Practice question
Why must a penal law give fair notice of prohibited conduct?
- To let officers invent offenses case by case
- To allow persons of ordinary intelligence to understand what conduct the law forbids
- To guarantee every defendant an acquittal
- To require a separate warning before every possible violation
- To make legislative purpose irrelevant
Legal references
- https://lawphil.net/consti/cons1987.html — Constitution, Article III sections1 and14: due process, fair accusation, hearing and presumption of innocence.
- https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2001/nov2001/gr_148560_2001.html — Estrada v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. 148560, November 19, 2001, main decision: fair notice, objective standards and vagueness; not relied upon for historical death-penalty provisions.
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