11_judicial Reasoning Writing and Research_benchbook

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On Judicial Reasoning, Writing and Research

JUDICIAL REASONING

I. METHODS OF REASONING

1. Analogy: drawing a conclusion on the basis of a similarity betweencases.

1.1 Caution: For any conclusion to be validly drawn, the two casesmust in fact be similar on all significant points. Any significantdifference may make the conclusion in one case in applicable toanother.

1.2 !ample: "n People v. X #hypothetical case$, the %upreme Courtupheld the conviction of a person who had issued bad checks inconnection with a financing scheme for the purchase of a car. &hecase before a particular 'udge(s )ench*Court likewise involves badchecks issued by a purchaser under a financing scheme.Conclusion: A conviction is in order.

1.+ uling on the basis of -udicial precedent is reasoning by analogy.

1. /rocedure:

1..1 esearch for a decided case of the %upreme Court that,by heading or topic, deals with the case before you.

1..2 0etermine whether or not the factpattern in the decidedcase and in the case before you is the same.

1..+ 0etermine whether or not the laws cited in the decidedcase are still in force.

1.. "n case of identity or substantial similarity in factpattern,and if the laws cited in the decided case are still in force,apply the rule in the decided case.

1. Analogy may also be the basis for filling in lacunae in the law.

!ample:

Ozoa v. Vda. de Madula

An employer who was held subsidiarily liable for the civilliability of an employee in a criminal case wished to appeal

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from the adverse decision. &here is no rule fi!ing the periodfor appeal. &he %upreme Court applied the same rulegoverning appeals in criminal cases: fifteen days from noticeor promulgation, by filing a notice of appeal.1

2. "nduction: the process of forming a general conclusion by e!amining anumber of particular instances.

2.1 "t is basically the search for an e!planation of a pattern.

2.2 "t is the process of reasoning at work in the following and similarsituations:

2.2.1 "mpeaching a witness on the basis of previous instancesof untruthfulness or unreliability.

2.2.2 stablishing the status, dignity or worth of a person bythe use of character testimony.

2.2.+ 3enerali4ations about human behavior that enable acourt to determine what does or does not conform with humannature and human conduct.

2.2. 3enerali4ations about 5customs5 or 5business practices.5

2.+ /itfalls of inductive reasoning:

2.+.1 6asty generali4ation7 conclusions drawn from ane!amination of too few samples7 cursory and occasionalobservations do not legitimi4e a generali4ation.

2.+.2 &he possibility that a human person may indeed behavein an e!traordinary manner or in a way that does not conformto the general pattern of behavior.

3. Deduction

3.1 The cl!!ic "o#$ o" deducti%e #e!onin& i! the !'llo&i!$(

8 is /.

% is 8.

&herefore: % is /.

All common carriers are bound to e!ercise e!traordinarydiligence in the care of passengers and of cargo.

1No. L-62955, December 22, 1987, 156 SCRA 779.

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&his -eepney is a common carrier.

Ergo: "t is bound to e!ercise e!traordinary diligence in thecare of passengers and of cargo.

+.2 "t is in virtue of their identity or nonidentity with a third term,

called the 58iddle term5 that the sub-ect and predicate terms of theconclusion are either -oined #in affirmations$ or separated #as indenials$.

!ample:

Rubio v. Peoples Homesite and Housing Corporation

9fficials and employees 5under the civil service5 whosepositions are abolished shall be granted separation payeuivalent to one month(s salary for every year of service.#Section !, )./. ++;$

/etitioners were officials and employees under the civilservice whose positions were abolished.

&herefore: /etitioners are entitled to separation pay.2

+.+ &he development of mathematical logic has also allowed for5formal proofs of validity5 of deductive reasoning.

!ample:

&he ule of 58odus &ollens5 coupled with the &heorems of 0e8organ and the ule of Addition allow the following

argument:

"f the marriage of Filipinos solemni4ed abroad is to beconsidered valid, then it must conform with the laws of the

-urisdiction where celebrated the Filipinos must have capacityto contract under our laws. #


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!pertise in one area of law is not necessarily e!pertise in another area oflaw. )efore one cites an author(s position to resolve a disputed uestion,his e!pertise in the particular area of law must be established.

,. Post hoc, ergo propterhoc

9ne event following another is not necessarily caused by the antecedentevent. &he fact that 'uan and /edro were earlier overheard talking about/edro(s dislike for the murder victim does not establish that the subseuentdeath of the victim was the handiwork of /edro.

3. Tu quoque

A rule applied to one is not necessarily applicable to all others unless:

+.1 &here is substantial similarity between all other parties.

+.2 &he situations are similar.

+.+ &he first party is legally and factually entitled to theapplication of the rule.

-. Dicta simpliciter

&his is the fallacy of applying a general rule to cases that actually constitutee!ceptions to the rule. !ample: "t will not do to apply the rules on theprosecution of bigamy and the proscription of divorce to 8uslims who arecovered by a different law.

.Argumentum ad populum

&his is the fallacy of solving an issue by adopting the clamor of the massesas the solution to the problem.

/.Argumentum ad baculum

&his is the fallacy of arguing from the undesirable conseuences of aproposition.

III. THE LOGICAL FLO0 IN CASEANAL*SIS:

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1. =hat claim is it that the parties make< =hat are the parties( respectiveclaims< =hat are the claims of the partiese!t, is the preparation of the writeroriented first draft. &he writer shouldkeep on writing without stopping to correct anything.

ewriting towards a readeroriented final draft follows the writing stage.

evision comes after the rewriting of the draft. "t concentrates on sentencestructure, grammar and punctuation.

&he last stage of the writing process is polishing, which includes checkingfor grammatical and typographical errors. Failure to polish the legal writing

can erode the meaning and import of the writing.

,., 2ointe#! on St'le

,.,.1 U!e Econo$' o" 0o#d!

&he simplest way of saving words is to throw out all the words youdon(t need ? this is the 5weeding out method.5 'ust discard all thewords that do not add any meaning to what you are writing.

"f you write something about a 5tiny little room,5 strike out the word

5little5 and leave the words 5tiny room.5 A tiny room is always little.

conomy in the use of words may be achieved through the followingmethods:

#a$ Change ad-ectives into nouns. "nstead of writing 5=hatimpressed me most was the fact that he was very frank.5 #12

9o"e(, M.,


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words$, write 5=hat impressed me most was his completefrankness5 #D words$

#b$ Change ad-ectives into adverbs. "nstead of 5&he crowdcheered in a way that was wild.5 #E words$, write 5&he crowd

cheered wildly.5 # words$

#c$ Change verbs into nouns and use gerunds. A verbnounending in 5ing5 is called a gerund. "nstead of 59ften the beautyof a dress lies in the way it is worn.5 #12 words$, write 59ftenthe beauty of a dress lies in the wearing.5 #1 words$

#d$ Change verbs into ad-ectives. se the suffi!es 5able,5 5ed.5 And 5ing5 to change verbs into ad-ectives. "nstead ofwriting 5&hat was a play you could really en-oy seeing.5 #Dwords$, write 5&hat was really an en-oyable play.5 #B words$

#e$ se the infinitive phrase instead of a clause beginning with5that5 or 5so that.5 "nstead of writing 59pen the window so thatyou get some fresh air.5 #1 words$, write, 59pen the windowsto get some fresh air.5 #D words$

#f$ emove words like 5who has5 or 5which is5 in relativeclauses. "nstead of writing 59ur neighbor, who was the mayorof the town, was always very friendly to us.5 #1 words$, write59ur neighbor, the town mayor, was always very friendly tous.5 #12 words$

#g$ se wordsaving syllables. &here are some syllables thatcan take the place of several words. !amples are 5y,5 5full5and 5less5 that can turn clauses into ad-ectives.

"nstead of 5et(s go over to the side of street that is in theshade.5 #1 words$, write 5et(s go over to the shady side ofthe street.5 #1 words$

Gou left out the words 5side of the 5 and 5that is in5 and addedthe syllable 5y5 to 5shade5.

"nstead of 5=e were greeted with a smile that was full of -oy.5#11 words$ write 5=e were greeted with a -oyful smile.5 #;words$

"nstead of 5A little hall that has no windows makes a gooddarkroom.5 #11 words$, write 5A little windowless hall makes agood darkroom.5 #D words$

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9ther wordsaving syllables are: 5ment5 #as in astonishment$75ion5 #as in creation$, 5i4e5 #as in moderni4e$7 and 5fy5 #as infortify$

&here are combinations of these syllables, like 5i4ement5 #as

in aggrandi4ement$ or 5fication #as in fortification$

#h$ se a single ad-ective to do the word of a phrase #a braveman for a man of bravery$. &here are cases, however, whenthe phrase is better that the single word as when it yieldsemphasis or rhythm. #A thing of beauty instead of beautifulthing$

#i$ 0elete redundant or unnecessary words. Avoid redundantwords.

old adage adage means Hold sayingH

advance planning plan means Hto foreseeH or Hto

advice aheadH

to discuss about to discuss means to talk about

end result result in the end itself of previous acts or

events

#-$ se short words, which are usually clearer, crisper, andmore e!act. "f you have a choice between a short and a longword conveying the same meaning, use the former. )ut whena longer word is clearer and more e!act, by all means, use it.

#k$ )e consistent in using the same word for the same idea.9nce you use a word in a writing, do not use its synonyms inthe subseuent portions thereof, for the reader will bewondering if you are changing the sense of what you havesaid before.

,.,., 4e Accu#te in the Choice o" 0o#d!.

!press clearly what you have in mind. 0o not say: 5&he evacueesare provided with portable water.5 when what you mean is that the

evacuees are provided with 5potable5 water. "n using synonyms, besure they carry the same connotations as the words you want toreplace.

#a$ 0o not use 5while,5 in place of 5although.5

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Although he does not have all the answers, he does know theuestions. #=ith 5while,5 the sentence can mean during thetime he does not have the answers.$

#b$ 0o not use 5as5 in place of 5because.5

6e cannot finish the brief this week because he is going to&okyo. #=ith 5as,5 the sentence can mean that he cannotfinish the brief during his trip$.

#c$ 0o not use 5since5 in place of 5because.5

)ecause he has talked with the lawyer, we have decided theyare serious. #=ith 5%ince5 instead of 5)ecause,5 the sentencecan refer to time, i.e.& 5%ince the day he talked with the lawyer,I5$

,.,.3 Re+et i$+o#tnt 7o#d! "o# e$+h!i!.

!ample: 3iveJ 3ive money when you see that women and childrenare hungry. 3ive sympathy when you can cheer a beaten man. 3ivetime to study conditions in your own community. 3ive your wholeself in an attempt to change and better the life of all humanity.

#a$ %tate the points to be emphasi4ed in concrete and specificterms. &he minds of the readers respond more readily to thespecific, the tangible, and the concrete. Conversely, the use

of abstract terms serve to deemphasi4e a point. A hungryman is not interested in an academic discussion, like nutritionor nourishment7 uppermost in his mind are si44ling steak,crispypata& or hamburger.

#b$ /lace the more important part in a prominent position,which is either the beginning or the end of the sentence.

#c $ &ransitive words shall not be placed at the beginning orend of a sentence, unless the sentence is very short.

#d$ &he main thought in the sentence should be put in themain clause in order to be emphasi4ed.

2.2. se parallelism, which is the repetition of like words in thesame order. /arallelism means like construction for like ideas./resent eual ideas in similar sentence structure. "f you use aprepositional phrase for one idea, use another prepositional phrasefor the second idea. "f you use a clause for the first idea, use also a

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clause for the second. !amples of parallelism are 'ulius Caesar(s 5"came, " saw, " conuered.5 #instead of 5After " arrived, " looked andthen " conuered.5$ and /atrick 6enry(s 53ive me liberty or give medeath.5

Absolute parallelism is not always reuired, as in 56e talked slowlyand with a stammer.5

/arallelism may be formed with two or more words, phrases,dependent clauses, independent clauses or sentences.

#a$ se balance structures. nlike using similar words as inparallelism, a balance structure uses words which are roughlyof the same length and which sound rhythmical to thereader(s ear. hythmic pattern within sentences increasesreadability. &he )ible uses abundantly the device of balance

structure.

#b$ Another way of attaining a rhythmic flow or seuence ofsound is the use of an alternation of stressed and unstressedsyllables.

&o determine the sub-ect, predicate and ob-ect of a sentence,ask yourself the uestion: 5=ho is doing what to whom


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%eparated: &he police could not e!plain how the accidentoccurred. &hey could not find an eyewitness.

Combined: &he police could not e!plain how the accidentoccurred nor could they find an eyewitness.

2.2.E =henever possible, use action words instead of linking words.

inking word: &he retirement plan was offered by thecompany.

Action word: &he company offered the retirement plan.

2.2.1 se subordinating words to combine ideas #e.g.& after,although, as, because, if, since, though, unless, when, where$.&hese words are useful in showing that one idea in a sentence is

less important than another idea in the same sentence.

2.2.11 )e consistent in using the same word for the same idea.9nce you use a word in a writing, do not use its synonyms in thesubseuent portions thereof, for the sake of variety because thereader will be wondering if you are changing the sense of what youhave said before.

2.2.12 Avoid coupled synonyms. Coupled synonyms are likeredundant words, only the former involve nouns with the samemeaning -oined together while the latter involve words modified by

ad-ectives already implied therein. An e!ample of coupled synonymsis 5null and void and of no further force and effect,5 a phrase ofpompous lawyers. se either 5null and void5 and delete 5of no furtherforce and effect.5

2.2.1+ Avoid multiple words or compound construction when a singleword will do. 9ne word is usually more effective than several wordse!pressing the same thought.

8ore specially >othing is more special than Hspecially.H

/rotracted delay H/rotractedH means HdelayH. H/rotracted

hearingH and Hprotracted negotiationsH are however correct. Actual facts All facts are actual.

/resent incumbent H"ncumbentH means one who holds

office at the present time.

nauthori4ed trespassing All trespassing are unauthori4ed.

2.2.1 Avoid slang, collouial and dialectical usages in formalwriting. 5Ain(t5 meaning 5am not5 has not been accepted in standard

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nglish, both written and spoken. "t is unlike 5isn(t #for is not$, 5aren(t#for are not$, or 5weren(t #for were not$.

5About5 when used in the sense of 5almost5 is a collouial.

2.2.1 Avoid illiteracies, like 5irregardless,5 5inappealable,5 and5dismissible,5 which are not found in the dictionary.

2.2.1B Avoid making impossible comparisons like comparing/hilippine laws with 'apan, instead of the laws of the /hilippines withthe laws of 'apan.

2.2.1; 8odifying ad-ectives, adverbs, phrases and clauses shouldbe placed close to what they are talking about and the relationshipbetween these words and their antecedents should be clear andlogical. 9therwise, you will have dangling modifiers.

=rong : ying in the sun, the day was clear.

Correct : ying in the sun, " en-oyed the clear day.

0o not use a con-unction followed by a pronoun when linking asubordinate clause to a main clause. A con-unction can only be usedwhen linking grammatical units of the same kind. A phrase cannot be

-oined to a clause.

2.2.1D /ut your minor ideas in subordinate clauses or phrases andyour main ideas in the main clauses or phrases.

2.2.1E Avoid mi!ing metaphors. 8i!ed metaphors result when thewriter uses incongruous words in comparing ob-ects.

=rong : &he long arm of the law smelt the criminals in their

hideouts.

Correct : &he long arm of the law caught the criminals in their

hideout.

2.2.2 %tart a sentence with a prepositional phrase, instead of anadverbial phrase. "nstead of 5As soon as summer comes, we will go

up the mountains every %unday.5 #1+ words$, write 5"n the summer,we will go up the mountains every %unday.5 #11 words$.

2.2.21 Avoid overworked clichKs and weak e!pressions in formalwriting:

After all is said and done

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All in all

All the farther #meaning Has for asH$

All the faster #meaning Has fast asH$

2.+ ffective %entences

&o write effective sentences involves such matters as unity, completeness,coordination, word order, and transition. A sentence has unity when itcontains a single thought or a group of closely related words. A sentence tobe complete must have both a sub-ect and predicate.

Coordination is the placing of important thoughts in main clauses and minorideas in subordinate clauses.

2.+.1 &he usual word order of the elements of a sentence is: first, thesub-ect7 second, the predicate7 and third, the ob-ect. 9pen thesentence with its sub-ect. "f the sub-ect is placed at the end of thesentence, the reader will have to comprehend all the words thatprecedes it before it appears. For emphasis, the elements of thesentence may be inverted with the predicate at the beginning andthe sub-ect at the end. &his is the periodic sentence, where the fullmeaning is not initially apparent and appears only at the end. &hereader is kept in suspense.

Leep the sub-ect and the predicate closely together. &he sense of

the sentence cannot be understood unless the sub-ect and thepredicate are used as a unit. "n the sub-ectverbob-ect pattern, thedoer of the action is in the sub-ect position, the receiver of the actionis in the ob-ect position, and the verb is in the middle position.&ransition refers to the method by which writers bridge gapsbetween what has been covered and what is to come.

2.+.2 /ointers to be observed in writing effective sentences

#a$ Avoid choppy sentences that read like telegrams.

#b$ Avoid boring and bland sentences. A writer can easilydetect these sentences once he reads them.

#c$ Avoid runon sentences that do not know where to stop.

#d$ Avoid beginning or ending a sentence with weak andrelatively unimportant words or ideas. &his is where theattention of the reader is most keen. eserve the beginning

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position for the more emphatic word. &here are times when atransitional word like 5and5 or 5but,5 ordinarily weak words,have to be placed at the beginning of a sentence foremphasis.

#e$ Avoid continuous use of only one kind of sentencestructure. "ntersperse long sentence among short sentences,compound sentences among single sentences, sentenceswith modifiers at the end among sentence with modifiers atthe beginning or in the middle.

#f$ Avoid shopworn uotations or proverbs.

#g$ Avoid ambiguity in sentences.

0oes the sentence 5'ose plays the piano as well as

'uan.5 mean that 'ose(s playing is as good as 'uan(s orsimply that he too plays the piano or 39>0 9F 0F>%)reach of contract< >egligence< &orts< stopel%, /AC%

0o they fit within a group or class ? "nfancy or

incapacity.&.%. is published for every 1 volumes and

can used thru its alphabetical and chronological inde!es.

6.7.Multilateral 4reaties 2eposited "it% t%e Secretar81

3eneral9 %tatus as of + 0ecmber 1EE;. &his is published everythree years.

)nternational :egal Materials#/ublished by the American

%ociety of "nternational aw$ Contains recent treaties and

conventions as well as decisions dealing on international law.

.3 Sttute! 2#o+e#

As of 'une 1, 2, 1;,2; statutes had been enacted since 1E. 9necould locate any /hilippine statute through the R ")"%, and/6"'"% which are computeri4edassisted legal research toolscontaining te!t of laws thru numbertitle or sub-ect approaches. &he

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epublic Acts are printed in the O$$icial 3azetteand the :a"s andResolutionsvolumes of which are published by the 6ouse ofepresentatives and the >ational /rinting 9ffice.

.+.1 &erminology of %tatutes:

Acts or /ublic Acts #1E1E+$ ,2; laws Commonwealth Acts #1E+B1EB$ ;++ laws

epublic Acts #1EB ? %ept. 21, 1E;2$ B,B+ laws

/residential 0ecrees #%ept. 21, 1E;2 ? Feb. 2, 1EDB$

2,+ laws

)atas /ambansa #'uly 2+, 1ED ? Feb. 1, 1EDB$ DE1 laws

!ecutive 9rders #Feb. 2+, 1EDB ? 'uly 2B, 1ED;$ +2 laws

epublic Acts #'uly 2;, 1ED; to present$

A BB+B to .A. DD #'uly 1E, 2$ which is the %afeguard

8easures Against "mport %urge Act 2,1B laws

.+.2 "nde!es

/hilippine Annotated aws, 2 v. and 1EB+ %uppl. v.

Albert O 0aga, /hilippine aws 8ade asier to Find. 1E

./. aw Center, /hilippine /ermanent and 3eneral

%tatutes #//3%$ #evised ed., 1E;D$. v.

8oran(s "nde! to epublic Acts with 1E; %uppl.

9ffice of the /resident, /residential 0ecree 3uide O %ub-ect

"nde!, >os. 11,. 1E;B

Feliciano, %ub-ect 3uide to /residential 0ecrees and other

/residential "ssuances 1E;21E;. =ith %upplements 'uly1E;1EDB by 8. Feliciano O A. %antos

@ital egal 0ocuments "nde! 3uide, 1E;B.

'uan ivera, "nde! to epublic Acts, 1EB1EB.

@. Aguirre, %ub-ect O &itle "nde! to !ecutive 9rders Feb.

2, 1EDB'uly 2B, 1ED;.

).C. Arroyo O /.%. Friane4a, &opical "nde! to 1ED;

/residential "ssuances February 2, 1EDB'uly 2B, 1ED;, ./. awCenter, 1ED;1EE 2 v.

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Current egal esources %ervices )ulletin, weekly update of

/hilippine laws, %upreme Court 0ecisions and Administrative ulesand egulations, no. 1, 2

Computer Assisted egal esearch with such products as

R ")"% and /6"'"%

.+.+ &e!ts

/hilippine Annotated aws #/A$

/hilippine /ermanent and 3eneral %tatutes ./. aw

Center, v.

9fficial 3a4ette #9.3.$, v. 1, 1E2 to date

/ublic aws /assed by the /hilippine Commission. +1 v.

%. 3uevara, /ublic aws Annotated, ; v.

%. 3uevara, Commonwealth Acts Annotated. + v.

'acobo O %ons. /ublic aws of the Commonwealth. v.

aws and esolutions of the epublic of the /hilippines,

1EB1E;27 1ED; to date

1EDB O 1ED; /residential "ssuances7 An Annotated

Compilation of !ecutive 9rders, /roclamations, 8emorandumCirculars and Administrative 9rders, edited by ).C. Arroyo O/.%. Friane4a, ./. aw Center, 1ED;1EE. 2 v.

@ital egal 0ocuments of the >ew %ociety. 11 v.

Acts and esolutions passed by the )atasang /ambansa,

1E;D1EDB. Bv.

Computer Assisted egal esearch through R ")"% O

/6"'"% #does not contain laws prior to 1EB$

.+. egislative 6istory of aws

&o determine legislative intent, there are two approaches:

.+..1 se the inde! to the Congressional ecord or 'ournal

.+..2 se 6istory of )ills and esolutions of the 6ouse of

epresentatives or %enate volume which is arrangednumerically by bill no. !amples:

6. >o. %. >o. /.). >o. C.). >o.

ocate the date of the second reading where thedebates*discussions on the law are reproduced.

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.- Ad$ini!t#ti%e Re&ultion! nd Rule!

..1 &he te!t of Administrative egulations are found in the:

9fficial 3a4ette

&he >ational Administrative egister, v. 1. 1EE to date

#uarterly$

/ublications of particular administrative agencies such as:

%C Folio, 1EB1E;B

%C )ulletin

Civil %ervice eporter

Financial 'ournal

Central )ank Annual eports and Compilations

"mplementing ules and egulations the abor

Code

Comprehensive Agrarian eform /rogram and/residential "ssuances

0angerous 0rugs )oard egulations

9mnibus "nvestment Code and "mplementingules

"nsurance eporter

R ")"% has C098s on: &a!ation7 ocal Autonomy

and ocal 3overnment7 abor and %ocial egislation7 lection aw7&rade, Commerce and "ndustry7 and nvironment and >aturalesources7 0epartment of 'ustice 9pinions of the %ecretary. achthematic disc contains laws, administrative regulations anddecisions of the %upreme Court.

..2 0igests and inde!es are provided by Current egal esourcesand %ervices7 and =eekly )ulletin, issue number 1 of which waspublished in 2.

. 9rdinances.B Court ules

.B.1 evised ules of Court #1EB$

1EE1 evised ule on %ummary /rocedure, as amended

1EE; ules of Civil /rocedure

2 ules of Criminal /rocedure

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%upreme Court issuances are compiled in %upreme Court

Circulars, 9rders, esolutions #%upreme Court /rinting %ervice,9ct. 1EEE$. "t consists of: /art ": 1E;+1EDE7 /art "": 1EE1EEE withsub-ect inde!

.< Milit#' Rule!

/. Re!e#chin& in C!e L7

B.1 Case aw is divided into:

B.1.1 Conventional decisions ? all rulings made by regularly orspecially constituted courts.

B.1.2 %ubordinate decisions ? all rulings made in accordance withlaw by administrative and legislative tribunals

B.2 %upreme Court 0ecisions

Court decisions are collected chronologically in volumes called casereports, and summari4ed by sub-ect matter in reference works calledcase digests.

B.2.1 &e!ts of %upreme Court 0ecisions

P%ilippine Reports&v. 1, 1E1-

O$$icial 3azette, 1E1 to date.

Supreme Court Reports +nnotated #%CA$,

v. 1, 1EB1 #v. +;, 8ay, 1EEE published to date$

Supreme Court 6npublis%ed 2ecisions9 ,05!1,0!;. #0.3.

>itafan, comp.$ v.1, 8arch, 1EB 8arch 1E2 O v.2, 8arch 12,1E2 8arch +, 1E.

Computeri4ed legal resources

C098 products like R ")"% and /6"'"%

&he official website of the %upreme Court,

www.supremecourt.gov.phcontains most recent decisions

B.2.2 %ub-ect Approach

Case 2igests o$ Supreme Court 2ecisions. v. 1, 1EDE

Puarterly. #/ubli by the %C$.

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http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/www.supremecourt.gov.ph/default.htmhttp://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/www.supremecourt.gov.ph/default.htm


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0. 8artine4, Summar8 o$ Supreme Court Rulings&1EDB ?

1EEB. /ublished annually in three to four volumes, it is arrangedaccording to the eight bar sub-ects and Hesearch AidH in everytopic gives previous decisions on the sub-ect matter.

C.. 8agsino, Compendium o$ P%ilippines


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CO+ 2ecisions

ivera, 0ecisions of &he Civil %ervice )oard of Appeals, 1E11EB

B.B American %etting

B.B.1 .%. Federal %upreme Court 0ecisions

.%. eports

.%. %upreme Court eports, awyers d.

%upreme Court eporter #=est /ub.$

.%. aw =eek

B.B.2 Federal Appellate and 0istrict Courts 0ecisions

B.B.2.1 &e!ts:

Federal eporter

Federal %upplement

B.B.2.2 "nde!es:

.%. %upreme Court 0igest

American 0igest %ystem

A 0igest

Federal aw 0igest

B.B.+ %tate Courts 0ecisions ? states

B.B.+.1 &e!ts: 9fficial %tate eports

>ational eporter %ystem

B.B.+.2 "nde!es:

American 0igest %ystem

%tate 0igests

egal esearch

R"%

=%&A=

F">0 A=

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works #e.g.& legal encyclopedias$ do not classify legal sub-ect matterwith scientific precision. Conseuently, when you have found anentry you think is relevant to you research problem, you generallyshould e!amine neighboring entries also.

1. =hen doing a descriptive or fact word search in an inde! of aset of annotated statutes, an administrative code, case digest7 orsome other primary search complete as soon as you find your firstword listed, even if it has several inde! entries under it. &ry some ofyour other descriptive words, too7 they may lead you to still otherrelevant sources.

1. =henever you do your research in a secondary source of thelaw, start by reading the table of contents, preface, or otherintroductory remarks, or any section with a title like 5%cope >ote5 or5%cope Analysis.5 &hese sections will e!plain the reference work(scoverage and may help you determine at the outset whether thebook will be useful in your research. %pending a few minutesdetermining a reference(s scope before investing e!tensive timereading through it will often prevent wasted research efforts.

1.B Finally, always look for authorities that undermine the positionfor which you are contending as well as those that support it. "n legalresearch, you need to discover not only the law that helps you, butalso the law that will hurt you, so you can anticipate and answer

ob-ections that may arise to the arguments you advance.

1.; Always begin your research from the latest to the earliest inorder not to waste your time. )ut put the date of your research sothat when the same problem occurs, you need only to update yourresearch from that date.

III. CONCLUSION

&here are nonlegal materials which could be used depending upon thenature of the problem. %kills in legal research are focused on theresearcher(s critical need to know how to draw effectively or how to selectfrom the myriad of lawbooks, the one book reuired at any given point insolving a problem.

&here is no uniform rule as to how e!tensive the research should be insolving a legal problem. &his is influenced by the nature of the problem, theavailable sources, the legal measures being adopted and of course, the

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research habits and attitudes of the lawyers or researchers. )ut in anysituation, please take note that co$$on !en!ehas a significant bearingon the research procedure.

11_judicial Reasoning Writing and Research_benchbook

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