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Q: X was sleeping. He heard footsteps in kitchen. He got up, got his gun
and went out. He saw the door of his house open. Y was outside carrying
his cookbook recipe. He asked Y to give it back to him or else he will shoot
him. Y did not listen, he ran away. When Y was at a great distance from X, X
fired a shot but Y did not stop. X aimed for Ys leg but unfortunately, Y died.
Can X claim the justifying circumstance of defense of property?
A: Yes. All requisites are present. (1)Unlawful aggression;
(2)Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it;
(3)Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person defending himself. The
deceased had no right to take the property of X, while he was pleading with him
them to stop and return the cookbook to him. The assault on Xs property,
therefore, amounts to unlawful aggression as contemplated by law. In the case at
bar, there was an actual physical invasion of appellant's property which he had
the right to resist, pursuant to Art. 429 of the Civil Code (People v. Narvaez).
Q: At the time of his death, M is a trial court judge. One week after burial, E,
a columnist of a newspaper who was convicted of libel by M, published an
article wherein he wrote that the judge had kept a mistress in the conjugal
dwelling prior his demise. Ms widow, W, instituted a criminal complaint for
libel against E. Will it prosper?
A: No. No criminal action for defamation which consists in the imputation of a
crime which cannot be prosecuted de officio shall be brought except at the
instance of and upon complaint expressly filed by the offended party. (Art. 360,
last par.)
A: a) Andy is not criminally liable, just civilly liable. Art. 332 No criminal, but only
civil liability, shall result from the commission of the crime of theft, swindling or
malicious mischief committed or caused mutually by the following persons:
1. Spouses, ascendants and descendants, or relatives by affinity in the
same line (case falls under this category)
2. The widowed spouse with respect to the property which belonged to the
deceased spouse before the same shall have passed into the possession of
another; and
3. Brothers and sisters and brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, if living
together.
b) No. Andy and Tanya are not living together. (no.3) Thus, Andy can be held
criminally and civilly liable.