Madrid vs Dealca

A.C. No. 7474, September 9, 2014

BERSAMIN, J.:

Facts:
- Atty Dealca replaced Atty Judar in a Criminal case Republic vs Arsenault after the
latter filed a motion to withdraw as the counsel of the accused.
- Thereafter, Atty. Dealca also moved that the said criminal case be re-raffled to
another branch of RTC.
- The Presiding Judge, Judge Madrid denied Atty. Dealca’s motion to re-raffle since the
motion is an affront to the integrity of the court
- It turned out, that Atty. Dealca had filed Administrative Cases against Judge Madrid
from the past which were all dismissed by the Supreme Court for utter lack of merit
making Atty. Dealca’s baseless motions are purely personal whims that might derail
the smooth proceeding of the case.

Issue: Whether or not Atty Dealca violated Code of Professional Responsibility

Held: Yes.
- Atty Dealca violated, among the others, Canon 11 and Rule 11.04 of the Code of
Professional Responsibility
- Under Canon 11, he shall observe and respect due to the courts and judicial officers
- And under Rule 11.04, he shall not attribute to a judge motive not supported by the
record or does not have materiality to the issue
- Lawyers are expected to uphold the dignity and to promote confidence in the fair
administration of justice. The respect for the courts that guarantees the stability of
the judicial institution
- In the case at bar, Atty. Dealca did not include any pieces of evidence nor attached
documents that could have validated his allegations. Thus Atty. Dealca must
establish by clear and convincing evidence the ground of bias and prejudice in order
to disqualify Judge Madrid from participating in a particular trial. Clearly, his petition
is just to harass the court.
- While it is the Court’s duty to investigate and uncover the truth behind charges
against judges and lawyers, it is equally its duty to shield them from unfounded suits
that are intended to vex and harass them
- Therefore, he will be suspended for a period of 1 year for violating the Code of
Professional Responsibility with a STERN WARNING that any similar infraction in the future
will be dealt with more severely.