I can offer one lesson we have learned from the celebrated case of Nicole v. Smith. That as a people we are too presumptuous. We presumed that Nicole wants justice the way we want it and define justice for her the way we want it. But her definition of justice is something else. Was she violated or not? I can say she was, or if we have to be guided by the RTC decision, she was violated. Does she want Smith to go to jail and be paid P100,000.00 or can she bargain for more and let Smith go free? If she can get more, she could care less of where Smith can go. This is Nicole’s concept of justice. It is a very private sense of justice . The public has no right to weigh in her personal definition of what justice is, after all she was the one who was violated.
But we as a people would like to wag our “collective white knight syndrome” and rescue this damsel in distress and take her own battle as if it was our own and thus define what justice is for her. Or if you are a politician you can show your outrage, nay crocodile tears, for mileage while you handshake with glee, slave trade operators at the back door. Or if you harbor intense hostility against the U.S. , this one miscreant foot soldier can offer once more a spark for the organization which for long had been marginalized for obsolescence.
So a cacophony of discordant voices were heard. Some trite, others well-meaning and others were outright mean and rubbish, but they thought so that theirs was a collective voice with one singular purpose: “Justice for Nicole”.
Nicole privately thought she does not deserve this trumpet flourish. All she want is a concept of justice she can understand and savor. One that than can fill the vacuum in her – money. After all why prowl those dingy and dimly-lit bars in Subic in graveyard shifts if other fields offer as much dough? These back-door operators have seen money as part of the equation and had pursued it with renewed vigor. A factor the politician, the lawyer, the left and the media has not prescribed for Nicole. Her honor has to be avenged, our sovereignty has to prevail. They look at Nicole’s case their own, her battle their own personal battle. Her vengeance, their vengeance, her justice their justice.
They felt that they were dishonored and wronged more than Nicole was. But do they? In the end, Nicole said enough of this hypocritical posturing. So a flight to the U.S. was arranged, an affidavit was executed practically absolving Smith of any wrongdoing. Any keen observer would see the flight to U.S. as part of the down payment; the affidavit to create a “reasonable doubt” on Smith’s guilt that could result to his acquittal as a clue that she would keep her part of the bargain.
Finally, Nicole wants closure of her case but expect those who do not want this result to keep on hammering on their own concept of law and justice to the public consciousness. They will see the path Nicole has taken as a road to abomination and a betrayal most foul. Expect them to grieve and pain as if it were them who were raped.
Contributing Writer: JOSE C. CAMANO, aka JCC a trial lawyer for 19 years, censured by the Supreme Court for misconduct but censured the Supreme Court back by writing a book , “Censuring Back the Supreme Court” a political commentary that the SCORP, has lost its moral authority to censure a trial lawyer like him because it is more corrupt than him. You can read excerpts from his book from his blog:
http://jcc34.wordpress.com/
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A lesson learned: there should be more cohesion in government public talk and pronouncement.
We pride ourselves that the Philippines is such a vibrant democracy that everybody, and everyone’s aunt and uncle, can say their piece.
At what cost? Lookit: we can’t even satisfactorily move forward in the kidnapping of the kidnapped Red Cross officials.
And I agree with MB. Those clueless spokesperson are not helping us any bit.
what a self-righteous bastard you are mb. i can live even without my profession. on becoming a regular FV blogger I have second thought about it. i am out of your league and would not want to be in the same room where you are… but that is your right.. you can continue to miseducate the filipinos and still masquerade your stupidty for punditry and probity. :)
DJB
and here’s what you said. you actually answered you own confusion.
you even cite an example as if the BATTLE WAS YOUR OWN :) hehehe.
your “beyond reasonable doubt ” will no longer apply after the fact. Smith was already convicted of rapist. the appeal can be one of these 3 scenarios
1. to reduce the crime. Instead of RAPE , Smith might get physical injury or battery. The change of conviction may have intervening/contributing factors such as information that we don’t know that I’m sure will be against the people’s will.
2. To reduce his sentence from 40 years to 20 years.
3. To transfer Smith from Philippine jail to US jail
Just in case the court will do TRICK number 1 above, then that ruling further confirms that this country’s Justice system is always going to be corrupt and weak. There’s no such thing as physical injury/battery crime when the act of no effective consent intercourse was completed. A lesser-degree offense will always merge to the target offense.
There’s no such thing as physical injury to Nicole’s female genie. is there JCC? tell me.. :)
leytenian,
how about a scenario of acquittal?
Nope, the elements of rape are entirely different from physical injury. The first is carnal knowledge absent of consent, the second is the employment of force that resulted in physical injury. Intent in the first is to have sex, in the second is to do bodily injury.
theoritically, a separate charge of physical injury has to be filed v. smith to account him for the physical injury sustained by nicole.
from procedural aspect, if the determination is that there was no rape, the court cannot sustain a conviction for physical injuries because it has no jurisdiction over the “crime of physical injury”. Smith was not arraigned for that kind of offense.
The “lesser-included offense” principle basically provides that the actor cannot be prosecuted for two crimes one of which is a necessary to do the other crime. kidnapping for ransom includes also the act of false imprisonment, ( in RP it is known as illegal detention), the ultimate crime is only kidnapping, the illegal detention is a “lesser-included offense” and therefore cannot be a subject of a separate information or charge sheet.
But there are instances where an accused is convicted of lesser-included offense if the principal crime for which he was charged was not proven but only a lesser crime is proven. i.e.,
physical injuries instead of attempted murder.
The last-minute affidavit may well be like a blog – satisfying as it does – the “here” and “now” as needed.
It came well within the hitting range – when a call from Obama to GMA was placed – and overtones of an RP-US alliance have been tokenly expressed, VFA inclusive.
The recant is deemed made even earlier but right on its appointed time.
It sets the stage for the more important things, such as but not limited to, the following:
1. relax the issue confronting the VFA on the matter of detention of US military personnel who may have violated RP
sorry, if I may then continue…
2. reverse whatever lower court decision may have already been issued and necessarily points the direction of higher courts’ would be appreciation of the case
3. effectively close the curtain for the almost mechanistic role of such groups as Gabriela and its leftist allies
4. mocks at the anti-rape law and all its grooveless unthinking.
5. opens the door for Daniel to resume military service
6. opens yet another door for a US visa holder to enjoy life where she finds it
7. proves the judicial world a theater of the absurd
jcc, i understand very well but an acquittal scenario can make the country even more mad probably in silence. The people will move on and endure just like old times.
poor pinoys and good for DJB with his favorite estrada and his religious blog :)
who can be proud of this country? from ZTE, JOCJOC, Northrail, Spratley, Pangandamans excessive force and now all the rape cases?
the Philippines reward guilty foreigners and send her own people to hell.
Leyte, this is what you read in the peryodiko but not necessarily the sentiment of the Filipinos.
TIP OF THE POST: Do you know that peryodistas and columnistas makes sweeping generalization that “Filipinos are against GMA…”; “Filipinos are incensed of Nicole …” without polls? I ask them for the numbers and they cannot show it
you were right leytenian… sometimes i wonder why we have to blog when everything else is tupsy-turvy in our dear country… we have nothing to be proud of and everything to be ashamed of.
but in the case at bar, the acquittal of smith will be seen only as a travesty of justice by those who have already pre-judged the case pending appeal but it will be seen as triumph of justice by those who have not make any conclusion of the possible outcome.
our problem is confounded by our unmitigated weighing in to the “facts” as found by the trial court, where those “facts” had not been juxtposed by the contrary “facts” in the accused’s appeal brief. we have the tendency to gloat over the conclusion and assumed that this conclusion were already culled from the “facts”… sadly, the wisdom of ages required us that these “facts” be revalidated and thus came the appeal/review machineries in our system to ensure the revalidation of these “facts”.
as to your opus that our judicial system is corrupt, i could not agree more.. but where a case is on a public radar everyone in the judicial highway tries to tiptoe and plays the game by the rules even to the point of caving in to the demand of lynch-mob pressure and throw to winds the basic concept of fair play and fairness, just to please this hollering crowd lusting for blood.
@leytenian on March 19th, 2009 6:10 am
we are over-reacting here. relax lang.
people back out of cases all the time. its their right. its all good.
I believe that the Justice system has no concept of time. Either they are buying time or they are losing time. Either is a trick done by people who can be morally wrong at all times. Making people wait over 2 years regardless of the outcome is just not right. Why would people pay taxes to this government if it cannot return the service?
Gabbyd, yeah maybe i am overreacting. :)
Justice Secretary Gonzalez should have granted Suzette’s request to remove the “meaty portions of her rape affidavit in 2005, then, there would have NEVER been a rape case…
..and there would be NO soap opera and he wouldn’t look stupid because of this.
Ha ha ha!
Yes, convict Smith after Suzette already submitted an affidavit that there was consensual sex.
So that the international community (aka other countries) will look at the Philippine Judicial System even MORE of a JOKE.
This is now all over the international news including Wall Street Journal.
Our judicial system has been a joke for a long time.
It is a Classic Case of turning a “Tragedy”? into Opportunity of
getting a U.S. Green Card. Nicole outsmarted everybody, including
Smith and all of us.
Smith screwed Nicole. Nicole screwed us all…