Austria vs. AAA

G.R. No. 205275
A teacher acquitted of lascivious acts due to a void judgment; private complainants challenged the acquittal, upheld by the Supreme Court, citing grave abuse of discretion and no double jeopardy violation.
acts of lasciviousness trial court supreme court

Case Digest (G.R. No. 205275)

Facts:

In Mamerto Austria v. AAA and BBB, G.R. No. 205275, June 28, 2022, the Supreme Court En Banc, Lopez, J., writing for the Court, resolved whether private offended parties may assail judgments and orders in criminal proceedings without the Office of the Solicitor General’s (OSG) participation and whether an RTC order of acquittal was void for failure to state the facts and law.

Petitioner Mamerto Austria (a public school teacher) was convicted by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in 2006 of five counts of acts of lasciviousness against two 11‑year‑old students, the respondents here identified as AAA and BBB. Mamerto filed a motion for reconsideration. Before that motion was resolved, the trial judge was promoted and Executive Presiding Judge De Joya Mayor took over; on August 15, 2008 he issued Joint Orders granting reconsideration and acquitting Mamerto. The Joint Orders essentially recited Mamerto’s motion and memorandum and concluded with a single‑paragraph disposition of acquittal.

The private complainants filed a petition for certiorari before the Court of Appeals (docketed CA‑G.R. SP No. 114771) alleging grave abuse of discretion because the Joint Orders failed to state the facts and law on which they were based. The CA, by Decision dated July 31, 2012, granted the petition, annulled the Joint Orders as void for non‑compliance with Section 14, Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution, and reinstated the RTC’s convictions. Mamerto’s motion for reconsideration at the CA was denied, and he invoked double jeopardy and lack of legal personality on the part of the private complainants in a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 to the Supreme Court (G.R. No. 205275).

The Court required the OSG to comment; the OSG agreed with private complainants that the Joint Orders were void and urged that the OSG be given opportunity to be heard when a private complainant’s remedy may affect the criminal aspect of the...(Pro-only)

Issues:

  • May private offended parties question an acquittal or dismissal of a criminal case before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court without the OSG’s conformity?
  • Did the RTC commit grave abuse of discretion by issuing Joint Orders of acquittal that failed to state clearly and distinctly the facts and the law on which they were based (Section 14, Article VIII, 1987 Constitution)?
  • Does the constitutional protection against double jeopardy bar review of the Joint Orders of acquittal when those orders are void for ...(Pro-only)

Ruling:

  • (Pro-only)

Ratio:

  • (Pro-only)

Doctrine:

  • (Pro-only)
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