This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2000-12-04 |
PARDO, J. |
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| Most importantly, her conduct and appearance immediately after the rape is of critical value in gauging the truth of her accusations.[35] | |||||
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2000-05-31 |
PER CURIAM |
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| The presumption of innocence, on the otherhand, is founded upon the first principle of justice, and is not a mere form but a substantial part of the law. It is not overcome by mere suspicion or conjecture; a probability that the defendant committed the crime; nor by the fact that he had the opportunity to do so. Its purpose is to balance the scales in what would otherwise be an uneven contest between the lone individual pitted against the People and all the resources at their command. Its inexorable mandate is that, for all the authority and influence of the prosecution, the accused must be acquitted and set free if his guilt cannot be proved beyond the whisper of a doubt. This is in consonance with the rule that conflicts in evidence must be resolved upon the theory of innocence rather than upon a theory of guilt when it is possible to do so.[23] | |||||