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PEOPLE vs CA, et al.

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, petitioner, vs. COURT OF APPEALS and CASAN MAQUILING, respondents.

G.R. No. 128986 | 1999-06-21

D E C I S I O N


PANGANIBAN, J.:

The rule against double jeopardy proscribes an appeal from a judgment of acquittal. If said judgment is assailed in a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court, as in the present case, the petitioner must prove that the lower court, in acquitting the accused, committed not merely reversible errors, but grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. A judgment rendered with grave abuse of discretion or without due process is void, does not exist in legal contemplation and, thus, cannot be the source of an acquittal. However, where the petition demonstrate mere...