Practice question
A drug-case accused relies on Estipona's invalidation of the statutory ban on plea bargaining. He says that this automatically compels the judge to accept whatever lesser plea he proposes, regardless of the governing Supreme Court rules or framework. The case is otherwise properly before the court. Which answer is best?
- Every requested plea must be accepted after Estipona
- The ruling on rule-making authority does not create an unconditional right to any proposed plea; governing judicial rules still control
- The prosecutor may permanently replace all Supreme Court rules by office memorandum
- The statutory ban remains binding despite the invalidation
- The judge may select any procedure without reference to governing rules
Legal references
- 1987 Constitution, Article VIII, Section 5(5): https://lawphil.net/consti/cons1987.html
- Estipona v. Lobrigo, G.R. No. 226679, August 15, 2017, main decision: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/63345
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