criminal law bar question sample9

Christopher, John, Richard, and Luke are fraternity brothers.

To protect themselves from rival fraternities, they all carry guns

wherever they go. One night, after attending a party, they boarded

a taxicab, held the driver at gunpoint and took the latter’s earnings.

A. What crime, if any, did the four commit? Enumerate the

elements of the crime. (2%)

B. Would your answer be the same if they killed the driver?

criminal law bar question sample8

Immediately after murdering Bob, Jake went to his mother to

seek refuge. His mother told him to hide in the maid’s quarters

until she finds a better place for him to hide. After two days, Jake

transferred to his aunt’s house. A week later, Jake was

apprehended by the police. Can Jake’s mother and aunt be made

criminally liable as accessories to the crime of murder? Explain.

criminal law bar question sample7

ack and Jill have been married for seven years. One night,

Jack came home drunk. Finding no food on the table, Jack started

hitting Jill only to apologize the following day.

A week later, the same episode occurred – Jack came home

drunk and started hitting Jill.

Fearing for her life, Jill left and stayed with her sister. To

woo Jill back, Jack sent her floral arrangements of spotted lilies

and confectioneries. Two days later, Jill returned home and

decided to give Jack another chance. After several days, however,

Jack again came home drunk. The following day, he was found

dead.

Jill was charged with parricide but raised the defense of

“battered woman syndrome.”

A. Define “Battered Woman Syndrome.”

B. What are the three phases of the “Battered Woman

Syndrome”?

C. Would the defense prosper despite the absence of any of the

elements for justifying circumstances of self-defense under

the Revised Penal Code? Explain.

criminal law bar question sample6

On her way home, Eva Marie saw an injured chow chow

puppy behind a bush. Since the puppy did not have a collar, she

brought it home so she could have it as a pet. Her son in fact

begged Eva Marie to keep the puppy. The following day, Eva

Marie bought a collar for the puppy and brought it to a veterinarian

for treatment.

A. Did Eva Marie incur criminal liability in bringing the puppy

home as a pet? Explain. (2%)

B. Did she incur civil liability? Explain. (2%)

criminal law bar question sample5

A killed his wife and buried her in their backyard. He

immediately went into hiding in the mountains.

Three years later, the bones of A’s wife were discovered by

X, the gardener. Since X had a standing warrant of arrest, he hid

the bones in an old clay jar and kept quiet about it. After two

years, Z, the caretaker, found the bones and reported the matter to

the police.

After 15 years of hiding, A left the country but returned three

years later to take care of his ailing sibling. Six years thereafter, he

was charged with parricide but raised the defense of prescription.

A. Under the Revised Penal Code, when does the period of

prescription of a crime commence to run?

B. When is it interrupted?

C. Is A’s defense tenable? Explain.

criminal law bar question sample4

Suspecting that her husband of twenty years was having an

affair, Leilanie hired a private investigator to spy on him. After

two weeks, the private investigator showed Leilanie a video of her

husband having sexual intercourse with another woman in a room

of a five-star hotel. Based on what she saw on the video, Leilanie

accused her husband of concubinage.

Will the case of concubinage prosper? Explain.

criminal law bar question sample3

Paul lives with his long-time girlfriend Joan in a

condominium in Makati. For more than a year, he has been

secretly saving money in an envelope under their bed to buy her an

engagement ring. One day, while Joan was cleaning their room,

she found the envelope, took the money, and left Paul. As

prosecutor, what crime, if any, would you charge Joan? Explain.

criminal law bar question sample2

While his wife was on a 2-year scholarship abroad, Romeo

was having an affair with his maid Dulcinea. Realizing that the

affair was going nowhere, Dulcinea told Romeo that she was going

back to the province to marry her childhood sweetheart. Clouded

by anger and jealousy, Romeo strangled Dulcinea to death while

she was sleeping in the maid’s quarters.

The following day, Romeo was found catatonic inside the

maid’s quarters. He was brought to the National Center for Mental

Health (NCMH) where he was diagnosed to be mentally unstable.

Charged with murder, Romeo pleaded insanity as a defense.

A. Will Romeo’s defense prosper? Explain.

B. What is the effect of the diagnosis of the NCMH on the case?

criminal law bar question sample

A, B and C are members of SFC Fraternity. While eating in

a seaside restaurant, they were attacked by X, Y and Z, members

of a rival fraternity. A rumble ensued in which the abovenamed

members of the two fraternities assaulted each other in a confused

and tumultuous manner resulting in the death of A. As it cannot

be ascertained who actually killed A, the members of the two

fraternities who took part in the rumble were charged for death

caused in a tumultuous affray. Will the charge prosper? Explain.