Instrumentos estratégicos. Avances y vacíos

branch or agency of the government in the normal course of judicial proceedings.

 The judge has the corresponding duty not to conveyor permit others to convey the

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impression that they are in a special position to influence the judge.

 Discussing cases with the judge privately should be avoided.

 Test when public statement is contemptuous: The character of the act done and its direct tendency to prevent and obstruct the discharge of official duty.

 To warrant a finding: of "prejudicial publicity", there must be an allegation and proof that the judges have been unduly influenced, not simply that they might be, by the "barrage" of publicity.

 Lawyer is equally, guilty as the client if he induces the latter to cause the publicity.

Q -State the basic responsibilities of a lawyer to the courts.

- The Code of Professional Responsibility mandates that:

1) A lawyer owes candor, fairness, and good faith to the court; 2) A lawyer shall observe and maintain the respect due to the courts and to judicial officers and should insist on similar conduct by others;

3) A lawyer shall exert every effort and consider it his duty to assist in the speedy and efficient administration of justice; and

3 A lawyer shall rely upon the merits of his cause and refrain from any

impropriety which tends to influence, or gives the appearance of influencing the court.

Q- Who has the power to regulate the admission to the bar and the practice of law?

The Supreme Court, as regulator and guardian of the legal profession, has plenary disciplinary authority over attorneys. The authority to discipline lawyers stems from the Court's Constitutional mandate to regulate admission to the practice of law, which includes as well authority to regulate the practice itself of law. (Zaldivar vs. Sandiganbayan, 166 SCRA 316 [1988]).

Q - May a lawyer or anybody criticize the courts? Why?

It is the cardinal condition that criticisms of courts shall be bona fide and shall not spill over the walls of decency and propriety. A wide chasm exists between fair criticisms, on the one hand, and abuse and slander of courts and the judges on the other. Intemperate and unfair criticism is gross violation of the duty of respect to courts. It is such a misconduct that subjects a lawyer to disciplinary action.

The lawyer's duty to render respectful subordination to the courts is essential to the orderly administration of justice. Hence, in the assertion of

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their clients' rights, lawyers even those gifted with superior intellect are enjoined to give due respect to the courts. (Zaldivar vs. Gonzales, supra).

Q - A lawyer wanted the Office of the President to review the decision of the Supreme Court. Is the act of the lawyer subject to discipline? Why?

Yes, because respect to the court is an important duty of a lawyer. No other department of the government can review the decisions of the Supreme Court. What the lawyer did was even violative of the principle of separation of powers. (Maglasang vs. People, 190 SCRA 308).

Q - Is the act of a lawyer of filing baseless cases against a judge proper? Why?

No. In Aparicio vs. Andal, et al., July 25, 1989, it was said that filing of baseless cases against a judge is improper. He was admonished because a lawyer has a basic duty to conduct himself with good fidelity to the courts, to be courteous, fair, not be combative and bellicose. (Sangalang vs. Gaston, Aug. 30, 1989; In re: Laureta).

Q - To whom does a lawyer owe his first and foremost duty?

The lawyer's first and foremost duty is to the court.

He is duty bound to comply with the lawful orders of the court. The reason is that the attorney is an officer of the court because his main mission is to assist the court in administering justice.

Q - In Sangalang vs. Gaston, August 30, 1989, a lawyer was suspended because of his own actuations, when in his motion for reconsideration he said that the decision of the SC "reads more like a brief for Ayala." Was the lawyer's act proper? Why?

.-No. The primary duty of a lawyer is to assist in the administration of justice, not to his client. His client's success is only subordinate such that, he is at liberty to advocate his client's cause in utmost earnest, but he is not at liberty to resort to arrogance, intimidation and innuendo. The act of the lawyer not only puts to serious question his own integrity and competence but also jeopardized his own campaign against graft and corruption undeniably prevailing in the judiciary. They are unbecoming as well as an assault on the honor and integrity of the court.

Q- State the basic duties of a lawyer to the court.

The attorney's duty of prime importance is to observe and maintain the respect due to the courts of justice and judicial officers. The duty to observe and maintain the respect due the court is likewise incumbent up OJ} one aspiring to be a lawyer. He should conduct himself toward judges with the courtesy that all have a right to expect

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and with the propriety which the dignity of the courts requires. For his investiture into the legal profession places upon his shoulders no burden more basic, more exacting and more intemperate than that of a respectful behavior toward the courts.

A lawyer owes the court the duty to observe and maintain a respectful attitude not for the sake of temporary incumbent of the judicial office but for the maintenance of its supreme importance. (Department of Health vs. Sy Chi Siong Co., Inc., et al., G.R. No. 85289, Feb. 20, 1989).

A lawyer owes candor, fairness and good faith to the Court. (Canon 10). A lawyer shall observe and maintain the respect due to the Court and to judicial officers (Canon 11) and a lawyer shall exert every effort and consider it his duty to assist in the speedy and efficient administration of justice. (Canon 12). (Pentecostes vs. Judge Hidalgo, Adm. Case No. RTC 89-331, Sept. 28, 1990).

A lawyer should be courteous, respectful to the courts of justice. He should be fair, not repultant, combative and bellicose in dealing with the Court. The use of disrespectful, intemperate and manifestly baseless and malicious statements in his pleadings or motions is a direct contempt of Court for which he may be disciplined. (Aparicio vs. Andal, July 25, 1989; Zaldivar vs. Gonzales, supra).

Q- In filing a pleading, etc., the lawyer deliberately changed the wordings of the law. State the effect of such act.

A lawyer may be punished for contempt of court by deliberately changing the provisions of law in order to mislead the court. (Deiparine, Jr. vs. CA, 221 SCRA 503, April 23, 1993; COMELEC vs. Hon. Noynay, et al., G.R. No. 132365, July 9, 1998, 95 SCAD 818).

Q- State the effect of submitting to the court a falsified document.

Submission to the court of falsified documents constitutes willful disregard of the lawyer's duty to act at all times in a manner consistent with the truth. A lawyer should never seek to mislead the court by an artifice or false statement of fact or law. (Bautista vs. Gonzales, 182 SCRA 151, Feb. 12, 1990).

Q - State the effect of forum shopping.

- Forum shopping is malpractice and constitutes contempt of court. In PNCC vs. NLRC, 172 SCRA 867, the Supreme Court said that a lawyer engages in forum shopping when he institutes a proceeding at the time the same case or an incident thereto is pending

in another court or tribunal with an expectation of securing a favorable decision.

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In fact, in Danville Maritime, Inc. vs. Comm. on Audit and Comm. on Audit vs. RTC, July 28, 1989, the Supreme Court said that all cases should be dismissed without prejudice to the filing of action against the counsel concerned. No one should try to trifle with courts and abuse processes. (Crisostomo vs. SEC, November 6, 1989).

A lawyer who resorts to forum shopping, continuously seeks the court where he may possibly obtain favorable judgment, thereby adding to the already clogged dockets of the courts with the unmeritorious cases he files, grossly abuses his right of recourse to the courts. By filing multiple petitions or complaints in the false hope of getting some favorable action, he obstructs the administration of justice. He is thus derelict in his duty as counsel to maintain in such admission, actions or proceeding only as appears to him to be just, and such defenses only as he believes to be honestly debatable under the law. He thus prostitutes his office at the expense of justice. (Atriaga vs. Villanueva, Adm. Case No. 1892, July 29, 1988).

A counsel, who, instead of assisting in the speedy disposition of cases, makes mockery of justice, and this is guilty of gross misconduct in office may be suspended indefinitely from the practice of law until such time that he can demonstrate to the court that he has rehabilitated himself and deserves to resume the practice of law.

Q- Is a lawyer first and foremost the defender of his client or an officer of the court? Explain.

- A lawyer is not merely the defender of his client's cause and a trustee of his client in respect of the client's cause of action and assets; he is also, first and foremost, an officer of the court and participates in the fundamental function of administering justice in society. It follows that a lawyer's compensation for professional services rendered are subject to the supervision of the court, not just to guarantee that the fees he charges and receives remain reasonable and commensurate with the services rendered, but also to maintain the dignity and integrity of the legal profession to which he belongs. Upon taking his attorney's oath as an officer of the court, a lawyer submits himself to the authority of the courts to regulate his right to charge professional fees. (Sumaoang vs. Judge, RTC Br. XXXI, Guimba, Nueva Ecija, 215 SCRA 136, Oct. 26, 1992).

Q - State the effect of the willful filing of multiple frivolous and baseless complaints.

A lawyer who files multiple petitions may be held liable for willful violation of his duties as an attorney. The filing of multiple petitions constitutes abuse of the Court's processes and improper conduct that tends to impede, obstruct and degrade the due administration of justice. Claim of good faith alone is not enough to be exonerated from

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contempt. (Kalilid Wood Industries Corp. vs. CA, 197 SCRA 735, May 31,1991; Eternal Gardens Memorial Park Corp. vs. CA, et al., August 5, 1998, 97 SCAD 93).

Complainant's (lawyer) wanton disregard of the Supreme Court's stern warning not to file baseless and frivolous complaints and his adamant refusal to abide by Canon 11, Rule 11.03 and Rule 11.04 of the Code of Professional Responsibility have shown his unfitness to hold the license to practice law. (Balaoing vs. Calderon, 221 SCRA 533).

Q - A government lawyer filed a petition for certiorari as a special civil action before the Supreme Court and later filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals, without withdrawing the first case. Is the act of the lawyer proper? Explain.

No, because he owes the following duties to the court:

a.) A lawyer shall observe the rules of procedure and shall not misuse them to defeat the ends of justice. (Canon 10.03, Canon 10, CPR); and b.) A lawyer shall not file multiple actions from the same cause. (Rule

12.02, Canon 12, CPR).

Q- A party is not allowed to pursue simultaneous remedies in two (2) different for a because such practice works havoc on

orderly judicial procedure. Explain.

The filing of the petition for certiorari borders on the censurable as it trifles with the courts, abused their processes, and added to the already heavily burdened dockets. While counsel may owe entire devotion to the interest of his client, his privilege to practice law car- ries with it certain correlative duties to the court, one of which is to assist in the speedy and efficient administration of justice and not saddle the court with multiple actions arising from the same case. The lawyer has the duty to be more circumspect in dealing with the courts. The SC said that a lawyer who performs his duty with diligence and candor not only protects the interest of his client, he also serves the ends of justice, does honor to the bar and helps maintain the respect of the community to the legal profession. (PRC, et al. vs. CA, et al., G.R. No.

117817, and PRC, et al. vs. Hon. Nitafan, et al., G.R. No. 118437, July 9, 1998, 95 SCAD 732).

Q- A lawyer filed a motion for extension of time to file a motion for reconsideration at the MTC. What duty did he violate? Why?

-The lawyer has the duty to keep abreast with jurisprudence. In filing a motion for extension of time to file Motion for Reconsideration with

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the MTC, or RTC or Court of Appeals, he has failed to observe the re- sponsibility imposed on him as a member of the Bar to keep abreast with the latest developments in the law. (Uy vs. CA, et al., G.R. No. 126337, February 12, 1998, 91 SCAD 715).