Case Digest (G.R. No. 146572)
Facts:
The People of the Philippines v. Gerardo Nazario y Enriquez, G.R. No. L-1217, September 22, 1947, was decided by the Supreme Court, Paras, J., writing for the Court.The People of the Philippines prosecuted Gerardo Nazario y Enriquez in the Municipal Court of Manila for qualified theft. After trial in the Municipal Court he was convicted only of simple theft and sentenced to four months and one day of arresto mayor and to pay the costs. The defendant appealed to the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Manila.
At arraignment in the CFI the appellant initially entered a plea of not guilty but later withdrew it and pleaded guilty to simple theft; the CFI imposed the same penalty previously imposed by the Municipal Court. After filing a notice of appeal from that judgment, the appellant moved in the CFI to have the judgment set aside, to withdraw his plea of guilty and replace it with a plea of not guilty, and for a new trial, alleging among other things that principal prosecution witnesses had left for the United States and submitting an affidavit of alleged newly discovered evidence. The CFI took no action on that motion.
On appeal to the Supreme Court the appellant argued (1) that the CFI should have exercised its discretion under Section 6 of Rule 114 of the Rules of Court to set aside the conviction and permit withdrawal of the plea of guilty, and (2) that his plea of guilty entered in the CFI should have been taken as a mitigating circumstance under Article 13, No. 7 of the Revised Penal Code. The Solicit...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Court of First Instance err in refusing to set aside a judgment of conviction and to allow withdrawal of the appellant’s plea of guilty under Section 6 of Rule 114?
- May a plea of guilty entered in the Court of First Instance on appeal be considered a mitigating circumstance under Article 13, No. 7 of...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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