Category Archives: Supreme Court

Disciplinary proceedings against lawyers initiated motu proprio by the Supreme Court under Rule 139-B, Section 13 do not involve a trial

Respondents’ requests for a hearing, for production/presentation of evidence bearing on the plagiarism and misrepresentation issues in G.R. No. 162230 and A.M. No. 10-7-17-SC, and for access to the records of A.M. No. 10-7-17-SC are unmeritorious. In the Common Compliance, … Continue reading

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Whether lawyers who are also law professors can invoke academic freedom as a defense in an administrative proceeding for intemperate statements tending to pressure the Court or influence the outcome of a case or degrade the courts.

The Show Cause Resolution does not interfere with respondents’ academic freedom.               It is not contested that respondents herein are, by law and jurisprudence, guaranteed academic freedom and undisputably, they are free to determine what they will teach … Continue reading

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In cases where the critics are not only citizens but members of the Bar, jurisprudence has repeatedly affirmed the authority of this Court to discipline lawyers whose statements regarding the courts and fellow lawyers, whether judicial or extrajudicial, have exceeded the limits of fair comment and common decency.

The Show Cause Resolution does not deny respondents their freedom of expression.           It is respondents’ collective claim that the Court, with the issuance of the Show Cause Resolution, has interfered with respondents’ constitutionally mandated right to free speech and … Continue reading

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Doctrine of Primary Jurisdiction and Judicial Review

Respondent asserts that the doctrine of primary jurisdiction “simply calls for the determination of administrative questions, which are ordinarily questions of fact, by administrative agencies rather than by courts of justice.”16 Citing Pimentel v. HRET,17 respondent avers that primary recourse … Continue reading

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Supreme Court has the power to review the lower courts’ findings of fact

The Supreme Court is the highest court of the land with the power to review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm on appeal or certiorari, as the law or the Rules of Court may provide, final judgments and orders of the … Continue reading

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