US v.

Catolico
[GR No. L-6486, March 02, 1911]
Judge acquitted with public malversation of funds
Recit-Ready:
Accused is a justice of peace who was charged with public malversation of funds because of pure
mistake of judgment, an error of the mind operating upon a state of facts. The Court ruled in favor of
the acquittal of the accused stating that the accused only acted in belief that he was performing his
judicial duties and with no intent of using public funds for himself or for others. The court also cited
the maxim actus non facit reum, nisi mens rea which means a crime is not committed if the mind of
the person performing the act complained of be innocent.
Facts:
- Accused is a justice of peace in Baggao, Cagayan charged funds with gross malversation of
- He had before him sixteen separate civil cases for damages which he all granted
- Accused required all plaintiffs in the cases to pay P16 as required by the court and P50 as
bonds
- The plaintiffs in the cases alleged that the sureties in the said bonds were insolvent
- The accused then cancelled the bonds and ordered the appellants to file another bond
- None of the defendants at that time filed new bonds but the accused still issued a final
decision upon the petition of the plaintiffs with
- The Attorney General recommends to acquit the accused due to the facts of the case
Issue:
- Did the accused commit gross malversation of public funds
Held/Ratio:
- The Supreme Court held the accused to be acquitted because his error in judgment does not equate
to committing a crime. According to the SC accused did not convert the money to his own use or to
the use of any other person; neither did he feloniously permit anybody else to convert it. Everything
he did was done in good faith under the belief that he was acting judicially and correctly. To
constitute a crime, the act must, except in certain crimes made such by statute, be accompanied by a
criminal intent, or by such negligence or indifference to duty or to consequences, as, in law, is
equivalent to criminal intent. The maxim is, actus non facit reum, nisi mens rea a crime is not
committed if the mind of the person performing the act complained of be innocent.