CHAPTER 8

INTRODUCING THE ISSUES

ZAMBAS, CARDONA, FELICIANO, DAGCUTA, MANABILANG
NEED FOR INTRODUCTION
Legal writing the things that lawyers write to win
others to their point of view

Goal: deliver your POV or Argument

HOW?

TELL YOUR READER/S FIRST the circumstances

of the case that brought about the ISSUE:
• Background of facts
• Issue/s
Why do we need to state the facts again in
the introduction?

Most lawyers would often hit the judge directly with their
argument without adequately introducing the issue that
they present to him for resolution.

They WRONGLY ASSUME THAT THE JUDGE HAS THE

BACKGROUND OF FACTS.
The odds are he would not because:

1.Attention span of human beings is quite limited

2.Hearings in the Philippine system is piecemeal
3.It is possible that the judge had gotten the facts
wrong from past pleadings or during the hearing
4.Justices of the Appellate Court need to be apprise
of the facts because they did not hear the
evidence and they rely on the lawyer’s summaries.
Sufficiency of Introduction
.
Put only as much background
facts as are needed for an
understanding of an issue that
the parties present
Standard of Sufficiency

Statement of the Case

 The purpose of the statement of the case is to provide a clear
and concise statement of the nature of the action, a
summary of the proceedings, any challenged order or
decision issued, and other matters necessary for
understanding of a controversy.

 Keep it short. Do not include service of summons, holding of a

pretrial conference, and the allegations of parties in the
pleadings
 Simply mention the basic legal disputes that the
claims of the parties produced.

 Lawyers often quote criminal information as part

of their statement of the case - UNNECESSARY
unless the allegations in the information are an
issue.
STATEMENT OF FACTS

 Narrates the transaction or event that created the legal

dispute and led to the filing of the suit
 Usual concern: WoN your statement of facts should
present only your client's version of the facts of the case
 The statement of facts, like the statement of the case, is
neither intended as nor is the place for arguments.
 Its function is to introduce the issues that the case
presents.
 By fairly showing the conflicting claims of the parties, the
court or the reader can truly understand the issues that
divide them.
 The next question is how much detail must go
into your statement of facts?

With minimum words

 The next question is must you source your facts

from both the direct and cross-examination of
witnesses from either side?
 Statement of the Case
Plaintiff Celia de Leon filed a complaint for damages
against defendant LC before the RTC of Manila in civil case
12345 for falsely accusing her of stealing LC's jewelry. LC
denied the charge in her answer and asserted a counter-claim
for attorney's fees against De Leon for having filed an unjustified
suit. After trial, the lower court rendered a decision, holding LC
liable in actual and moral damages for maligning De Leon. This
prompted the latter to appeal the decision to this Court.
 Statement of Facts
Plaintiff De Leon testified that at 4:30PM on March 10, she
dropped in, as wedding coordinator, at a room at the hotel
Intercontinental in Makati to see the bride who was then preparing for
her wedding at a nearby church. De Leon left after a few minutes to
attend to the venue of the reception. At about 5PM, she returned to the
bride's room where defendant LC, the bride's cousin, confronted her,
claiming that she must have taken her jewelry because she alone
came in and out of the room. LC's jewelry was missing. The defendant
called the police to investigate the matter. They searched De Leon and
took her fingerprints.
 RELIEF

• The final section in a pleading

• It is also commonly referred to as a
“WHEREFORE” clause.
 “WHEREFORE, Mr. Smith respectfully requests this
court to dismiss this action and grant any further
equitable relief it deems appropriate”

• The catch-all “equitable relief” clause prevents you from

limiting. Shows lack of your imagination.

• A sample order, rarely does a judge enter it en toto. The

judge will review the order and adjust it accordingly.
Overall, it is a much more formal practice.
SHORT INTRODUCTIONS

 To introduce the issue, BRIEF

background of the facts must be
presented.
 Not limited to submitting a
memorandum but also on incidental
issues.
EXAMPLES

A Short Introduction about the background of the

facts of the case to introduce the issue is needed
in the following cases:
 Motion to Quash a criminal information
 Opposition to a Motion for Postponement
 Petition for Review
-Respondent’s Comment on Petition
-Petitioner’s Reply to respondent’s comment
 Chapter 9:
WRITING THE ARGUMENT
MUNDER, ALO, LANZADERAS, AWING, WAMINAL
 WRITE UP STAGE

•Putting flesh and color to the arguments

•Making the closing statement
 JUMP OFF POINTS

What is a jump-off point?

•A topic statement that signals or defines
the direction of the argument
2 ways to jump-off

1. Briefly stating the opponent’s claim

with the intention of defining the area
that your argument will attempt to assail
2. Stating your thesis or proposition
with the intention of supporting it with th
argument that follows
3 statements of an argument

THE RULE STATEMENT

• The statement of a rule that applies to a given fact or set of
facts

THE CASE FACT STATEMENT

• The statement of a fact of a particular case that opens up
such case or closes it to the application of the rule

THE CONCLUSION STATEMENT

• The conclusion that the rule applies or does not apply to the
particular case
 Making a balance sheet argument
Statement Usual statement
RULE “For a woman, it was not likely for
Julia to walk home alone in the
middle of the night.”
CASE FACT “Julia said that she did.”
CONCLUSION “Therefore, she must have lied.”
Correct statement/ Full argument
“Filipino practice and tradition in the rural areas tend to
protect women, especially young girls, when they go out
late in the evening. When the girl attends a party, the
host usually arranges for a relative or a fiend to walk her
home.”
“In this case, Julia, a young girl raised in the rural areas,
testified that she walked home alone after the wedding
party although it was already late at night and she had
to walk across rice fields to get home.”
“It may be inferred from this that she had not told the
truth. Indeed, it seemed more probable that her
sweetheart, Ronald, escorted her home.”
PERSUASIVE ARGUMENTS
Importance of the 3 essential statements of the
legal argument:

•The effectiveness of your argument depends on

how ably you write up each statement of your
argument into a convincing part

•Enables you to dismantle your argument, reinforce

or improve the weak parts, emphasize the strong
and put them together again to produce a
persuasive argument
 CONVINCING RULE STATEMENT

EXAMPLE:
If your rule is that women will ordinarily not admit having
been raped unless true and if your case fact is that Julia
admitted having been raped by Ronald, then your
conclusion will be that Julia’s admission is probably true.
Will the following be a sufficient write up of your
argument?
“Since women will ordinarily not admit having
been raped unless true and since Julia
admitted to having been raped by Ronald, it
follow that her admission of that rape is
probably true.”
Full acceptance comes from being
convinced first that:

1. Rule you propose is correct

2. Key fact to which the rule applies is

similar to (or different from) the case
fact (the fact of the particular case)
Case Fact: Julia admitted to having been raped
by Ronald since this fact is not denied.

Your reader needs to be convinced that women

as a rule will not admit to being raped unless
true. You need to write more about it to
convince your reader as to its correctness.
The argument should go like this:

(The rule statement) It takes a lot of courage for any woman to cry out and
testify that she has been raped. When she steps forward to confess what
happened to her, she exposes herself to the humiliation of acknowledging
that a man has ravished her body and violated her virginity. The police
investigation will surely make a spectacle of her. And rowdy police
investigators are not known for prudence and gentleness. She also has to
bare her body to the prying hands of a medical examiner who is a stranger
to her. And as soon as her neighbors learn of it, she permanently loses her
good reputation. Suitor will avoid her like a leper. For these reasons,
women are not likely to admit being raped unless true. (The case fact
statement:). Since Julia acknowledged having been raped by Ronald,
(The Conclusion:) her testimony may be assumed to be true.
CONVINCING FACT SITUATION

The parties to the dispute could agree that a

specific rule governs a case but they are
unable to agree whether the key fact to which
it applies.
 [ The Rule: ] Although a woman’s testimony, standing alone, can
support a conviction for rape, such testimony must be conclusive,
logical, and probate.

• [ The Case Fact: ] But, Firstly, the medico-legal officer who examined
Julia’s whole body did not find any bruise either on her back or on her
arms. Yet, she testified that she testified that she struggled to get free
form Ronald on rough ground, a situation that would surely have
produce those bruises.

• [ Another case Fact: ] Secondly, Julia’s testimony that she walked

home alone after the wedding party is improbable especially since it
was nighttime and she had to walk across the rice fields. A Filipina
woman would naturally ask the host or a friend to walk with her home.
Indeed, this was that probably happened. Her sweetheart, Ronald,
escorted her.
 [ Still Another case Fact: ] Thirdly, the rape allegedly took place just 50
meters away from Mario’s House. At the distance, surely, Mario was still
awake would have heard Julia shriek for help when it happened. A
woman forced to submit to a man’s sexual attack would no doubt
make a loud outcry. The fact that no one heard Julia’s outcry shows
that she assented to Ronald’s moves.

[ The Conclusion: ] For the above reasons, Julia’s testimony cannot

support a judgment for conviction.

Several arguments could be clustered to bring home just one major

point. In presenting a multiple points in favor of your view, put then in a
numbered series.
 CORRECT CONCLUSION STATEMENT

How?
• Simply draw an inference that the fact of a
particular case opens it up or closes it to the
application of the rule that governs such case.
• Recognize and understand each statement and
reinforce the most valuable.
• It aims to enables you to destroy your opponent’s
thesis or proposition by attacking the essential
statement of his argument.
POSITIONING VARIATION

• Conventionally, arguments are

started off with a statement of
the applicable rule, followed by
a statement of the case fact,
and ended by a conclusion.
[The rule:]

The law on exemplary damages is found in Section 5,

Chapter 3, Title XVII, Book IV of the Civil Code. These
are imposed by way of example or correctional for
the public good, in addition to moral, temperate,
liquidated, or compensatory damages. They are
recoverable in criminal cases as part of the civil
liability when the crime was committed with one or
more aggravating circumstances; in quasi-contracts,
if the defendant acted in wanton, fraudulent,
reckless, oppressive, or malevolent manner.
[The case fact]

BPI Investments did not act in a wanton, fraudulent,

reckless, oppressive, or malevolent manner, when it
asked for preliminary attachment. It was just exercising a
legal option. The sheriff of the issuing court did the
execution and the attachment. [The conclusion:] Hence,
BPI Investments is not to be blamed for the excessive and
wrongful and attachment. (BPI Investment Corp. v. D.G.
Carreon Commercial Corp., 371 SCRA 58, 70; penned by
Justice Bernardo P. Pardo)
• In writing up an argument, must you always
follow the conventional sequence of rule,
fact, and conclusion?

• Actually, your argument will make sense so

long as you are able to string along those
three essential elements whatever may be
their order or positions.
[The conclusion]
The case of Magno v. Court of Appeals relied upon by
accused-petitioner, does not find application to the
present case.

[The rule:]
In Magno, we held that there was no violation of the
bouncing checks law because there was evidence that
the complainant was told by the drawer that he did not
have sufficient funds in the bank. The drawer, from the
very beginning, never hid the fact that he did not have
funds with which to put up the warranty deposit, and
openly intimated the same to the complainant.
[The case fact:]

In the case under consideration, accused-petitioner failed

to adduce any evidence to substantiate her claim that
private respondent knew that she (accused-appellant) had
difficulty maintaining sufficient funds in or credit with the
bank.
BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ARGUMENTS

• Every sound legal argument takes shape,

using as building blocks the three essential
statements: the rule, the case fact, and the
conclusion.
OMITTED STATEMENT
• Essential elements – rule, case fact, conclusion –
can be omitted from an argument if that
element is SO EVIDENT that it goes without
saying, thus, leaving it to your reader to draw his
own conclusion.

• DANGER! Too much presumption leads to

VAGUENESS and AMBIGUITY.

• In case of DOUBT, it is best to COMPLETELY

DEPLOY all the essential statements in the
argument
CLOSING STATEMENT
• The idea is to depart on a good note after packing your
pleading with every sort of argument in support of your
stand.

• It should not appear to argue even if it may appeal to the

good sense of the judge exercised in your favor.

• HOW? Recall to reader the TRUTHS that underlie every

good decision in identical cases – where he cannot beg
to disagree.
EXAMPLE
Concluding Statement

Ronald is entitled to an acquittal. In rape, the Court must thoroughly

examine the evidence of the complainant since only her testimony stands
between conviction and acquittal. Where her testimony is inconsistent with
common experience and defies reason as in this case, it should not be
believed. The version of the accused may itself be weak but the conviction
cannot rest on such weakness. It must stand on the strength of the
prosecution’s evidence alone.
Prayer

Wherefore, the accused respectfully prays that judgment be rendered

acquitting him of the charge of rape.