| FRONTLINE |
 |
| Ninez Cacho-Olivares |
Finally, we may yet get rid of the Jurassic ways of fiscals in determining a complaint and elevating it to the courts for trial.
Reports say that the Supreme Court is now considering amendments to the rules of court that would require a higher standard of evidence before a suspect can be indicted.
Thus far, too many complaints based on mere affidavits would be enough for the prosecutors to state that there is probable cause, which immediate result is for the complaint to reach the courts, where years and years of litigation follow. This is especially true in libel complaints, where mostly government officials file complaint after complaint against journalists who are their critics, and as a way of harassing them and making them shut up in their criticisms.
In most cases, the fiscals hardly ever dismiss the libel complaint outright, and merely on the basis of the complaint affidavit, which generally has attached to it, the photocopy of the article which the complainant claims is libelous, even when clearly it is not..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110517com2.html
0 comments
Post a Comment