Jade Castro case, criminal procedure: Make sure to question the legality of the arrest formally and early on before any kind of arraignment takes place.
The job of the inquest fiscal is to determine whether or not the warrantless arrest is valid (it is valid only if in flagrante delicto or caught in the act of committing a crime, or if policemen saw the person committing a crime and pursued him/her/them : This is called “hot pursuit”. Or if the person is a fugitive). Facts show that the CCTV and other documentary evidence show that Jade Castro and his prod crew were in another town, Mulanay town, on stage production, the entire time and when the police visited them;
there is an entire CCTV footage on this by the local government unit itself. The police then visited them, then the next day, the police invited them for questioning, and there they were detained).
The facts show that the warrantless arrest therefore of Jade Castro and colleagues is not valid and the inquest fiscal should have ordered their release.
Because of what the inquest fiscal did, the Information (formal charge) would have already been filed in court. (Correction, see next post : But apparently, without any Mirandizing and without a lawyer they were made to sign a waiver of Art. 125 so their detention was extended and the inquest fiscal has not yet filed the Information (formal charge) in court?) I will let the handling lawyers deliberate on the procedure, and will post an explainer later. But an important reminder po: Make sure to question the legality of the arrest formally and early on before any kind of arraignment takes place.
For the first time in the history of the University, this graduate course will finally push through. J270 or “Problems and Development in the Law on Mass Media”, 3 units, fully online. Elective open to all graduate students (as allowed by your curriculum checklist).
This is for the First Semester Academic Year 2023-2024 September 12, 2023- December 20, 2023 or Jan. 3, 2024 based on the University academic calendar. The topics to be discussed are as follows: TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED I.OVERVIEW. Media Law Overview (Overview and review of the most recent updates in Law on Mass Media or Law on Communication and Media. 3-5 weeks. (3 weeks if majority of class members had taken up media law in the undergrad), 3-5 weeks presentation by the handling faculty
II.DECRIMINALIZATION OF LIBEL. Decriminalization of Libel International Norms and Best Practices in Modern States. 2 weeks. (1st week presentation by the handling faculty)
III. “TERRORISM”: Freedom of Expression, “Terrorism” and “Anti-Terrorism” in International Human Rights Law and International Criminal Law. One week, presentation by the handling faculty
III.DISINFORMATION. Disinformation Studies: International Legal Conventions on Accountability of site owners, social media platforms, and tech giants in unbridled dissemination of disinformation. One week, presentation by the handling faculty
READING BREAK
IV.INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY for educators, students, journalists, social media users: Lessons from Lockdown Learning: Proposed Reforms in Copyright Law based on Developments in International Intellectual Property. One week, presentation by the handling faculty
V.ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Artificial Intelligence in Journalism: Legal Issues. One week, presentation by the handling faculty Code). One week, presentation by the handling faculty
VI.CONTEMPORARY LEGAL PROBLEMS OF MEDIA WORKERS (for professional media company employees covered by the Labor Code). One week, presentation by the handling faculty
VII. SPECIAL TOPICS. 4 weeks.
Special topics A.Legal Background for Reporting on the West Philippine Sea. One week, presentation by the handling faculty
B.Legal Background for Reporting on the Environment and Climate Change. One week, presentation by the handling faculty
C.International Legal Standards: Covering and Uncovering Corruption. One week, presentation by the handling faculty
D.Topics based on class members’ professional practice and interests (suggestions to be gathered at the start of the course)
VIII. SUMMATION. One week, discussion facilitated by the handling faculty
This elective is open to all graduate students (as allowed by your curriculum checklist). Course requirements as follows: 1.Reports (live or recorded presentation) ; 2.Digest of Reports; 3.On-the-spot 5-point exercises. 4.Class participation
The schedule will be flexible. No classes on regular holidays and on extreme weather conditions, or during massive internet connectivity disruptions, disasters, apocalyptic events etc.. There will be a one-week reading break as mandated by the University.
(The handling faculty is grateful to the UP CMC Department of Journalism, the UP College of Mass Communication, the UP College of Law, the UP Law LLM faculty, admin, and staff (all shortcomings are the handling faculty member’s alone), UP CSSP, the UP Diliman Office of the Chancellor, the OVCAA, and many more.)
Non-credit enrollees with COI (or consent of instructor) may be allowed as sit-ins.
