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RULE 116 Arraignment and Plea: How Made
RULE 116 Arraignment and Plea: How Made
How Made
A must be arraigned before the court where complaint/info was filed or assigned for trial.
Arraignment shall be made in open court by the judge or clerk A must be furnished with a copy of the complaint/info It must be read to him in the dialect known to him and asked whether he pleads guilty or non-guilty
A must be present during arraignment and must PERSONALLY enter his plea
When accused refuses to plead or make a conditional plea, a plea of NOT GUILTY shall be entered for him
When accused pleads guilty but presents exculpatory evidence, his plea shall be withdrawn and a plea of not guilty shall be entered
Exculpatory evidence "Evidence which may justify or excuse an accused defendant's actions, and which will tend to show the defendant is not guilty or has no criminal intent" When A is under preventive suspension, his case shall be raffled and its records transmitted to the judge within 3 days from the filing of the complaint/info. The A shall be arraigned within 10 days from the raffle The pre-trial conference shall be held within 10 days after arraignment
Private offended party shall be required to personally appear during arraignment for the ff. purposes: Plea Bargaining Determination of Civil Liability Other matters requiring his presence
In case of failure to appear of offended party, the court may allow A to plead guilty to a lesser offense necessarily included in the offense charged with the sole conformity of the trial prosecutor After arraignment but before trial, the accused may still be allowed to plead to a lesser offense after withdrawal of plea of guilty or not guilty. No amendment of the complaint/info is necessary. (sec 2.)
Unless otherwise provided, the arraignment shall be held within 30 days from the courts acquisition of jurisdiction over the person of A. Causes which justify the suspension of the arraignment shall be excluded from the computation of period.
When A pleads guilty to a capital offense, the court shall conduct a searching inquiry into the voluntariness and full comprehension of the consequences of his plea. Prosecution is required to prove As guilt and his precise degree of culpability. Accused may present evidence on his behalf. (sec. 3) When A pleads guilty to a non-capital offense, the Court may receive evidence from the parties to determine the penalty to be imposed. (sec. 4)
At any time before the judgment of final conviction, the court may permit an improvident (negligent) plea of guilty be withdrawn and be substituted with a plea of not guilty. (sec 5)
Before arraignment, the court shall inform the accused of his right to counsel and ask whether he would to avail of it. Unless the accused is allowed to defend himself in person or has chosen his counsel, the court must assign a counsel de officio defend him. (sec. 6) The Court, considering the gravity of the offense and the difficulty of the questions that may arise, shall appoint as counsel de officio members of the bar in good standing who can competently defend A. When no member of the bar is available, the court may appoint any person, resident of the province and of good reputation for probity and ability, to defend the accused (sec. 7)
Whenever a counsel de officio is appointed, he shall be given reasonable time to consult with the accused as to his plea before proceeding with the arraignment (sec. 8)
The A before arraignment may move for a bill of particulars to enable him to properly plead and prepare for trial. The motion shall specify the alleged defects of the complaint/info and the details desired. (sec. 9) Upon motion of the A showing good cause and with notice to the parties, the court, to prevent surprise, suppression or alteration, may order the prosecution to produce and permit the inspection or copying of any written statement given by the complainant or other witnesses in any investigation of the offense conducted by the prosecution (or others) as well as any designated documents, or tangible things not otherwise privileged which may constitute or contain evidence material to any matter involved in the case and which are under the control of the prosecution, police or other law investigating agencies. (sec 10)