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SpecPro Bar Reviewer - Part III. Habeas Corpus - Coggle Diagram
SpecPro Bar Reviewer - Part III. Habeas Corpus
C. Writ of Habeas Corpus
C1. Writ of Habeas Corpus in Relation to Custody of Minors (A.M. No. 03- 04-04-SC)
Propriety of Habeas Corpus to Obtain Custody of Minors (Caram v. Segui)
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GR
- Improper remedy, as remedy is petition for custody.
XCPN
- If there is extreme urgency to secure custody of a minor who has been illegally detained by another, habeas corpus may be used as an ancillary or, principal remedy.
Proper Remedy (Sec. 1, AM 03-04-04-SC) -
A verified petition for the rightful custody of a minor may be filed by any person claiming such right.
Contents of the Petition (Sec. 4)
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Personal circumstances of petitioner and respondent
Name, age, and present whereabouts of the minor and his or her relationship to the petitioner and respondent
Material operative facts constituting deprivation of custody
Such other matters which are relevant to the custody of the minor
Other Requirements
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Service of summons to respondent
Filing of verified answer
Case study by a social worker
Mandatory pre-trial
Failure to appear is dismissal
Provisional order awarding custody
Where Filed (Sec. 3)
- The petition for custody of minors shall be filed with the Family Court of the province or city where the petitioner resides or where the minor may be found.
Factors to be Considered in Determining Custody (Sec. 14)
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The best interests of the minor and shall give paramount consideration to his material and moral welfare.
FC 213; Tender Age Presumption - Children under 7 shall not be separated from their mother.
Definition of Best Interests
- The totality of the circumstances and conditions as are most congenial to the survival, protection, and feelings of security of the minor encouraging to his physical, psychological and emotional development.
It also means the least detrimental available alternative for safeguarding the growth and development of the minor.
Habeas Corpus Distinguished from Custody
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Petition for writ of habeas corpus involving minors are filed FC and enforceable in such jurisdiction
Summons is NOT required since the writ plays a role somewhat comparable to summons in that by service of the writ, the court acquires jurisdiction over the person of the defendant [De Leon]
No law removed the jurisdiction of the CA and SC to issue writs of habeas corpus in relation to custody of minors. These are enforceable anywhere.
Jurisdiction
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GR - File before the Family Courts.
XCPN - Regular courts if no family courts available in the judicial region.
Pwede rin CA/SC para national and enforceable anywhere in the PH. Here, returnable in any regular or family court where the minor may be found.
Section 1. To what habeas corpus extends.
- Extends to all cases of illegal confinement or detention
(1) Illegal deprivation of liberty
(2) Rightful custody of any person is withheld from the person entitled thereto
Purpose of Writ
- Inquire into the manner of involuntary restraint (as distinguished from voluntary), and to relieve a person therefrom if such restraint is illegal. aSpecifically:
Obtain immediate relief from illegal confinement
Liberate those who may be imprisoned without sufficient cause
Deliver them from unlawful custody
Nature of Restraint
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GR - The restraint must be actual and effective, and not merely nominal or moral.
XCPN - second part of the provision states that the writ may be resorted to in cases when the rightful custody of a person is withheld from the person entitled thereto
In this case, although the writ should not be issued if the restraint is voluntary, the writ is the proper legal remedy to enable parents to regain custody of a minor child even if the latter is in the custody of a third person in his own free will.
Nature of Proceedings
-a summary remedy analogous to a proceeding in rem. separate and distinct from the main case from which the proceedings spring.
Does not touch the merits of the main case and require no pronouncement with respect thereto. Merely involves the detention of the person, and it stops with the authority by virtue of which he is detained.
It is NOT a suit between parties. It is an inquisition by the government in the name and capacity of the sovereign, at the suggestion of an individual.
Availability of the Writ
- The writ may issue even if another remedy, which is less effective, may be availed of.
Effect on Finality of Judgment
- It may be granted upon a judgment that is already final in certain cases such as:
Violation of accused’s constitutional right
Court trying the case has no jurisdiction
Penalty imposed is excessive or beyond what the court could legally impose
Retroactive Application of Laws
When Unavailable
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Does not issue if the person is not actually deprived of liberty
Not available for appealing the denial of right to bail. - Here, Rule 65.
Cannot be resorted to in order to correct errors of judgment as it is not a writ of error
Marital rights including living in the conjugal dwelling may not be enforced by writ
Constitutional Limitations on Writ - Art. III, Sec. 15.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of invasion or rebellion when the public safety requires it.
The suspension only applies to persons judicially charged with rebellion or offenses inherent or directly connected with invasion.
Section 2. Who may grant the writ. —
Original and Concurrent Jurisdiction between SC, CA and RTC.
Subject to grant of Habeas Corpus jurisdiction over Family Courts in Custody Proceedings.
Section 3. Requisites of application therefor.
- Applicaiton must be Signed and verified either by the party for whose relief it is intended, or by some person on his behalf.
Section 4. When writ not allowed or discharge authorized.
Section 5. When the writ must be granted and issued.
- A court or judge authorized to grant the writ must, when a petition therefor is presented and it appears that the writ ought to issue, grant the same forthwith, and immediately thereupon the clerk of the court shall issue the writ under the seal of the court; or in case of emergency, the judge may issue the writ under his own hand, and may depute any officer or person to serve it.
Section 6. To whom writ directed, and what to require.
When an officer commits the imprisonment or restraint: the writ shall be directed to him
The writ shall command the officer to have the body of the person restrained before the court designated in the writ at the time and place stated therein
When imprisonment or restraint is committed by a person, not an officer: the writ shall still be directed to an officer
Officer is directed to take and have the body of the person restrained before the court designated in the writ at the time and place stated
Writ shall summon the person who causes the restraint to show the case of imprisonment or restrained
Section 7. How prisoner designated and writ served.
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The person to be produced should be designated in the writ by his name, if known, but if his name is not known he may be otherwise described or identified.
The writ may be served in any province by the sheriff or other proper officer, or by a person deputed by the court or judge.
Service of the writ shall be made by leaving the original with the person to whom it is directed and preserving a copy on which to make return or service.
If that person cannot be found, or has not the prisoner in his custody, then the service shall be made on any other person having or exercising such custody.
Section 8. How writ executed and returned.
- The officer to whom the writ is directed shall convey the person so imprisoned or restrained, and named in the writ,
Before the judge allowing the writ, or
in case of his absence or disability, before some other judge of the same court,
GR - on the day specified in the writ,
XCPN - unless, from sickness or infirmity of the person directed to be produced, such person cannot, without danger, be bought before the court or judge;
The officer shall make due return of the writ, together with the day and the cause of the caption and restraint of such person according to the command thereof.
Section 9. Defect of form.
- No writ of habeas corpus can be disobeyed for defect of form, if it sufficiently appears therefrom in whose custody or under whose restraint the party imprisoned or restrained is held and the court or judge before whom he is to be bought.
Section 10. Contents of return.
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Whether he has or has not the party in his custody or power, or under restraint;
If the party is in his custody or power, or under restraint – the authority and the true and whole cause thereof, with a copy of the writ, order, execution, or other processes upon which the party is held;
If the party, etc., and is not produced – nature and gravity of sickness or infirmity;
If the party was in his custody, etc. and has transferred such custody or restraint to another – to whom, at what time, for what cause and by what authority such transfer was made.
Section 11. Return to be signed and sworn to
- The return or statement shall be signed by the person who makes it; and shall also be sworn by him if the prisoner is not produced, and in all other cases unless the return is made and signed by a sworn public officer in his official capacity.
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By Whom Made
- The person or officer who has the person under restraint, or in whose custody the prisoner is found [Sec. 10, Rule 102]
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Distinction from Writ of Preliminary Citation
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Peremptory writ of habeas corpus: written document unconditionally commanding the respondent to have the body of the detained person before the court
Writ of preliminary citation: requires the respondent to appear and show cause why the peremptory writ should not be granted
In habeas corpus petition, the order to present an individual before the court is a preliminary step in the hearing of the petition.
The respondent must produce the person and explain the cause of his detention
But, this order is not a ruling on the propriety of the remedy or on the substantive matters covered by the remedy
Thus, the order to produce the body is not equivalent to a grant of -writ of habeas corpus
Judicial Discretion
- While habeas corpus is a writ of right, it will not issue as a matter of course or as a mere perfunctory operation on the filing of the petition.
Judicial discretion is called for in its issuance and it must be clear to the judge that prima facie, the petitioner is entitled to the writ.
only if the court is satisfied that a person is being unlawfully restrained of his liberty will the petition for habeas corpus be granted
But, if the the petition is sufficient in form and substance, the writ should issue if the petition complies with the legal requirements and its averments make a prima facie case for relief
Contents of Application -
shall set forth:
(a) That the person in whose behalf the application is made is imprisoned or restrained on his liberty;
(b) The officer or name of the person by whom he is so imprisoned or restrained; or, if both are unknown or uncertain, such officer or person may be described by an assumed appellation, and the person who is served with the writ shall be deemed the person intended;
(c) The place where he is so imprisoned or restrained, if known;
(d) A copy of the commitment or cause of detention of such person, if it can be procured without impairing the efficiency of the remedy; or, if the imprisonment or restraint is without any legal authority, such fact shall appear.
When Writ not Allowed
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Person is in the custody of an officer
Person is charged or convicted of offense
Person is suffering imprisonment under lawful judgment
Restrictive custody
Detained person is temporarily or permanently released
Alien is detained by Bureau of Immigration for deportation pursuant to an order of deportation by the Deportation Board
Issuance of writ Once Charged with Criminal Offense
- What is to be inquired into is the legality of a person’s detention as of, at the earliest, the filing of the application for the writ
Even if the detention is at its inception illegal, it may, by reason of some supervening events, such as the instances in Section 4, Rule 102, no longer be illegal at the time of the filing of the application
once a person detained is duly charged in court, he may no longer question his detention through a petition for issuance of a writ of habeas corpus
Remedy
- His remedy would be to quash the information and/or the warrant of arrest duly issued.
Scope of the Term Court
- The term “court” includes quasi-judicial bodies like the Deportation Board of the Bureau of Immigration
Restrictive Custody -
Restrictive custody is, at best, nominal restraint which is beyond the ambit of the writ.
It is neither actual nor effective restraint that would call for the grant of the remedy prayed for.
It is a permissible precautionary measure to assure the PNP authorities that the police officers concerned are always accounted for
Supervening Events that May bar Release
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1.
Issuance of Process
- writ of habeas corpus will not issue where the person alleged to be restrained of his liberty is in custody of an officer under a process issued by the court which has jurisdiction to do so
Judicial Process - a writ, warrant, subpoena, or other formal writing issued by authority of law
Filing of Information
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Examples of restrictive Custody -
PNP ordered that the movements of the officers inside the camp be duly monitored and recorded. [Manalo v. Calderon, not in syllabus, google lang]
Who may File
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The party for whose relief it is intended
OR some other person on his behalf.
Role of Habeas Corpus as a post-conviction Remedy -
GR
- The writ of habeas corpus applies to all cases of illegal confinement or detention in which individuals are deprived of liberty. The writ may not be availed of when the person in custody is under a judicial process or by virtue of a valid judgment.
XCPN
- As a post conviction remedy, it may be allowed when, as a consequence of a judicial proceeding, any of the following exceptional circumstances is attendant:
(1) there has been a deprivation of a constitutional right resulting in the restraint of a person;
Rationale - A void judgment may be challenged by collateral attack. This is precisely the function of habeas corpus.
(2) the court had no jurisdiction to impose the sentence; or
(3) the imposed penalty has been excessive, thus voiding the sentence as to such excess.
(4) Service has been fully served.
Q. Should you allege that the restraint is unlawful?
DC - Must make the minimum allegation that the detention is against the will of the subject. Not merely allege the fact of detention.
Q. When is the Return Issued?
DC - After the issuance of the writ.
Are there formalities that must be observed before issuance of Habeas Corpus?
A - No, direct grant. Because speedy remedy.
Q. Does this not reverse the burden of proof?
DC - Reverses burden of proof here, the respondent must prove that the detention is lawful. Unlike in regular cases where the burden is one the party filing/prosecution.
Writ of Habeas Corpus -
DC - Equivalent to summons, requiring respondent to appear and produce body.
The only issue in HC proceedings is the legality of the restraint.
If, after the writ is returned what are the possible outcomes?
DC - (a) The release of the detainees ; (b) Detention is proven justified.
What is the possible position that the respondent-officer may take against the habeas corpus?
A - That the detention was made under valid legal authority. Here, officer must present the court process/order allowing the detention.
DC - This need not be a case, may be under arrest, showing commitment order, etc.,
If there is a pending case, where do you file the petition for HC?
DC - Only when you raise fact of illegal detention and lower court denied can there be HC.
Where to file the HC Petition?
DC - Filed at the RTC, CA or SC
If RTC, where you want it to be enforced. because enforcement of the writ is territorial. Court needs to have territorial jurisdiction