3 ways of appealing decisions in criminal cases - G.R. No. 171513

G.R. No. 171513

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A Review of a Judgment of Acquittal

Generally, the Rules provides three (3) procedural remedies in order for a party to appeal a decision of a trial court in a criminal case before this Court.   The first is by ordinary appeal under Section 3, Rule 122 of the 2000 Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure. The second is by a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules. And the third is by filing a special civil action for certiorari under Rule 65.  Each procedural remedy is unique and provides for a different mode of review. In addition, each procedural remedy may only be availed of depending on the nature of the judgment sought to be reviewed.

 A review by ordinary appeal resolves factual and legal issues.  Issues which have not been properly raised by the parties but are, nevertheless, material in the resolution of the case are also resolved in this mode of review. In contrast, a review on certiorari under a Rule 45 petition is generally limited to the review of legal issues; the Court only resolves questions of law which have been properly raised by the parties during the appeal and in the petition. Under this mode, the Court determines whether a proper application of the law was made in a given set of facts. A Rule 65 review, on the other hand, is strictly confined to the determination of the propriety of the trial court’s jurisdiction — whether it has jurisdiction over the case and if so, whether the exercise of its jurisdiction has or has not been attended by grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.

While an assailed judgment elevated by way of ordinary appeal or a Rule 45 petition is considered an intrinsically valid, albeit erroneous, judgment, a judgment assailed under Rule 65 is characterized as an invalid judgment because of defect in the trial court’s authority to rule. Also, an ordinary appeal and a Rule 45 petition tackle errors committed by the trial court in the appreciation of the evidence and/or the application of law. In contrast, a Rule 65 petition resolves jurisdictional errors committed in the proceedings in the principal case. In other words, errors of judgment are the proper subjects of an ordinary appeal and in a Rule 45 petition; errors of jurisdiction are addressed in a Rule 65 petition.

As applied to judgments rendered in criminal cases, unlike a review viaa Rule 65 petition, only judgments of conviction can be reviewed in an ordinary appeal or a Rule 45 petition. As we explained in People v. Nazareno,[18] the constitutional right of the accused against double jeopardy proscribes appeals of judgments of acquittal through the remedies of ordinary appeal and a Rule 45 petition, thus:

The Constitution has expressly adopted the double jeopardy policy and thus bars multiple criminal trials, thereby conclusively presuming that a second trial would be unfair if the innocence of the accused has been confirmed by a previous final judgment. Further prosecution via an appeal from a judgment of acquittal is likewise barred because the government has already been afforded a complete opportunity to prove the criminal defendant’s culpability; after failing to persuade the court to enter a final judgment of conviction, the underlying reasons supporting the constitutional ban on multiple trials applies and becomes compelling. The reason is not only the defendant’s already established innocence at the first trial where he had been placed in peril of conviction, but also the same untoward and prejudicial consequences of a second trial initiated by a government who has at its disposal all the powers and resources of the State.  Unfairness and prejudice would necessarily result, as the government would then be allowed another opportunity to persuade a second trier of the defendant’s guilt while strengthening any weaknesses that had attended the first trial, all in a process where the government’s power and resources are once again employed against the defendant’s individual means.  That the second opportunity comes via an appeal does not make the effects any less prejudicial by the standards of reason, justice and conscience.[19] (emphases supplied)

However, the rule against double jeopardy cannot be properly invoked in a Rule 65 petition, predicated on two (2) exceptional grounds, namely: in a judgment of acquittal rendered with grave abuse of discretion by the court; and where the prosecution had been deprived of due process.[20]  The rule against double jeopardy does not apply in these instances because a Rule 65 petition does not involve a review of facts and law on the merits in the manner done in an appeal. In certiorari proceedings, judicial review does not examine and assess the evidence of the parties nor weigh the probative value of the evidence.[21] It does not include an inquiry on the correctness of the evaluation of the evidence.[22] A review under Rule 65 only asks the question of whether there has been a validly rendered decision, not the question of whether the decision is legally correct.[23]  In other words, the focus of the review is to determine whether the judgment is per se void on jurisdictional grounds.[24]  

 Applying these legal concepts to this case, we find that while the People was procedurally correct in filing its petition for certiorari under Rule 65, the petition does not raise any jurisdictional error committed by the Sandiganbayan.  On the contrary, what is clear is the obvious attempt by the People to have the evidence in the case reviewed by the Court under the guise of a Rule 65 petition. This much can be deduced by examining the petition itself which does not allege any bias, partiality or bad faith committed by the Sandiganbayan in its proceedings.  The petition does not also raise any denial of the People’s due process in the proceedings before the Sandiganbayan.

We observe, too, that the grounds relied in the petition relate to factual errors of judgment which are more appropriate in an ordinary appeal rather than in a Rule 65 petition. The grounds cited in the petition call for the Court’s own appreciation of the factual findings of the Sandiganbayan on the sufficiency of the People’s evidence in proving the element of bad faith, and the sufficiency of the evidence denying productivity bonus to Doller.

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