People v. García
People v. García
Opinion of the Court
delivered the following opinion of the court:
This is an appeal taken by Juan García and José Sierra, from a judgment rendered by the District Court of San Juan, in a case wherein the defendants were prosecuted for disturbing the peace; said defendants subsequently applied for a writ of habeas corpios which was granted, and on the hearing the court refused to discharge them. It appears that the defendants took an appeal from both decisions. In this case the defendants were accused of the crime of robbery or burglary, but at the trial they were acquitted of that crime and convicted of disturbing the public peace. The name of J esús García appears in the record sometimes as Juan García and at others as José García. Regarding these two points, after the conviction and imprisonment in jail of the defendants, their counsel, Juan R. Ramos, Esq., filed a petition in the District Court of San Juan, asking for a writ of habeas corpus, and setting out:
First. — That the defendants could not be accused of one crime and convicted of another; that they should have been either convicted or acquitted of the crime whereof they had been accused and of no other.
Second. — That the person sentenced to imprisonment and to pay the costs, was not Jesús Sierra, but José Sierra.
From the record it is not made very clear whether the intention was to appeal from the order refusing to release the prisoners, under the writ of habeas corpus, or from the judgment finding them guilty. Indeed, it may be inferred that the intention was to pursue both appeals. As to the appeal from the judgment of the court which found the defendants guilty of the crime of disturbing the public peace, and sentenced them to imprisonment and payment of costs, this court is not competent to determine the same, inasmuch as such a crime is only a misdemeanor, over which offenses this court has no jurisdiction, as has been definitely held in decisions heretofore rendered. It appears that the court was under the impression that inasmuch as it had made an order, after rendering judgment in the case, which might be considered prejudicial to the defendants, the appeal could be taken under paragraph 3 of section 347 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; but this paragraph
After what has been said, there remains only one point to consider, that is to say whether or not the error regarding the defendant’s name is sufficient to make the judgment inapplicable to him, and render his release necessary. The court clearly declares in the judgment, that he is the person accused, and that he had been tried and convicted in the case under consideration; and inasmuch as this is merely a question of identity and not of nomenclature, the court refused to release the prisoner, and again committed him to the custody of the warden.
This court has carefully examined the record and fails to find any error of law whether urged by counsel or not, and considering the merits of the case, and all the objections made, this court is of opinion that the judgment of the district court should be affirmed and enforced. Therefore, the judgment of this court shall be rendered in accordance with the foregoing.
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.