Legal Medicine

Legal Medicine
Branch of medicine, which deals with
the application of medical knowledge
for the purpose of law or simply put,
medicine applied to legal cases
 FORENSIC MEDICINE
Refers to use of medical science to
elucidate legal problems
 MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE
Branch of law which deals with the
organization and regulation of
medical profession, with the
contractual obligations existing
between practitioner and his patient,
and the duties imposed on the
practitioner by the state
 LAW
1.) Rule of conduct, just obligatory,
laid by legitimate power for common
observance and benefit
2.) It is a science of moral laws
founded on the rational nature of
man which regulates free activity for
the realization of his individual and
social ends under the aspect of
mutual dependable independence
 LAW
3.) a general term embracing all those
principles, rules and enactments which are
applied in the courts and enforced by the
coercive powers of the state
4.) general and all inclusive
5.) rules established by a governing power
to maintain peace, secure justice for its
members, define legal rights of the
individual and the community and topunish
offenders for legal wrongs
 WITNESS
One who, being present personally
sees or perceives a thing a beholder,
spectator or eye witness; one who
testifies what he has seen, heard or
otherwise observe; a person whose
declaration under oath ( affirmation)
is received as evidence for any
purpose, whether such declaration
be made on an examination or by
deposition or affidavit
 Adverse Witness

A witness whose mind discloses a bias

hostile to the party examining him
 SUBPOENA
A process to cause a witness to
appear and give testimony,
commanding him to lay aside all
pretenses and excuses and appear
before a court or magistrate therein
mentioned to testify for the party
named under a penalty therein
mentioned
 SUBPOENA
A process directed to a person
requiring him to attend and or testify
at the hearing of an action, or at any
investigation conducted under the
laws of the Philippines or for the
taking of deposition
 SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM
A process by which the court at the
instances of the suitor, command as
witness who has in his possession or
control some document or paper that
is pertinent to the issues of a
pending controversy to produce it at
trial
 SUBPOENA AD
TESTIFICANDUM

Subpoena to testify. A technical and

descriptive term for ordinary
subpoena
 SUMMONS
A writ , directed to the sheriff or other proper
officer, requiring him to notify the person named
that an action has been commenced against him
in the court whence the writ issues , and that the
required to appear, on the day named, and answer
the complaint in such action and that judgment
will be taken against him if he fails to answer the
complaint to cite a defendant to appear in court to
answer a suit which has been begun against him,
to notify the defendant that an action has been
instituted against him and that he is required to
answer to it at a time and place named.
 SEARCH WARRANT
An order in writing issued by a judge in the
name of the state directed to a sheriff
constable or other officer, commanding
him to search a specified house, shop or
other premises, for personal property
alleged to have been stolen or for unlawful
goods and to bring the same when found
before the magistrate and usually also the
body of a person occupying the premises,
to be dealt with according to the law
PERSONAL PROPERTY TO BE
SEIZED
A. Property subject of the offense

B. Property stolen or embezzled and

other proceeds or fruits of the
offense

C. Property used or intended to be

used as the means of committing the
offense
 WARRANT OF ARREST

A written order issued and signed by

a judge or magistrate, directed to a
peace officer or some other person
specially named, and commanding
him to arrest the body of a person
named in it, who is accused of an
offense
 WARRANTLESS ARREST
When LAWFUL: a peace officer or a
private person may, without a
warrant, arrest a person:

A. when a person to be arrested has

committed is actually committing, or
about to commit an offense in his
presence;
 WARRANTLESS ARREST
B. When an offense has in fact been
committed, and he has reasonable ground to
believe that the person to be arrested has
committed it;

C. when a person to be arrested is a prisoner

who has escaped from a penal establishment or
place he is served final judgment or
temporarily confined while his case is pending,
or has escaped while being transferred from
one confinement to another
 MALA PROHIBITA
A prohibition by the provision that
the act is wrong

e.g. smoking, carrying a weapon

 MALA PER SE
A wrong by nature; act that is by
nature wrong

e.g. killing, stealing

 PRIVILEGED
COMMUNICATION
ABSOLUTE

QUALIFIED
 ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGED
COMMUNICATION
no circumstance can you be forced
to reveal communication

1. information that is passes on by a

client to his lawyer

2. advice by the lawyer to the client

 ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGED
COMMUNICATION
3. files of the lawyer where the information
regarding the case of the client was kept.
Nobody can order or issue a search
warrant to search for the files of a lawyer
regarding a case information about a client

4. the secrets of a confessant. The court

cannot order the priest to reveal what the
penitent revealed in that confession
 QUALIFIED PRIVILEGED
COMMUNICATION
Communication given by a patient to
a doctor in the course of a Px- Dr
relationship. If their is a court order
for you to reveal, the only
information you cannot reveal which
can be considered absolute are
matters that tend to blacken the
reputation of the Px.
 PERSCRIPTION

The period within which you may

prosecute a course of action.
Because one cannot be given an
advice to file a complaint regarding
certain matter anytime he feels like it
without any limitation. These
limitations imposed by the law
 DEAD ON ARRIVAL (DOA)

Is when a Px arrives in extremis,

dying already or at the point of death
or dies within 24 hours, but we dont
follow that definition.
 Basic Principles of Application of
Criminal Laws

Applicable to all persons living or

sojourned with Philippine territory
 Basic Principles of Application of
Criminal Laws
Applicability outside Philippine territory
applicable against those who:
A. should forge or counterfeit any coin or
currency note of the Philippine islands or
obligations or securities issued by the
Government of the Philippines
B. should be liable for acts connected with
the introduction into this islands of the
obligations and securities mentioned in the
preceding number
 Basic Principles of Application of
Criminal Laws
C.) while being public officers or
employees, should commit an
offense in the exercise of their
functions or

D.) should commit any of the crimes

against
 CRIMINAL LIABILITY

Is incurred by any person committing

a felony (delito) although the
wrongful act done be different from
one which intended.
 CRIMINAL LIABILITY
exceptions

a.) injury suffered by the offended

part is due to some causes or
accidental foreign to the facts
constituting the felony e.g. the intent
was only to inflict slight physical
injuries but the victim dies of heart
attack
 CRIMINAL LIABILITY
exceptions

b.) the injury suffered by the

offended party is due to his
inexcusable negligence or deliberate
misconduct e.g., the injury suffered
is slight physical injury but the victim
deliberately contaminated the wound
which later becomes serious
 CRIMINAL LIABILITY
exceptions

c. the injury suffered by the offended

party is due to lack of skill, lack of
foresight or gross negligence of a
third person e.g. the injury inflicted
is less serious and due to the gross
negligence of the atteneding
physician, the offended party dies
 CRIMES OR FELONIES
ACTS and OMISSIONS punishable by
law are felonies
Committed not only by means of deceit
(dolo) by also means of fault (culpa)
There is deceit when the act is
performed with deliberate intent; and
there is fault when wrongful act resuts
from imprudence, negligence, lack of
foresight or lack of skill
 CRIMES OR FELONIES
By any person performing an act
which would be an offense against
persons, property, were it not for:
a. the inherent impossibility of its
accomplishment e.g. stabbing a dead
person with intent to kill
 CRIMES OR FELONIES
b. or an account of the employment
of inadequate or ineffectual means
E.g. a person who tries to kill another
with use of a gun knowing that the
gun has no firing pin
STAGES OF EXECUTION OF A
CRIME

1. CONSUMMATED

2. FRUSTRATED

3. ATTEMPTED
 PERSONS CRIMINALLY
LIABLE
1.) PRINCIPALS
Those who take direct part in the
execution of the act
Those who directly force or induce
others to commit it
Those who cooperate in the commission
of the offense by another act without
which it could not have been
accomplished
 PERSONS CRIMINALLY
LIABLE

2. ACCOMPLICES
Those person who not being included in
principals, cooperate in the execution of
the offense by previous or simultaneous
acts
 PERSONS CRIMINALLY
LIABLE

3. ACCESSORIES
Those who having knowledge of the
commission of the crime and without
having participated therein, either
principals or accomplices, take
subsequent part to its commission in
any of the following manner
 PERSONS CRIMINALLY
LIABLE

a. by profiting themselves or
assisting the offenders to profit by
the effect of the crime

b. by concealing or destroying the

body of crime, or the effects or
instruments thereof, in order to
prevent its discovery
 PERSONS CRIMINALLY
LIABLE
c. by harboring, concealing or
assissting in the escape of the
principal of the crime, provided the
accessory acts with the abuse of his
public functions or whenever the
author of the crime is guilty of
treason, parricide, murder, or an
attempt to take life of the Chief
executive or is known to be
habitually guilty of some other
 PERSONS CRIMINALLY
LIABLE
FORMAL CRIMES are those which
are always consummated by a single
act like slander, smuggling and
impossible crimes

MATERIAL CRIMES are those which

have 3 stages namely: attempted,
frustrated and consummated
 PRESCRIPTION OF CRIMES OR
OFFENSES

The period of prescription commence

to run from the day on which the
crime is discovered by the offended
party, the authorities or their agents

It is interrupted by the filling of the

complaint or information
 PRESCRIPTION OF CRIMES OR
OFFENSES
It commences to run again when
such proceedings terminate without
the accused being convicted or
acquitted or unjustifiably stopped for
any reason not imputed to him.

The term of prescription shall not run

when the offender is absent from the
Philippines
 PRESCRIPTION OF
PENALTIES
DEATH and RECLUSION PERPETUA 20
YEARS
OTHER AFFLICTIVE PENALTIES 15 YEARS
CORRECTIONAL PENALTIES 10 YEARS
ARRESTO MAYOR 5 YEARS
LIGHT PENALTIES 1 YEAR

NOTE: PENALTIES MUST BE IMPOSED BY

FINAL JUDGMENT