00:00The Chair wishes to make some remarks.
00:05The Chair wishes to place on record and remind the counsel for both parties and our distinguished
00:10senator judges, including the presiding officer, that while every witness takes an oath before
00:17this court to testify truthfully to answer all questions, the witness remains entitled
00:24to the rights enumerated under Rule 1323, Section 3, of the Rules on Evidence, which has
00:32suplatory application to these proceedings.
00:35The Chair would like to spread into the records the provisions of Section 3.
00:40Section 3, Rights and Obligations of Witnesses.
00:45A witness must answer questions, although his answer may tend to establish a claim against
00:51him. However, it is the right of a witness, number one, to be protected from irrelevant,
00:58improper, or insulting questions, and from harsh or insulting demeanor.
01:03Number two, not to be detained any longer than the interests of justice require.
01:08Number three, not to be examined except only as the matters pertinent to the issue.
01:14Number four, not to give an answer which will tend to subject him or her to a penalty for
01:19an offense unless otherwise provided by law.
01:23Number five, not to give an answer which will tend to degrade his reputation unless it is
01:29to be the very fact at issue or to a fact from which the fact in issue would be presumed,
01:38but
01:38a witness must answer to the fact of his previous final conviction for an offense.
01:43The Chair wishes to emphasize that an answer which may be unsatisfactory is not inherently
01:50contemptible. Supreme Court cases have cautioned courts to use the power of contempt with the highest
01:57restraint. The Chair wishes to remind the members of this court as well, including the presiding
02:02officer himself, who stated that his patience was wearing thin the other day, that we are
02:12sitting as senator judges in a trial. Our rules behoove us to receive and evaluate the evidence
02:18with impartiality and due to the often lengthy examination by both parties with utmost patience
02:24as well.
02:25I wish to also remind the Council for both parties, as well as our fellow senator judges,
02:31including this representation, that while we may rigorously examine witnesses and test the
02:37credibility of their testimonies, we must refrain from resorting to a manner of questioning or
02:43to making declarations that elicit fear rather than candor.
02:47The Chair therefore respectfully requests our distinguished colleagues, the Councils for the parties, including
02:57this representation, to exercise restraint expected of us. Unlike in inquiries in aid of legislation,
03:05an answer of I do not know or I do not recall may be extremely frustrating, is one that we
03:12may
03:12encounter numerous times in a proceeding such as this. What we can control, however, is how we appreciate
03:18and weigh the testimonies and statements delivered before this court. We owe it to the parties, to the
03:24witnesses, and to the institution we represent to conduct the proceedings still with fairness, dignity,
03:30and respect, in spite and despite our frustration and or disappointment with what the witness may or may not
03:40be saying. For the record,
