Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence


Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence > Year 1903 > May 1903 Decisions > G.R. No. 1189 May 14, 1903 - ALEJANDRO BAUTISTA v. HON. ELIAS F. JOHNSON

002 Phil 230:




PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

EN BANC

[G.R. No. 1189. May 14, 1903. ]

ALEJANDRO BAUTISTA, Petitioner, v. HON. ELIAS F. JOHNSON, Judge of the Court of First Instance of Manila, Respondent.

Jose M. Memije for Petitioner.

Hon. Elias F . Johnson in his own behalf.

SYLLABUS


1. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE; APPEALS FROM MUNICIPAL COURT; WITHDRAWAL OF APPEAL. — An appeal from the judgment of the municipal court to the Court of First Instance may not be Withdrawn.

Per COOPER, J., concurring

2. MANDAMUS; JUDICIAL DISCRETION. — The Supreme Court will not issue mandamus to control the exercise of judgment or discretion on the part of an inferior court.

Per TORRES, J., dissenting

3. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE; WITHDRAWAL OF APPEALS FROM MUNICIPAL COURT. — The judgment of a municipal court is not vacated by a mere appeal, and the latter may be ethylene at any time before the trial aisle appeal is commenced.


D E C I S I O N


LADD, J. :


This is a petition for a mandamus to a judge of the Court of First Instance of Manila The petitioner asks that the judge be required to allow him to withdraw an appeal taken by him from a judgment of one of the municipal courts of Manila, convicting him of an offense and imposing the penalty of imprisonment At the time of the filing of the petition the appeal had been perfected; the action laid been entered in the Court of First Instance; the petitioner had applied to the judge for leave to withdraw the appeal; this application had been denied; and the case has been tried in the Court of First Instance and the petitioner convicted and sentenced to a longer term of imprisonment than that imposed by the municipal court.

Section 42 of the Act to incorporate the city of Manila (No. 183), as amended by section 11 of Act No. 267, provides with reference to appeals from municipal courts that "a perfected appeal shall operate to vacate the judgment of the municipal court, and the action, when duly altered in the Court of First Instance, shall stand for the trial de novo upon its merits in accordance with the regular procedure in that court, as though the same had never been tried and had been originally there commenced."cralaw virtua1aw library

The word "vacate" as applied to judgments means "to annul," "to render void." (Bouvier Law Dictionary, sub voce.) No stronger word could have been employed by the Commission in the law in question to signify the absolute extinction of the judgment as such. Used as it is there used, without any qualifying expressions, it can not be construed in the form of the suspend, or to set aside temporarily.

If, then, the right to withdraw the appeal in the Court of First Instance exists, as claimed by the petitioner, it must follow that a defendant could in every case altogether escape the effect of a conviction in a municipal court by taking an appeal and then withdrawing it; for upon the withdrawal of the appeal there would be no existing judgment or proceeding against him in either court This, of course, can not be the law. Clearly the defendant appealing from the municipal court to the Court of First Instance has no more control over the prosecution in the latter court than he would have laid if it had been originally commenced there.

The petition is therefore denied.

Willard and Mapa JJ, concur.

Separate Opinions


COOPER, J., concurring:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library

I concur in the decision of the majority of the court, but base my conclusions upon the grounds that this is not a proper case for the issuance of writ of mandamus.

The question of whether by perfecting the appeal from the municipal court to the Court of First Instance would have the effect, in the event of the dismissal of the suit after appeal, of leaving no judgment, was a question calling for the exercise of judgment and discretion in its determination by the Court of First Instance, and being such this court will not compel it by mindless to decide the question in any particular way.

TORRES J., dissenting:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library

Is the right to withdraw an appeal taken against a decision of the municipal judge denied by Acts Nos. 183 and 267? I think not.

The right to withdraw from or waive an appeal from a judgment of a municipal judge is on the same footing as the right of appeal by a party interested in the suit, and more especially the defendant in a criminal case.

It is an inalienable right, inherent in the person of the defendant, and is of the same order as his right to plead guilty to the crime or misdemeanor. (Secs. 15 and 25 of General Orders, No. 58.)

A person prosecuted for misdemeanor should not be at a disadvantage as compared with a person prosecuted for a crime. The latter, according to the laws in force which coexist which General Orders, No. 58, and Act No. 194, may withdraw an appeal against a judgment of conviction rendered in a prosecution for a crime, and may tacitly consent to the judgment, whether imposing life imprisonment or the minimum degree of imprisonment. This court on more than one occasion has allowed a convicted criminal to withdraw his appeal, and the judgment of the court below, by virtue of such withdrawal, immediately became final and could be executed.

Furthermore, there is no law or legal principle which prohibits the appellant from waiving his right and declining to sustain the appeal taken by him.

I am of the opinion that before the trial has commenced, or a hearing has been had before the judge of First Instance having jurisdiction over the appeal, the right of the appellant remains intact to withdraw the appeal, should he deem it more beneficial to his interest to do so.

The judgment of the municipal judge is vacated by the appeal taken against it, if the trial has commenced and hearing has been had on the appeal before the judge of First Instance. When the proceeding has reached this stage, I am of the opinion that a withdrawal could no longer be made, nor could there be a waiver of the regulate after submission of the case to the judge of First Instance. Under these circumstances the judgment of the municipal court would be considered vacated, because the charge is to be tried de novo and decided upon the pleadings and proofs presented, without taking into consideration the pleadings and proofs in the First Instance — that is, in the municipal court. But, before the trial or the hearing, the writer is of the opinion that the appellant is entitled to waive or withdraw the appeal taken by him, and in such a case, then, the judgment appealed and which, by reason of such withdrawal or waiver, becomes final should be executed. Such a withdrawal implies the consent of the party in interest, who, While the appeal is still within his control, has waived his right to trial de novo. This, in the opinion of the writer, is the meaning which should be given to section 42 of Act No. 183 and to section 11 of Act No. 267.

In the case at bar, Alejandro Bautista withdrew his appeal before trial or hearing before the judge of First Instance, the honorable Mr. Johnson while the proceedings are in this stage it is believed that the appeal has not yet produced the effect of vacating the judgment of the municipal court. No hearing has yet been had nor has trial commenced before the judge of First Instance, circumstances which terminate the option, and, therefore, the appeal having been withdrawn or its prosecution waived, the judgment of the municipal court subsists and should be executed.

The writer is, therefore, of the opinion that the petition of Alejandro Bautista should be granted.

McDonough, J., did not sit in this case.




Back to Home | Back to Main




















chanrobles.com





ChanRobles On-Line Bar Review

ChanRobles Internet Bar Review : www.chanroblesbar.com

ChanRobles MCLE On-line

ChanRobles Lawnet Inc. - ChanRobles MCLE On-line : www.chanroblesmcleonline.com






May-1903 Jurisprudence                 

  • G.R. No. 1096 May 5, 1903 - MARTIN BALATBAT v. VALENTIN TANJUTCO

    002 Phil 182

  • G.R. No. 1292 May 5, 1903 - MARCELINO DE LA CRUZ v. GEO N. WOLFE

    002 Phil 184

  • G.R. No. 1072 May 6, 1903 - MANUEL ABELLO v. SEÑORA PAZ KOCK DE MONASTERIO

    002 Phil 188

  • G.R. No. 1102 May 6, 1903 - UNITED STATES v. JOSE TENGCO

    002 Phil 189

  • G.R. No. 1234 May 6, 1903 - UNITED STATES v. E. S. LEWIS

    002 Phil 193

  • G.R. No. 1053 May 7, 1903 - UNITED STATES v. MAMERTO VARGAS, ET AL.

    002 Phil 194

  • G.R. No. 1014 May 9, 1903 - UNITED STATES v. MANUEL REPOLLO, ET AL.

    002 Phil 195

  • G.R. No. 1076 May 9, 1903 - UNITED STATES v. JACINTO MARTINEZ, ET AL.

    002 Phil 199

  • G.R. No. 49 May 11, 1903 - MUN. OF ANTIPOLO v. COMMUNITY OF CAINTA

    002 Phil 204

  • G.R. No. 1011 May 13, 1903 - JOSE MACHUCA v. CHUIDIAN

    002 Phil 210

  • G.R. No. 1055 May 13, 1903 - JOSE ACUÑA v. MUN. OF THE CITY OF ILOILO

    002 Phil 217

  • G.R. No. 1227 May 13, 1903 - UNITED STATES v. HOWARD D. TERRELL

    002 Phil 222

  • G.R. No. 1015 May 14, 1903 - UNITED STATES v. CANDIDO REPOLLO, ET AL.

    002 Phil 227

  • G.R. No. 1189 May 14, 1903 - ALEJANDRO BAUTISTA v. HON. ELIAS F. JOHNSON

    002 Phil 230

  • G.R. No. 1336 May 14, 1903 - GABRIELA ALIÑO, ET AL. v. IGNACIO VILLAMOR

    002 Phil 234

  • G.R. No. 38 May 15, 1903 - PASTELLS & REGORDOSA v. HOLLMAN & CO.

    002 Phil 235

  • G.R. No. 1043 May 15, 1903 - UNITED STATES v. JULIAN ATIENZA

    002 Phil 242

  • G.R. No. 1044 May 15, 1903 - PEDRO JULIA v. VICENTE SOTTO

    002 Phil 247

  • G.R. No. 1109 May 15, 1903 - UNITED STATES v. JOSE M. LERMA

    002 Phil 254

  • G.R. No. 1203 May 15, 1903 - IN RE: HOWARD D. TERRELL

    002 Phil 266

  • G.R. No. 1007 May 16, 1903 - PAULINO REYES v. HON. FELIX M. ROXAS

    002 Phil 268

  • G.R. No. 1049 May 16, 1903 - UNITED STATES v. FRED L. DORR, ET AL.

    002 Phil 269

  • G.R. No. 1056 May 16, 1903 - AGUEDA BENEDICTO v. ESTEBAN LA RAMA

    002 Phil 293

  • G.R. No. 1111 May 16, 1903 - FELICIDAD GARCIA DE LARA v. JOSE GONZALEZ DE LARA, ET AL.

    002 Phil 294

  • G.R. No 1085 May 16, 1903 - RUDOLPH WAHL, ET AL. v. DONALDSON, SIMS & CO.

    002 Phil 301

  • G.R. No. 39 May 19, 1903 - TUASON & SAN PEDRO v. GAVINA ZAMORA & SONS

    002 Phil 305

  • G.R. No. 967 May 19, 1903 - DARIO AND GAUDENCIO ELEIZEGUI v. MANILA LAWN TENNIS CLUB

    002 Phil 309

  • G.R. No. 997 May 19, 1903 - MARIA UBALDO v. LAO-JIANQUIAO

    002 Phil 319

  • G.R. No. 1027 May 19, 1903 - RAMON DEL ROSARIO v. CLEMENTE DEL ROSARIO

    002 Phil 321

  • G.R. No. 1051 May 19, 1903 - UNITED STATES v. FRED L. DORR, ET AL.

    002 Phil 332