Chapter X

Article III
Bill of Rights

Section 1: No person shall be

deprived of life, liberty, or property
without due process of law, nor
shall any person be denied of
equal protection of law

Basic Purpose of the Bill of

Rights
Protect

the people against arbitrary and

discriminatory use of political power.
Preserves our natural rights which include
personal liberty and security against
invasion by the government or any of its
branches or instrumentalities.
Orderly administration of justice.
Prevent the use of the strong arm of the
law in an oppressive and vindictive manner.
To
afford
adequate
protection
to
constitutional rights.

Concept of Due Law

Process
It

is a law that hears before it condemns,

which proceeds upon inquiry and renders
judgement only after trial. It is
responsiveness to the supremacy of reason,
obedience to the dictates of justice.

Dual aspects of Due Process &

their Requirements
Procedural

due process

-method by which law is enforced.

Substantive

due process

- Requires that the law itself, not merely the

procedures by which the law would be enforced,
is fair, reasonable and just.

Requirements of Substantive due

process
There must be an impartial tribunal
The

court must have jurisdiction

There must be opportunity to be heard
The judgement must be rendered after
trial and in accordance with law

Requirements for Procedural Due

Process
The

means are reasonable for the

accomplishment of the purpose
of the law
The law must be intended for the
interest of the public rather than

Requirements of administrative
due process
There

must be hearing where the evidence is

presented
The tribunal must consider the evidence
The decision must be supported by the law
The evidence must support the decision
The evidence must be presented in the
hearing or at least contained in the record and
known to the parties affected.
The tribunal must rely on independent
judgement
The decision must state the facts and laws so
that the parties may know the issue

Meaning of life in due process

Life

includes the right of an

individual to his body in its
completeness and extends to the
use of God-given faculties which
make life
Meaning
ofenjoyable.
liberty in due process
Liberty

includes the right to exist anf

the right to be free from arbitrary
personal restraint/servitude. It
includes the right of the citizen to be
free to use faculties in all lawful ways.

Meaning of property in due

process
Property

means anything that

can come under the right of
ownership and be the subject of a
contract. It represents more than
the things that a person owns; it
includes the right to secure, and
disposeof
ofdeprivation
them.
Concept
of life

and liberty
More

than inflicting personal harm and

actual physical restraints by the direct
operation of enactments of the legislature.

Right to due process is

waivable
The

right to be heard is an often

waived as it is invoked, and
validly so, as long as the party is
given an opportunity to be heard
on his behalf. If he opts to be
silent where he has a right to
speak, he cannot later be heard
to complain that he was unduly
silenced.

Due process does not require

that there will be trial
Due

process does not always

require trial-type proceedings.
The essence of due process is
found in the opportunity to be
heard and the submission of
evidence. To be heard does not
necessarily mean oral arguments
in court. It may be through
pleading.

Basic standards of due process

Due

process must not overrun

the bounds of reason and result
in sheer oppression. It must be
free from arbitrariness and it
must be based on the sporting
idea of fair play.

Essence of due process

having

the reasonable
opportunity to be heard and
submit any evidence one may
have in support of ones defence.
Where opportunity to be heard,
either through oral arguments or
pleadings, as accorded, there is
no denial of procedural due
process.

A license is neither a property nor right that is

covered by the process clause of the Constitution

license authorizing a person to

enjoy a certain privilege is

A television coverage of the trial of

an accused is a denial of a process
The

potential impact of television

is the greatest significance.
The quality of the testimony in
criminal trials will often be
impaired.
A major aspect of the problem is
the additional responsibilities of
television places on the judge.
The impact of the courtroom
television on the defendant.

Equal protection clause

Concept

of the equal
protection clause
Equality in the enjoyment of
similar rights and privileges by
law.
The
equal protection clause

allows classification
Classification

(law)

-grouping of things in speculation or

practice because they agree with
one another in certain particular.

Requirements of valid classifications for

purposes of the equal protection clause
They

must rest of substantial

distinction that make real
differences
They must germane to the
purpose of the law
They must not be limited to
existing conditions only
They must apply equally to all
members of the same class.

The constitutional right to equal protection of the

laws is not absolute but is subjected to
reasonable classification.

To

be
reasonable,
the
classification must
take the requirements of valid
classifications for purpose of the
equal protection clause.
There should be a compliance with
the this requirements.

The NMAT rule requiring certain minimum scores

in said examination is not in violation of equal
protection clause.

NMAT- National Medical Admission Test

It is not in violation because different
cut-off for different conditions:
Number of students
Number of schools with available places.
Level of difficulty.
To establish a permanent cut-off may result
in unreasonable rigidity which may violate
the equal protection clause.

The classification must be based on a

distinction that makes real differences
The

distinction made by law is

not only superficial, but also
arbitrary. The classification must
not only be reasonable, but also
apply equally to all members of
the class.

The equal protection clause does not

prevent Congress from establishing
classes of individual or objects
It

is settled in constitutional law

that the equal protection clause
does not prevent the Legislature
from establishing classes of
individuals or objects upon which
different rules shall operate so
long as the classification is not
reasonable.

Congress power to classify is

not absolute
The

inequality of treatment
cannot be justified on the mere
assertion that each exemption
(granted to the seven other
Government Financial Institutions
[GFI]) rests on a policy
determination by legislature.

to be secure in their persons,

houses, papers, and effects against
unreasonable search and seizures
of whatever nature and for any
purpose shall be inviolable and no
search warrant or warrant of arrest
shall issue except upon probable
cause to be determined personally
by judge after the examination
under oath of affirmation of the
complainant and witnesses he may
produce, and particularly
describing the place to be searched
and person or things to be seized

Searches and Seizures

Constitutional guarantee on the right of the people
against unreasonable searches and seizures

The

social right against arrest,

search and seizures without a
valid warrant is not only ancient.
It is also zealously safeguarded.

When search warrant considered

valid
Must

particularly described the

place to be searched and the things
to be seized.
The probable cause must be
determined personally by judge.
Should not be a sweeping authority
empowering a raiding party to take
a fishing expedition to seize and
confiscate any and all kinds of
evidence/article related to a crime.

Proper Description of place to be

searched
The

officer with the warrant can,

with reasonable effort, ascertain
and identify the place intended &
distinguish it from other places in
the community.
any description known to the
locality that points out the place
to the exclusion of others, and on
inquiry leads the officers
unerringly to it satisfies the
constitutional requirement.

Scatter-shot warrant
a

search warrant issued for more

than 1 specific offense.
A search warrant which vaguely
describes and does not
particularized the personal
property to be seized without a
definite guideline to the
searching team as to what items
might be lawfully seized.

Effect of General warrant

The

requirement that search

warrant shall particularly
describe the things to be seized
makes general searches under
them impossible and prevents
the seizure of one thing under a
warrant describing another.

When searches without warrant

are permissible
In

times of war and within the are

of military operation
As an incident of a lawful arrest,
subjects have the following
requisites:
The arrest must be lawful
The search and seizure must be
contemporaneous with arrest
The search must be within
permissible ares of search

When searches without warrant

are permissible
When

there are prohibited article

open to eye and hand/ plain view
doctrine
When there is consent:
There is a right
There must be knowledge of the
existence of such right
There must be intention to waive.
When there is an incident of
inspection

Probable Cause
Such

facts and circumstances

which could lead and a
reasonably discreet and prudent
man to believe that an offense
has been committed and that
that the objects sought in
connection with the offense have
in the place sought to be
searched.

Requisites for the determination of the existence

of probable cause in an application for a search
warrant

The

judge must examine the

complainant and his witnesses
personally
The examination must be under
oath
The examination must be
reduced in writing in the form of
searching questions and answers

Rationale for the validity of

search of a moving vehicle
It

is not practicable to secure a

warrant because the vehicle can
be quickly moved out of the
locality or jurisdiction in which
the warrant must be sought.

Stop-and-frisk
Thesituationinwhichapoliceofficerwhois

suspiciousofanindividualdetainsthepers
onandrunshishandslightlyoverthesuspe
ct'soutergarmentstodetermine
ifthepersoniscarryinga
concealedweapon.

Two-fold interest of stop-andfrisk search

General

interest of effective
crime prevention and detection.
More pressing interest of safety
and self-preservation .

Checkpoint
ispolice

tacticinvolving the setup of a

hastyroadblockprimarily police units in
order to stop and inspect vehicles and
extensively searched when there is
probable cause which the contents of the
said vehicle have instruments of some
offense of law.
It is not illegal under exceptional
circumstances as where the survival of
organized government is on balance, or
there is a grave peril on safety of people.

Plain view doctrine

Theplain

view doctrineallows an officer to

seize without awarrant, evidence and
contraband in plain view during a lawful
observation.
Conditions:
the officer to be lawfully present at the place
where the evidence can be plainly viewed.
the officer to have a lawful right of access to
the object, and
the incriminating character of the object to
be immediately apparent

The existence of many structures

inside the compound does not
violate the rule that a particular
description is required
The

description of the place to be

searched is sufficient if the officer
with the warrant can with the
reasonable effort, ascertain and
identify the place intended and
distinguish it from other places in
the community.

Buy-bust operation
Method

implied by police
authorities to malefactors in the
act of committing the crime of
drug vending.

In flagrante delicto arrest

The

accused is apprehended at the moment

he is committing or attempting to commit or
has just committed an offense in the
present of the arresting officer.

Waiver of right against

unreasonable search and seizure
When

one voluntarily submits to

search or consents to have it
made on the person or premises,
he is precluded from later
complaining .

Section 3: The Privacy of

communication and
correspondence shall be inviolable
except for upon lawful order of the
court, or when public safety or
order requires otherwise, as
prescribed by law. Any evidence
obtained in violation of this or the
preceding section shall be
inadmissible for any purpose in
any proceeding.

Right to privacy
The

right to be left alone, or the

right to be free from undesired
publicity or disclosure; or right to
live without unwarranted
interference by public matters
within which public is not
necessarily concerned

Zones of privacy in our

law
The

privacy of communication
and correspondence shall be
inviolable except upon lawful
order of the court, or when public
safety or order requires otherwise
as prescribed by law.
Every person shall respect the
dignity, personality, privacy and
peace of mind of his neighbour
and other persons.

Basic purpose of Right to

privacy
Founded

on a persons inherent
right to enjoy private life without
having incidents thereto made
public.obtained documents are
Illegally

inadmissible in evidence
Original

document must be
produced;exceptions. When the
subject of inquiry is the contents
of a document, no evidence shall
be admissible other than the

A spouse can testify on a confidential

psychiatric evaluation report
A

confidential psychiatric
evaluation may be testified
without offending the privilege
communication rule in a case of
annulment of marriage.