Case Digest (A.C. No. 7973, 10457)
Facts:
Melvyn G. Garcia v. Atty. Raul H. Sesbreno, A.C. No. 7973 and A.C. No. 10457, February 03, 2015, the Supreme Court En Banc, Per Curiam.Dr. Melvyn G. Garcia (complainant) filed two separate complaints for disbarment against Atty. Raul H. Sesbreno (respondent) in July 2008. On 29 July 2008 Garcia lodged a complaint with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Commission on Bar Discipline (IBP-CBD) — docketed as CBC Case No. 08-2273 and later redocketed as A.C. No. 10457 — and on 30 July 2008 he filed a similar complaint with the Office of the Bar Confidant, docketed as A.C. No. 7973. Garcia alleged that Sesbreno had been convicted for homicide in Criminal Case No. CBU-31733, was on parole and had continued to engage in the practice of law despite that conviction; Garcia also alleged retaliatory motives because Sesbreno had represented Garcia’s daughters in litigation and had filed an action for support against Garcia.
The Office of the Bar Confidant referred A.C. No. 7973 to the IBP for investigation, report and recommendation (Courts Resolution dated 18 January 2010). The IBP-CBD consolidated the two matters and, after receiving pleadings and evidence, framed the sole issue as whether a conviction for homicide involves moral turpitude. The IBP-CBD reviewed the Court’s criminal decision finding respondent guilty of homicide (modifying an earlier murder conviction), noted that Sesbreno had been released on parole, and found from the surrounding facts — notably Sesbreno’s unprovoked, indiscriminate firing that killed Luciano Amparado — that moral turpitude attended the homicide; it recommended disbarment and striking respondent’s name from the Roll of Attorneys. The IBP Board of Governors adopted and approved the IBP-CBD recommendation in Resolution No. XX-2013-19 dated 12 February 2013 and denied Sesbreno’s motion for reconsideration in Resolution No. XX-2014-31 dated 11 February 2014. The IBP-CBD transm...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Whether a conviction for the crime of homicide involves moral turpitude sufficient to warrant disbarment under Section 27, Rule 138 of the Rules of Court.
- Whether the executive clemency (commutation) granted to respondent restored his full civil and political rights so as to preclude disbarment or otherwise affect the imposition ...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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