Criminal Justice System

Cover to Cover reviewer.

Preliminary up to semi finals.

3 Broad Categories of Crime
1. Sensational crime
2. Street Crime
3. Corporate Crime, White Collar Crime, and
Organized Crime.
Sensational Crime - Some crimes are chosen because they are dramatic and
turned into national problems. Our understanding of crime is largely shaped by
media coverage.

Street Crime - encompasses a broad range of behaviors in both public and

private settings, such as property crime and acts of interpersonal aggression.

Justice - the trait of being reasonable, just, and fair.

Rule of law - is an established legal theory that states that actions made by
the government must be based on such principles.

Judge - a public servant who oversees court operations, hears cases, and
renders decisions in either a solo or group of judges' capacity
.

Prosecutor - the one in charge of making the case against a defendant in a

criminal trial for allegedly breaching the law.

Law - is a set of moral guidelines that a society's sovereign government

establishes in order to uphold social and political authority, make amends for
wrongs, and administer justice.
Miranda Doctrine - A criminal suspect has the right to stay silent, which
allows them to decline to respond to inquiries from law enforcement. They are
entitled to legal representation, and if they are unable to pay for one, one will
be given to them at no cost.
5 pillars
L – Law enforcement
P - Prosecutor
C - Court
C - Correction
C – Community

Goals of CJS
1. Prevention of crime.
2. Protect members of society against crime.
3. Maintain peace and order.
4. Suppression of criminality.
5. Review the legality of existing rules and regulations.
6. Rehabilitation and reformation of offenders.
People involved in the system (Parties to the criminal case)
1. Accused = The most pampered party in a criminal case.
2. Victim/complainant = The forgotten party in a criminal case.
People of the Philippines = The actual offended party

Essence of Justice under the Philippine Constitution

Under Sec. 1, Art III of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, no person shall be
deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall a
person be deprived of the equal protection of law. This guarantee dictates that
in order that justice will be realized there must be the observance of due
process. Due process is a guaranty against any arbitrariness on the part of the
government, whether committed by the legislative, executive or the judiciary.
ARREST
ARREST- is the process of placing someone under arrest so they can be held
accountable for their actions.

MANNER OF CONDUCTING ARREST- When someone is really restrained or

gives themselves up to the person initiating the arrest, an arrest is made.
WARRANT OF ARRESTA warrant of arrest is a written order, signed by the
judge and issued in the name of the people of the Philippines, directing a
peace officer to apprehend the person or people named therein and produce
them before the court.

INTERVIEW vs INTERROGATION
INTERROGATION- An interrogation is a questioning of a person suspected of
having committed a crime or of a person who is reluctant to make a full
disclosure of information in his possession which is pertinent to investigation.

INTERVIEW- An interview is the questioning of a person who is believed to

possess knowledge that is of official interest to the investigator.
CONFESSION Is the direct acknowledgement of guilt, while admission is the
indirect acknowledgement of guilt.

Court - Is a government institution that decides a case, according to the

existing laws or the laws of the land. It adjudicates legal disputes between
citizens, or between the citizens and the government.
Judge - A public officer so named in his commission and appointed to preside
over and to administer the law in a court of justice.
COURT PROCEEDINGS
1. Arraignment - the reading to the accused in open court of the
complaint or information.
⚫ A copy of the complaint/information shall be given to the accused.
⚫ List of witnesses will also be given to the accused.
⚫ The accused pleads guilty or not guilty.
2. Pre – trial - an informal trial which precedes the regular trial. Primarily
intended to expedite the proceeding. This is done through a Pre-Trail
Conference conducted by the court.
⚫ Plea bargaining (guilty or not guilty)
⚫ Stipulation of facts (specification)
⚫ Admission of facts
⚫ Marking documentary evidence (Prosecution 123; Defense ABC)
⚫ Waiver of objection to the admissibility of evidence
3. Trial - the formal investigation of the matter in issue with respect to
the action before a competent court for the purpose of determining such issue
that involves the guilt or innocence of the accused.
4. Judgment - the adjudication by the court that the accused is guilty or
not guilty.
⚫ It must be written in the official language,
⚫ Personally and directly prepared and signed by the judge.
⚫ Must contain legal bases of decision
5. Appeal - the whole case is elevated to a higher court for review and
final adjudication.
⚫ Within 15 days – period of entering appeal from the date of promulgation.
⚫ After 15 days – the decision shall be Final and Executory

CORRECTION PILLAR
Correction is a branch of the Criminal Justice System concerned with the
custody, supervision and rehabilitation of criminal offenders.
Penology is the study of punishment for crime or of criminal offender. It
includes the study of control and prevention of crime through punishment of
criminal offenders.

Why is Correction the weakest pillar of the Criminal Justice System?

Correction is the weakest pillar of the criminal justice system because of its
failure to reform and rehabilitate offenders and prevent them from returning to
a criminal life.
Classifications of Corrections
a. Institutional correction deals with jails, prisons, and colonies where a
convict is going to serve his sentence.
b. Non-institutional correction deals with service of sentence of a
convict outside an institution. It is also known as community – based –
treatment.

Justifications of Punishment
1. Retribution –Offenders should be punished because they deserve it.
2. Expiation or Atonement – it is punishment in the form of group
vengeance where the purpose is to appease the offended public or
group.
3. Deterrence – punishment gives lesson to the offender by showing to
others what would happen to them if they violate the law.
4. Incapacitation and Protection – the public will be protected if the
offender has been held in conditions where he cannot harm others
especially the public.
5. Reformation or Rehabilitation – it is the establishment of the
usefulness and responsibility of the offender.

PENALTY is defined as the suffering inflicted by the state against an offending

member for the transgression of law.

Juridical Conditions of Penalty Punishment must be:

1. Productive of suffering – without however affecting the integrity of the
human personality.
2. Commensurate with the offense – different crimes must be punished
with different penalties (Art. 25, RPC).
3. Personal – the guilty one must be the one to be punished, no proxy.
4. Legal – the consequence must be in accordance with the law.
5. Equal – equal for all persons.
6. Certain – no one must escape its effects

CORRECTION PILLAR
Jail - Is a short term detention facility where a person convicted or suspected
of a crime is detained, it holds people awaiting trial, under investigation and
people sentenced for a short duration which is below 3 years sentence. Jails
include provincial, district, city and municipal jails managed and supervised by
the Provincial Government and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
(BJMP), respectively, which are both under the Department of the Interior and
Local Government

Types of Jails:
1. Lock-up Jails – is a security facility, common to police stations, used
for temporary confinement of an individual held for investigation.
2. Ordinary Jails – is the type of jail commonly used to detain a
convicted criminal offender to serve sentence less than three years.
3. Workhouses, Jail Farms or Camp – a facility that houses minimum
custody offenders who are serving short sentences.

Prison – A place of long-term confinement for those convicted of serious

crimes, the sentence is above 3 years, or place which refers to the national
prisons or penitentiaries managed and supervised by the Bureau of
Corrections, an agency under the Department of Justice.

General Classification of Inmates

1. Detention Prisoners/Detainee – those detained for investigation,
preliminary hearing, or awaiting trial.
2. Sentenced Prisoner/Prisoners – offenders who are committed to the
jail or prison in order to serve their sentence after final conviction by
a competent court.
3. Prisoners who are on Safekeeping – includes non-criminal offenders
who are detained in order to protect the community against their
harmful behavior.
4. The Old Bilibid Prison is known at present as the Manila City Jail.
The Manila government swapped its property located at Muntinlupa to
the Old Bilibid Prison which was owned by the national government.
 The national government built the New Bilibid Prison in said lot at
Muntinlupa.

5. The New Bilibibid Prison. It has 2 satellites namely:

1. Bukang Liwayway houses minimum security prisoners who work in
the various projects of the institution.
2. Sampaguita Camp is where the Reception and Diagnostic Center,
Medium Security Unit, and Youth Rehabilitation Center are located.
6. Probation- is a disposition under which a defendant, after conviction
and sentence, is released subject to conditions imposed by the court
and under the supervision of a probation officer.
7. Pardon- It is defined as an act of grace proceeding from the power
entrusted with the President which exempts the individual on whom it
is bestowed, from punishment the law inflicts for a crime he has
committed. a. Absolute Pardon-given without any condition.
b. Conditional Pardon- given with conditions.
8. Amnesty- is an act of sovereign power granting oblivion or general
pardon for a past offense usually granted in favor of certain classes of
persons who have committed crimes of a political character, such as
treason, sedition, rebellion.
9. Parole is the suspension of sentence of a convict after having served
the minimum of the sentence imposed without granting pardon,
prescribing the terms of the suspension.
10. Reprieve and Suspension of Sentence are the temporary stay or
postponement of sentence especially when the penalty imposed is
death.
Commutation of Sentence- is an act of the President reducing the penalty of
a Convict