Unit I.

Basic Concepts in Legal Forms:

Definition, Importance, Scope
1. Definition
Legal- permitted by the law
Legal Forms
- means conforming to or permitted by law or established and Forms means a printed or typed document
with blank spaces for insertion of required or requested information (Merriam-webster.com) .
- Binding written documents that serve as means for putting into effect legal proceedings, court orders and
notices.

2. Importance:
The memory of people is short. Parties to a verbal agreement often disagree as to what they have agreed
several months or years after they have entered into a verbal agreement. To avoid such situation and in
order to have a clear guide and evidence of the terms they have agreed, lawyers, or even the parties
themselves, request a written agreement for their contract or legal transaction. Moreover, form is
important when the law requires a document or other special form. And when the law requires that a
contract be in some form in order that it may be valid or enforceable, or that a contract be proved in a
certain way, that requirement is absolute and indispensable. In the same way, judicial proceedings make
use of forms as documentary requirements and evidence for these proceedings, containing therein
legally binding information.

3. Scope
Classification of Legal Forms:
3.1 Business Forms:
- are used in conveyancing,or of the forms of deeds, instruments or documents creating, transferring,
modifying or limiting rights to real as well as personal properties, and other forms related to business
contracts or transactions ( Suarez, Rolando A, 2007).

Contract and Other Business Forms

3.1.1. Contract- an agreement in which each party agrees to an exchange, typically involving money,
goods, or services. Sales agreement and service agreements are common examples of business contracts

3 Elements of Valid Contract

a. Consent of Contracting Parties
b. Object that is subject matter of the contract
c. Cause of obligation which is established

Business transactions- is an event involving an interchange of goods, money or services between two
or more parties. Some examples of business transactions are buying insurance from insurer and
selling goods to customer for cash.

3.1.2. Notarization (aka Notarial Acts)- refers to any act that a notary public is empowered to perform.
- A public official whose duty is to attest the genuineness of any deed or writing.
a. Conveyance: the transfer and assignment of any property right or interest from one individual or entity
(the conveyor) to another (the conveyee). This is usually accomplished through a written instrument -
most often a deed - that transfers title to, or creates a lien on property.

b. Deed: a legal document that grants ownership to a piece of real estate or other property asset. A deed
transfers the title of an asset to a new owner, and it is usually recorded in the local county clerk's office.
- Quitclaim Deed: a document in which a grantor disclaims all interest in a parcel of real property and
then conveys that interest to a grantee. Unlike grantors in other types of deeds, the quitclaim grantor
does not promise that their interest in the property is actually valid.
- General Warranty Deed: provide guarantees that the grantor has the right to sell the property and that
the grantee will be receiving a title that is free of debt, claims, or other legal encumbrances.
- Grant Deed: also known as a special or limited warranty deed, is a legal document used to transfer
real estate between a previous owner (the grantor) and a new owner (the grantee).
- Bargain and Sale Deed: indicates that only the seller of a property holds the title and has the right to
transfer ownership. This type of deed offers no guarantees for the buyer against liens or other claims
to the property, so the buyer could be responsible for these issues if they turn up.
- Deed of Trust: a document used in real estate transactions. It represents an agreement between the
borrower and a lender to have the property held in trust by a neutral and independent third party until
the loan is paid off.
- Mortgage Deed

3.1.3. Will: A legal document prepared with certain formalities and under which a person directs what
will happen to his/her property after his/her death.

3.2 Judicial Forms:

3.2.1 Jurat: a part of affidavit in which the officer certifies that the instrument was sworn to before
him.
3.2.2 Acknowledgement: An act of one who has executed a deed, in going before some competent
officer or court and declaring it to be his act or deed.
3.2.3 Affidavit: voluntarily sworn declaration of written facts.
: done before a notary public or other officers entitled to administer oath or take
acknowledgement.
: Affiant- persons making the sworn statement.
3.2.4 Ordinary Civil Actions- is one by which one party sues another, based on a cause of action, to
enforce or protect a right, or to prevent or redress a wrong, whereby the defendant has performed an
act or omitted to do an act in violation of the rights of the plaintiff. The purpose is primarily
compensatory.
a. Complaint
b. Answer
c. Motion
d. Cross-claim
e. Third-party complaint
3.2.5 Special Civil Action- one party sues another to enforce or protect a right, or to prevent or
redress a wrong. However, such action, although governed by rules for ordinary civil actions, is
subject to the specific rules prescribed for a special civil action. ( Suarez, Rolando A, 2007).
a. Interpleader
b. Declaratory Relief
c. Mandamus
d. Prohibition
e. Quo Warranto
3.2.6. Special Proceeding- is a remedy by which a party seeks to establish a status, a right,
or a particular fact (1997 Rules of Civil Procedures).
a. Petition for Escheat
b. Petition for Habeas Corpus
c. Petition for Appointment
d. Petition for Letters of Administration
e. Petition for Guardianship
3.2.7. Criminal Action- the proceedings by which a party charged with a public offense is accused
and brought to trial and punishment, potentially including imprisonment, is imposed.
 Unit II.
Legal Forms of Law Enforcement

Bajada- Nano & Pioquinto (2014) enumerated the following legal forms used in law enforcement:
1. Sworn Statements- a statement that someone makes under oath and swears to be true.
-legal document that states facts or lists statements that are relevant to a legal
proceeding or court case.
2. Affidavits- a sworn statement a person makes before a notary or officer of the court outside of
the court asserting that certain facts are true to the best of that person's knowledge.
3. Complaints in Criminal Cases
3.1. Complaint- is a sworn written statement charging a person with an offense, subscribed by
the offended party, any peace officer, or other public officer charged with the enforcement of
the law violated.
4. Inquest forms
4.1. Inquest- a judicial or official inquiry especially before a jury to determine the cause of a
violent or unexpected death.
5. Information- is an accusation in writing charging a person with a public offence, presented and
signed by the promoter fiscal or his deputy and filed with the clerk of court.
6. Deposition of Witness- is a witness’s sworn out-of-court testimony. It is used to gather
information as part of the discovery process and, in limited circumstances, may be used at trial.
-is an opportunity for parties in a civil lawsuit to obtain testimony from a
witness under oath prior to trial.
7. Motion for Reconsideration- one is precisely to convince the court that its ruling is erroneous and
improper, contrary to the law or the evidence and in doing so, the movant has to dwell of
necessity upon the issues passed upon by the court.
-this shall be filed within fifteen (15) days from notice of the decision
or resolution and a copy thereof shall be served on the adverse party.

Police Report
Report- is a story of actions performed by men.
Police Report- a chronological or step-by-step account of incident that took place at the given
time.
-In this manner, it has, therefore, a:
a. beginning, (On or about time & date, this station received a call regarding a . . . )
b. middle portion- informing the reader(s) of relevant details, such as the version of drivers involved
and the corresponding notation of the traffic authorities.
c. ending- present temporary agreement between same authorities and subject drivers.
Note: Write your report in Past tense, everything in your report already happened, so use past
tenses.

Important uses of Report Writing-

a. They serve as records for police administrators in planning, directing, and organizing the
unit’s duties.

b. Reports can be used as legal documents in the prosecution of criminals.

c. Reports can be used by other agencies.
d. Reports can be useful to local media which need access to public documents
e. The author of a report should also consider that his (written) work is reflective of his
personality and can be basis for performance evaluation.
f. The author of a report should also consider that his (written) work is reflective of his
personality and can be basis for performance evaluation.

Characteristics of Effective Report

1. Accuracy – Use the word that serves your purpose. What exactly do you mean? Have you
made your readers see and feel what you want to see and feel?. It refers to the correctness or
precision in both information and word choice.
2. Clarity – The police report writer must consider that the reader has no time to look for the
meanings of difficult words used by the inconsiderate writer.
3. Conciseness – to be concise is to express much in a few words as possible—to be brief but
substantial. In narrative report, the role of a writer is not to re-enact events but to summarize
them using only pertinent or important details. Any extraneous event details irrelevant to the
event should be excluded, lest they render the report superfluous or bring the reader off his
focus from the more important details. It is necessary for the writer to determine which
details should be included and which is not.
4. Objectivity – the key to objectivity or being fair and impartial in writing reports is to use
language that has a neutral tone. This means that your report covers all sides of the story and
does not slant toward or favor one side only. To do this, you need to avoid opinions, personal
judgment and emotional overtone in your sentences which will render your report subjective
and partial. Although the statement of witness, victims and suspects may not be objective, it
is important that you as a writer, properly quote or attribute the statement to your source(s)
without adding your personal judgment or conclusion. Write only the facts and include brief
details.
5. Completeness – In any incident report, the essential elements of information must be
complete. The 5Ws and 1H (WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, AND HOW) should be
the basic guide in writing a report.

THE 5Ws AND 1H OF POLICE REPORTS

WHO?
This question considers some factors, like:
-Who was the victim?
-Who was the complainant?
-Who discovered the crime?

WHAT?
This question considers some factors, like:
-What type of property was attacked (building, residence, car, etc.)?
-What type of property was stolen/lost or found?
-What offense was committed?

WHERE?
This question considers some factors, like:
-Where was the crime committed?
-Where was the crime discovered?
-Where was the victim found?

WHEN?
This question considers some factors, like:
-When was the crime committed?
-When was it discovered?
-When was the victim last seen?

WHY?
This question considers some factors, like:
-Why was the crime committed?
-Why were the witnesses reluctant to
give information?
-Why were certain tools used?

HOW?
This question considers some factors, like:
-How was the crime committed?
-How did the criminal get to the scene?
-How was the crime discovered?

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE 5Ws AND 1H

Generally, the “who”, “when”, and “where” will appear at the beginning of the report.
The reader needs to know the persons involved, the date and time the incident happened, and the
location in which it took place. “What” happened is usually unfolded throughout the report. The
“how” is closely related to the “what”, the “why” belongs before or after the “what”, depending
on the situation.

Basic English Rules in Report Writing

Antecedent - A pronoun usually refers to something earlier in the report and must agree in
number – singular/plural – with the thing to which it refers.
Spelling always counts!
Use an Active Voice- the subject performs the action of the verb
Subject/Verb Agreement- if the noun is used to show the group as an entity or whole (one), use
the singular verb.
-if the noun shows members acting as individuals, use the plural.