victim was strangled by hand, and most of the others by ligature, authorities said. The remains of seven still had ligatures- string, cord or wire- wrapped around their necks. The skull of one woman was wrapped in a paper bag and stuffed into a bucket in the home's basement." Based on research, Sowell lived a lonely childhood as he was fatherless. Witnessing various cases of violence and living in a slum area, it was even reported that he raped his cousin and someone who is a pregnant woman when he was yet a teenager. He also enlisted himself in the military and had a past relationship with a mayor's niece. The serial killer, Anthony Sowell and once lived in the house of horrors, will finally face the courts of justice.

Bar Exam Results Philippines 2009

A local newspaper delivered a news that made barristers in emotional tumult lately. The news which partly reads, "The results of the 2009 bar examination will be released on Friday, Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez announced. In a special en banc session of the high tribunal Friday morning, Associate Justice Eduardo Nachura, chairman of the 2009 Committee on Bar Examination, will present the exam results and the magistrates will determine the passing percentage." That September 2009 is indeed grueling due to the two examiner rule. There were two parts of the exam for the bar examinees to answer in barely three to four hours depending on the subject. Four Sundays in all, bar examinees must see to it that every question is answered and of course, answered correctly.

Families and friends of the bar examinees are giving their full support for the common goal- to pass and hurdle such difficult government examination. It is obvious since most people these few days are talking about the incoming release of the exam results. Indeed, it is emotional tumult for most bar examinees who are waiting for the release of the results as some of them admitted that it is hard for them to sleep and eat as Friday is fast approaching. The Philippine bar exam results for 2009 is expected to have a higher passing percentage, at least, to equate the imposition of the two examiner rule.

The Origin, Nature, and Purposes of Law

The obscurity of the origin of law is founded on the fact that law is a precondition of society. Basically, law started from the rule of only one person who controls the activities of others. It was later on developed into a set of rules that governs the activities of the people belonging to a specific country. Hence, the rule of law and not of men was developed. Although some countries remained elusive to this legal system, most of the people around the world believed that the implementation of laws would make the world a peaceful place to live.

The nature of a law may be positive, negative and or restrictive which would allow all men to follow. A positive law mandates to the performance of a necessary act. For a negative or restrictive law, a person is prohibited from doing something that would probably injure of damage the rights of others. Thus, the ultimate purpose of the law is to set a harmonious environment in every society. Without laws, chaos and tyranny will rule all over the society. There will be no freedom and liberty for men to enjoy. With that, only those who are duly-constituted authorities who could create and implement laws. In other words, no one is even allowed to transcend the law even those authorized by the Constitution of a certain country.

Essentially, the concept of law was obvious to primitive men when they realized that the rule of one against the other is not an effective government. Men tend to understand the law when they experienced its essence and usefulness especially in their dealings with other people. Personally, I am grateful to those who initiated the development of laws because I was one of those who are benefited by the implementation of the law in the country where I belong.