Criminal procedure sits inside the 25% Remedial Law sitting, and it overlaps with Criminal Law and with the Bill of Rights — which makes it one of the most frequently cross-examined blocks in the whole examination. A fact pattern about an arrest is simultaneously a remedial question, a constitutional question, and an evidence question.
This article is the sequence, and the points where the paper concentrates.
The sequence
- The complaint or information — what it must contain, who may file it, and the effect of a defective charging document.
- Prosecution's control and the determination of probable cause.
- Arrest — with or without warrant, and the constitutional requirements around it.
- Custody, and the rights of the person under investigation — which is where the Bill of Rights and the exclusionary rule meet procedure.
- Bail — the right to bail, its exceptions, and the conditions.
- Arraignment and pre-trial.
- Trial, including the rights of the accused and the order of trial.
- Judgment, its promulgation, and its finality.
- Remedies — motion for reconsideration, appeal, and the extraordinary remedies.
Questions concentrate at steps 3 to 5 and at 8 and 9.
The charging document
Two examinable requirements:
- It must charge an offence with the elements stated — the test being whether the accused can know what he is being charged with, and prepare his defence. A defective information is not a technicality; it is the basis of the whole case.
- The designation of the offence is not controlling; the facts alleged are. A question that says "the information cites the wrong article but the allegations describe another offence" is testing this.
Also learn the rules on amendment and substitution of the information, because their consequences differ sharply: what happens after the accused has pleaded, and whether a new arraignment is required.
Arrest, and the rights that follow
Three blocks, frequently combined in one problem:
- Warrantless arrest — the situations the rules allow, and the standard the Constitution imposes.
- The rights during custodial investigation — the requirements the law imposes, and the consequence of non-compliance, which is exclusion.
- Search and seizure incidental to an arrest — the scope of what may be taken, and the limit.
The pattern in examination questions is a chain: was the arrest lawful, was the person then under custodial investigation, were the rights given, and is the evidence admissible? Answer the chain in order and each link earns a mark.
Bail
The block that produces "may he be released" questions:
- The right to bail — and its constitutional character, and the offences to which it does not apply.
- The application, the hearing, and the factors the court considers where the evidence is strong.
- Conditions, and the effect of their breach.
- The remedy if bail is denied or imposed excessively.
A bail answer must name the offence's bailability first, because the entire analysis depends on it.
Trial and the rights of the accused
A short list, each of which generates a question on its own: to a speedy, impartial and public trial; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to confront witnesses; to compulsory process; to be present; to counsel.
Learn each with the remedy that follows a violation — a dismissal for denial of the right to speedy trial, or a nullity, or exclusion — because the questions usually ask what the consequence is.
Judgment, appeal, and finality
- Promulgation and its requirements.
- The modes of review — the appeal by notice for the Regional Trial Court to the Court of Appeals, the petition for review on certiorari to the Supreme Court, and the special civil action of certiorari in the cases where an appeal is unavailable.
- The periods, and the effect of the filing on execution and on liberty — which is the practical half of the question, and the half most often omitted.
- The effect of an acquittal, including the civil liability tail — a point that connects this block to Criminal Law's ex delicto liability, and which is asked in both.
The cross-references to other sittings
| If the question involves… | It is also testing… |
|---|---|
| A warrantless arrest and a search | The Bill of Rights (Political law), and the exclusionary rule (Evidence) |
| A conviction and civil liability | Criminal Law's ex delicto rules |
| An appeal and its period | Remedial Law's remedies tables |
| A witness who recanted | Evidence's exceptions, and the rule on admissions |
That is why criminal procedure is worth studying properly even in a 25% sitting: it improves answers elsewhere.
Practising
- The chain drill. Take five fact patterns and answer only the sequence: arrest — custodial rights — evidence — admissibility. One line per link.
- The period drill. The periods in criminal procedure in one table, rebuilt weekly.
- The consequence drill. For five rights, state the remedy for their violation.
Where it sits in the sitting
Criminal procedure is a block of the largest paper, examined through practical questions that read like stories. The efficient preparation is the same as for the rest of Remedial Law: sequences, tables, and the four-move answer.
For the sitting's map, see how to study Remedial Law; for the civil side, civil procedure: the examined parts.