People v. Acosta

11 P.R. 240
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico·Decided June 29, 1906·No. No. 8·Published

Opinion

Ms. Justice Wole

delivered the opinion of the conrt.

An information filed in the District Conrt of Hnmacao against Cándido Acosta, Anselmo Acosta and Viviano Alicea and Antonio Acosta for the crime of mnrder in the first degree, and the essential part of the information- reads as follows: . ,

“That on or about tbe night of the 26th. or 27th of September, 1905, in tbe perpetration of a burglary .by tbe accused, Cándido Acosta, Anselmo Acosta, Viviano Alicea and Antonio Acosta, in tbe store of Tomás Caballero, in Caguas, and within tbe judicial district of Humacao, P. B., the said accused persons, Cándido Acosta, Anselmo Acosta, Viviano Alicea and Antonio Acosta, then and there illegally and with malice aforethought, killed and assassinated the said Tomás Caballero, inflicting many wounds upon him with a sharp instrument, from the result of which he died within a few moments. This act is contrary to .the form, efficacy and purpose of the law for such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of The People of Porto. Bico.”

When the case was called for trial Viviano Alicea was sick, and at the request of the fiscal, the court ordered that he be tried separately. The case against the other three accused persons was tried before-a jury which found as follows:

“We the jury find the prisoners, Cándido Acosta, Anselmo Acosta, and Antonio Acosta, guilty of the crime of murder in the first degree. ’ ’

[242]*242■' By’reason of this verdict the court sentenced the prisoners to the penalty of death, and from this sentence the defendants have, prosecuted an appeal to this court. Being unrepresented by counsel in this court, an attorney was appointed to represent them, who'aslced to be relieved of the responsibility .and the court acceded to this request. Subsequently the court ■appointed Attorney N. Pérez Moris to represent .the appellants. The attorney thus appointed has shown considerable zeal and industry in the performance of what was necessarily a disagreeable and arduous duty. It is, however, to be regretted that he should have gone out of his way to criticise not only the previous actions of this court, but also to impugn the actions, and possibly the motives of the judge who tried the case in Humacao. We cannot but censure the character of the comments made by the attorney for the appellants with respect to the instructions given by the court below, and there is nothing in the record to justify such comments.. Counsel is also under a misapprehension of what the function of the Supreme Court of Porto Bico is, when he complains of the refusal of this court to add to the record the stenographic notes taken at the trial below. The powers of this court are those that aré defined by the Organic Act, and the laws subsequently passed by the Legislature of Porto Rico, and it has no other powers of revision than those conferred upon it -by such Act and such Legislature. It is to the Code of Criminal Procedure and the laws made in connection with the same, or altering them that we must look for the methods and manner of ■correcting the proceedings or errors of the trial court.

Section 356 of the Code of Criminal Procedure prescribes what the secretary of the district court should remit to the Supreme Court. If the law directs or allows a person accused of crime to avail himself of certain exceptions for the purposes of an appeal he must nevertheless perfect the transcript or record required of him in the manner which the law prescribes.

The record before us contains certain essential things. [243]*243It does not contain the proof taken at the trial, bnt tbis omission is explained by tbe certificates of tbe secretary that no statement of facts or bill of exceptions bad been presented to tbe court.

It is always a matter of serious regret, especially in a criminal case, if tbe attorney for a defendant fails to save in a proper bill of exceptions or otherwise tbe state of tbe evidence. Tbe legal aspects of tbis question bave been considered by ns in various cases, notably tbe cases of The People of Porto Rico v. Juan de Mata Eligier, People of Porto Rico v. Francisco Dones, People of Porto Rico v. Felipe Robles, and People of Porto Rico v. Julio Rafael Brenes. Tbis court cannot make tbe record. We can only pass upon tbe record as presented to us. The People of Porto Rico v. Brenes is authority for what constitutes a record on appeal. Tbe record having been made tbe attorney for tbe appellants bad merely to take the record as be found it, and add to it if there was any legal way of doing so, and to- point out errors, if any, which were to be found in the transcript as finally constituted.

Tbe appellant alleges that tbe trial court was incompetent substantially for the reasons that such court was required by section 33 of tbe Organic Act to continue composed of three judges until changed by tbe law of Congress. Tbis question has been decided by this court in tbe case of The People of Porto Rico v. James E. Kent. It was also one of tbe reasons assigned in tbe application for tbe writ of habeas corpus in the case of The People of Porto Rico v. Francisco Dones, and tbe order of this court denying the application for tbe firrit of habeas corpus has been affirmed by tbe Supreme Court of tbe United States, and tbe question is finally closed.

Tbe second question raised by tbe appellant is that there was no indictment by a grand jury as is required by tbe fifth amendment to tbe Constitution of tbe United States. Tbe facie of a grand jury in Porto Eico for tbe purposes' of presentment would not avail the' appellant, and it has been held in the case of Hawaii v. Mankichi, 190 U. S..Reports, page- 207, [244]*244that the conviction of one who was tried on information and convicted by a jury not .unanimous, in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Hawaii is legal, notwithstanding that it was not in compliance with the provisions of the fifth and sixth amendments to the Constitution of the United States. It is authority for holding that the fifth amendment to the Constitution cannot be held to apply to Porto Rico without direct legislation for that purpose.

The attorney for appellants next alleges error because the fiscal did not present with the information the diligencias or criminal information. Counsel relies on sections 98 and 131 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, but there is nothing in either of these sections of the law which requires such action on the part of the fiscal. Section 98 refers to the proceedings before a justice of peace, but we have decided in the case of The People of Porto Rico v. Antonio Paz that the fiscal need not begin proceedings before such officer. Section 131 relates to the arraignment of the defendant and has apparently nothing to do with the matter under discussion. The Code of Criminal Procedure makes the proceedings in the District Court begin with the information. See section 67 of that Code.

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People v. Acosta, 11 P.R. 240 (prsupreme 1906).

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