G.R. No. L-36599; February 2, 1932
LEON ABANILLA, petitioner-appellant, vs. PASTOR VILLAS, Acting Warden of the Leyte Provincial Jail, respondent-appellee.

FACTS

Petitioner Leon Abanilla was charged with theft of corn, a case within the jurisdiction of the justice of the peace. The original justice of the peace inhibited himself due to relationship to Abanilla but convicted Abanilla’s two co-accused. Those co-accused appealed, and the provincial fiscal moved for dismissal in the Court of First Instance, stating the acts constituted only a civil liability. Abanilla’s case was heard by another justice of the peace, who convicted him. Abanilla did not perfect an appeal and was imprisoned. He then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which was denied by the Court of First Instance, prompting this appeal.

ISSUE

Whether the writ of habeas corpus is available to release the petitioner from imprisonment under a final judgment of conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction.

RULING

No. The petition is dismissed. The writ of habeas corpus is not a remedy to review the merits of a conviction or to substitute for an appeal. It is unavailable when a person is lawfully detained under a final judgment rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction. The Court noted the disparity in outcome for Abanilla’s co-accused but held that such circumstance does not provide a legal basis for judicial interference via habeas corpus, suggesting executive clemency as the proper recourse.

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