ATTY. DANIEL O. OSUMO VS. JUDGE RODOLFO M. SERRANO A.M. NO. RTJ-00-1607. APRIL 3, 2002

Facts: A complaint was filed against respondent judge in connection with a criminal case for Murder with Multiple Frustrated Murder pending in his sala. Complainant is the private prosecutor in the above-mentioned criminal case. He alleged that respondent judge, after denying the accused’s demurrer to evidence without prior leave of court, set the continuation of the hearing for the reception of defense evidence, in disregard of Rule 119, Section 15 of the Rules of Court. Complainant contends that the demurrer to evidence without prior leave of court amounted to a waiver of the right to present evidence upon denial thereof. Thus, the prosecution filed a motion to submit the case for judgment, which was however denied. Moreover, respondent judge failed to resolve the prosecution’s formal offer of evidence.

Respondent judge filed his Comment, arguing that while a demurrer to evidence without prior leave of court amounted to a waiver of the right to present evidence, the accused in Criminal Case No. 2693 was charged with the heinous crime of Murder with Multiple Frustrated Murder. Hence, procedural rules should not prevail over the right of the accused to be heard.


Issue: Is the judge liable for gross ignorance of law?


Held: Yes. Observance of the law which he is bound to know and swore to uphold is required of every judge. When the law is sufficiently basic, a judge owes it to his office to simply apply it; anything less than that would be constitutive of gross ignorance of the law. In short, when the law is so elementary, not to be aware of it constitutes gross ignorance of the law.

The filing of the demurrer to evidence without leave of court and its subsequent denial results in the submission of the case for judgment on the basis of the evidence on record. Considering that the governing rules on demurrer to evidence is a fundamental component of criminal procedure, respondent judge had the obligation to observe the same, regardless of the gravity of the offense charged. It is not for him to grant concessions to the accused who failed to obtain prior leave of court. The rule is clear that upon the denial of the demurrer to evidence in this case, the accused, who failed to ask for leave of court, shall waive the right to present evidence in his behalf.