Facts:: Facts: Herein Respondent Admits Having Appeared As
Facts:: Facts: Herein Respondent Admits Having Appeared As
FACTS:
Defendants are charged with five criminal cases of murder by the City Fiscal. However,
two of the defendants moved to consolidate the five criminal cases into one and
disregard the other four. Their plea is that said cases arose out of the same incident and
motivated by one impulse. The respondent Judge approved the motion and directed the
City Fiscal to unify all the five criminal cases, and to file one single information and drop
the other four cases. The City Fiscal sought reconsideration thereof. . The respondent
Judge denied the motion to reconsider. Hence, City Fiscal, in behalf of the People,
moved this case for certiorari.
ISSUE
WON the certiorari should be granted
RULING
NO. The question of instituting a criminal charge is one addressed to the sound
discretion of the investigating Fiscal. It stands to reason then to say that in a clash of
views between the judge who did not investigate and the fiscal who did, or between the
fiscal and the offended party or the defendant, those of the Fiscal's should normally
prevail. In this regard, he cannot ordinarily be subject to dictation. It should not to be
understood as saying that criminal prosecution may not be blocked in exceptional
cases. A relief in equity "may be availed of to stop it purported enforcement of a criminal
law where it is necessary (a) for the orderly administration of justice; (b) to prevent the
use of the strong arm of the law in an oppressive and vindictive manner; (c) to avoid
multiplicity of actions; (d) to afford adequate protection to constitutional rights; and (e) in
proper cases, because the statute relied upon is unconstitutional or was 'held invalid.' "
Upon the record as it stands, the writ of certiorari prayed for is hereby granted
Misamin vs. San Juan (Adm Case 1418 August 31, 1976)
or
removal
of
attorneys.
VITRIOLO V DASIG
FACTS:
1.
This is an administrative case for disbarment filed against Atty. Felina S. Dasig,
an official of CHED. They allege Vitriolo committed acts that are grounds for disbarment under
Section 27, Rule 138 of the Rules of Court; attempted to extort sums of money; violated her oath
as attorney-at-law; instigated the commission of a crime; authored and sent to then President
Joseph Estrada a libelous and unfair report, which maligned the good names and reputation of
CHED Directors.
ISSUE: Whether or not respondent attorney-at-law, may be disciplined by this Court for her malfeasance
violative of CPR 6.02
RULING:
Yes, said acts constitute a breach of Rule 6.02 of the Code which bars lawyers in government service
from promoting their private interests. Promotion of private interests includes soliciting gifts or anything of
monetary value in any transaction requiring the approval of his office or which may be affected by the
functions of his office. Respondent was found liable for gross misconduct and dishonesty in violation of the
Attorneys Oath as well as the Code of Professional Responsibility, and was ordered DISBARRED
Facts:
This is a disbarment or suspension case against Atty. Jose R. Imbang for multiple violations of the Code of
Professional Responsibility. Ramos sought the assistance of Atty. Imbang in filing civil and criminal actions.
Ramos tried to attend the scheduled hearings of her cases against the Jovellanoses. Imbang never allowed
her to enter the courtroom and always told her to wait outside. He would then come out after several
hours to inform her that the hearing had been cancelled and rescheduled. This happened six times and for
each appearance in court, respondent charged her P350. Ramos was shocked to learn that Imbang never
filed any case against the Jovellanoses and that he was in fact employed in the Public Attorney's Office
(PAO)
ISSUE: Whether or not Atty. Imbang should be disbarred.
RULING:
YES, Lawyers are expected to conduct themselves with honesty and integrity. More specifically, lawyers in
government service are expected to be more conscientious of their actuations as they are subject to public
scrutiny. Every lawyer is obligated to uphold the law. This undertaking includes the observance of the
above-mentioned prohibitions blatantly violated by Imbang when he accepted the complainant's cases and
received attorney's fees in consideration of his legal services. Consequently, Imbang's acceptance of the
cases was also a breach of Rule 18.01 of the Code of Professional Responsibility because the prohibition on
the private practice of profession disqualified him from acting as Ramos' counsel.