UA&P Law senior student Alfonso S. David shares a riveting, illuminating, and personal telling of how the idealism and theory of legal education can stand up to the reality of an actual legal case. From Atty. Jemy Gatdula’s column “Being Right”:
The pandemic brought a lot of realizations to us law students. For me, it reaffirmed my continued passion for the law. Just two years ago, a friend confessed that she had been a victim of sexual abuse by her stepfather. After having studied criminal law for years, I was in shock. The first thing I thought was, “is this for real?” My friend did not have any source of income which would help her obtain legal services. As a then incoming senior in law school, I offered my help: from the filing of the complaint until the same reached the court for the trial. The experience was full of lessons, including some of the sad realities of the legal profession.
Upon filing of the complaint, several obstacles arose. First, the victim was unable to fully disclose all the details of the series of abuses. It made it difficult to build her case. Thus, I took the initiative to try to extract all relevant details, which took time. It made it hard to divulge because it included her mother as a conspirator. Second, during the preliminary investigation, this is where everything became more real.
Read Alfonso’s full story at BusinessWorld.