Law School Noob: [CASE DIGEST] Lagman v. Medialdea (G.R. No. 231658)

Thursday, November 3, 2022

[CASE DIGEST] Lagman v. Medialdea (G.R. No. 231658)

July 4, 2017

FACTS:

A group of congressmen challenged the constitutionality of Proclamation No. 216, which declared martial law in the Mindanao region. The petitioners argued that the proclamation was issued without sufficient factual basis and that it violated the 1987 Constitution by suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.

The Supreme Court upheld the validity of Proclamation No. 216, finding that the President had sufficient factual basis to believe that the rebellion in Mindanao posed a threat to public safety and order. The Court also found that the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was justified, as it was necessary to prevent the escape of suspects and to ensure the success of the military operations.

However, the Court did place some limitations on the President's powers under martial law. The Court held that the President could not use martial law to suppress dissent or to target political opponents. The Court also held that the President was required to report to Congress on the progress of the martial law and to lift the martial law once the threat to public safety had been eliminated.

Lagman v. Medialdea is an important case that clarifies the powers of the President under martial law. The case also sets out some important safeguards to prevent the abuse of martial law powers.

Here are some of the key points of the decision:

The President has the power to declare martial law in times of invasion or rebellion, but the declaration must be based on sufficient factual basis.
The President may suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus during martial law, but this suspension must be justified by the circumstances.
The President is required to report to Congress on the progress of martial law and to lift the martial law once the threat to public safety has been eliminated.
The President's powers under martial law are not unlimited and must be exercised in accordance with the Constitution.

Lagman v. Medialdea is a significant decision that has implications for the future of martial law in the Philippines. The decision clarifies the powers of the President under martial law and sets out some important safeguards to prevent the abuse of martial law powers.

LAW SCHOOL LIFE

The real score on law school and alcohol

Law school is so demanding an endeavor, no decent law student would want to deliberately skip clat asses for a tall glass of beer, no matter how deliciously ice cold such beverage is. It just isn't done. At all [. . .]

Should law students take a leave of absence until the COVID-19 pandemic ends?

For many, the abrupt shift to digital learning due to the pandemic is a novel concept that is particularly difficult to adjust to. This is more pronounced among law students, where daily physical interactions with classmates and professors are necessary in fostering a robust academic experience [. . .]

So you took the Bar Exams and failed. Now what?

Failing the Bar constitutes an abysmal point in any law graduate's life. It can trigger a lot of negative things, which is why it is very important that Bar examinees should have a support system to cling on to in the event of failure [. . .]

Bar review season pitfalls and tips to make reviewing for the Bar Exams less stressful

The Bar Exam review season is when reviewees try to conjur everything they have learned in law school and condense everything into neat mental folders easily retrievable when needed. Doing so requires focus, concentration, determination, and wise use of resources, particularly time and money [. . .]

The lowdown on law school entrance exams: Top 3 law schools in the Philippines

The top three law schools in the Philippines by reputation, quality of their alumni, and passing rate in the Bar exams are the College of Law of the University of the Philippines in Quezon City, the Ateneo School of Law in Makati, and the College of Law of the San Beda University in Manila. Each year these schools manage to attract graduates from all over the Philippines. As such, competition for slots in any of these schools is intense [. . .]

The Filipino law student's guide to scoring law textbooks on the cheap

Law books are often thick and heavy tomes of specialized legal information, mostly annotations of laws or statutes with a discussion of existing jurisprudence. They can be very intimidating. Even worse, they are bound to punch a gaping hole in your wallet [. . .]

To digest or not to digest -- that's the question

Relying on digests spares one the trouble of having to go through the case itself, identifying relevant facts, determining key issues, and analyzing the court's rationale in coming up with its decision [. . .]