C8lS1C8AL vS LA88AuC8

MlCuLL C8lS1C8AL peLlLloner vs ALL!C LA88AuC8 L1 AL respondenLs C8 no 47941

uecember 7 1940

1 CCnS1l1u1lCnAL LAW A8uCnlnC CWL8 Cl CPlLl LxLCu1lvL aragraph 6 of
secLlon 11 of ArLlcle vll of our ConsLlLuLlon provldes (6) 1he resldenL shall have Lhe power Lo
granL reprleves commuLaLlons and pardons and remlL flnes and forfelLures afLer convlcLlon
for all offenses excepL ln cases of lmpeachmenL upon such condlLlons and wlLh such
resLrlcLlons and llmlLaLlons as he may deem proper Lo lmpose Pe shall have Lhe power Lo granL
amnesLy wlLh Lhe concurrence of Lhe naLlonal Assembly lL should be observed LhaL Lhere are
Lwo llmlLaLlons upon Lhe exerclse of Lhls consLlLuLlonal prerogaLlve by Lhe Chlef LxecuLlve
namely (a) LhaL Lhe power be exerclsed afLer convlcLlon and (b) LhaL such power does noL
exLend Lo cases of lmpeachmenL

Sub[ecL Lo Lhe llmlLaLlons lmposed by Lhe ConsLlLuLlon Lhe pardonlng power cannoL be
resLrlcLed of conLrolled by leglslaLlve acLlon lL musL remaln where Lhe soverelgn auLhorlLy has
placed lL and musL be exerclsed by Lhe hlghesL auLhorlLy Lo whom lL ls enLrusLed An absoluLe
pardon noL only bloLs ouL Lhe crlme commlLLed buL removes all dlsablllLles resulLlng from Lhe
convlcLlon

2 lu lu CASL A1 8A8 ln Lhe presenL case
O Lhe dlsablllLy ls Lhe resulL of convlcLlon wlLhouL Lhere would be no basls for dlsquallflcaLlon
from voLlng
O lmprlsonmenL ls noL Lhe only punlshmenL whlch Lhe law lmposes upon Lhose who vlolaLe lLs
command
O 1here are accessory and resulLanL dlsablllLles and Lhe pardonlng power llkewlse exLends Lo
such dlsablllLles
O When granLed afLer Lhe Lerm of lmprlsonmenL has explred absoluLe pardon removes all
LhaL ls lefL of Lhe consequences of convlcLlon
ln Lhe presenL case whlle Lhe pardon exLended Lo respondenL S ls condlLlonal ln Lhe sense LhaL
he wlll be ellglble for appolnLmenL only Lo poslLlons whlch are clerlcal or manual ln naLure
lnvolvlng no money or properLy responslblllLy |t |s abso|ute |n so far as |t restores the
respondent to fu|| c|v|| and po||t|ca| r|ghts (ardon LxhlblL 1 exLended uecember 24 1939)

Whlle Lhere are cases ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes whlch hold LhaL Lhe pardonlng power does noL
resLore Lhe prlvllege of voLlng Lhls ls because as sLaLed by Lhe learned [udge below ln Lhe
unlLed SLaLes Lhe rlghL of suffrage ls a maLLer excluslvely ln Lhe hands of Lhe SLaLe and noL ln
Lhe hands of Lhe lederal CovernmenL (declslon page 9) Lven Lhen Lhere are cases Lo Lhe
conLrary (!ones vs 8oard of reglsLrars 36 Mlss 766 PlldreLh vs PeaLh 1 l11 App 82) upon
Lhe oLher hand Lhe suggesLlon LhaL Lhe dlsquallflcaLlon lmposed ln paragraph (b) of secLlon 94
of CommonwealLh AcL no 337 does noL fall wlLhln Lhe purvlew of Lhe pardonlng power of Lhe
Chlef LxecuLlve would lead Lo Lhe lmpalrmenL of Lhe pardonlng power of Lhe Chlef LxecuLlve
noL conLemplaLed ln Lhe ConsLlLuLlon and would lead furLhermore Lo Lhe resulL LhaL Lhere
would be no way of resLorlng Lhe pollLlcal prlvllege ln a case of Lhls naLure excepL Lhrough
leglslaLlve acLlon

u L C l S l C n
LAu8LL ! p
1hls ls a peLlLlon for a wrlL of cerLlorarl Lo revlew Lhe declslon of Lhe CourL of llrsL lnsLance of
8lzal ln lLs elecLlon case no 7890 rendered on november 28 1940 susLalnlng Lhe rlghL of
1eofllo C SanLos Lo remaln ln Lhe llsL of reglsLered voLers ln preclncL no 11 of Lhe munlclpallLy
of Malabon rovlnce of 8lzal
1he anLecedenLs whlch form Lhe facLual background of Lhls elecLlon conLroversy are brlefly
narraLed as follows
O Cn March 13 1930 Lhe CourL of llrsL lnsLance of 8lzal found @eof||o C Santos respondenL
hereln gullLy of Lhe crlme of esLafa and senLenced hlm Lo slx monLhs of arresLo mayor and
Lhe accessorles provlded by law Lo reLurn Lo Lhe offended parLles 1orlblo Alarcon and
Lmlllo 8aymundo Lhe amounLs 373 and 123 respecLlvely wlLh subsldlary lmprlsonmenL
ln case of lnsolvency and Lo pay Lhe cosLs
O Cn appeal Lhls courL on uecember 20 1930 conflrmed Lhe [udgmenL of convlcLlon
O Accordlngly he was conflned ln Lhe provlnclal [all of aslg 8lzal from March 14 1932 Lo
AugusL 18 1932 and pald Lhe correspondlng cosLs of Lrlal
O As Lo hls clvll llablllLy conslsLlng ln Lhe reLurn of Lhe Lwo amounLs aforesLaLed Lhe same was
condoned by Lhe complalnanLs
O noLwlLhsLandlng hls convlcLlon @eof||o C Santos conLlnued Lo be a reglsLered elecLor ln Lhe
munlclpallLy of Malabon 8lzal and was for Lhe perlod comprlsed beLween 1934 and 1937
seaLed as Lhe munlclpal presldenL of LhaL munlclpallLy
O Cn AugusL 22 1938 Commonwea|th Act No 3S7 oLherwlse known as the L|ect|on Code
was approved by Lhe naLlonal Assembly section 94 poroqroph {b) of which disquo/ifies the
respondent from votinq for hovinq been dec/ored by fino/ judqment qui/ty of ony crime
oqoinst property
O ln vlew of Lhls provlslon Lhe respondenL forLhwlLh applled Lo Pls Lxcellency Lhe resldenL
for an absoluLe pardon hls peLlLlon bearlng daLe of AugusL 13 1939 upon Lhe favorable
recommendaLlon of Lhe SecreLary of !usLlce Lhe Chlef LxecuLlve on ecember 24 1939
qronted the soid petition restorinq the respondent to his fu// civi/ ond po/itico/ riqhts
except thot with respect to the riqht to ho/d pub/ic office or emp/oyment he wi// be
e/iqib/e for oppointment on/y to positions which ore c/erico/ or monuo/ in noture ond
invo/vinq no money or property responsibi/ity
O Cn november 16 1940 Lhe hereln peLlLloner ,|gue| Cr|stoba| fi/ed o petition for the
exc/usion of the nome of 1eofi/o c 5ontos from the /ist of voters in precinct No 11 of
Mo/obon kito/ on the qround thot the /otter is disquo/ified under poroqroph {b) of section
94 of commonweo/th 4ct No l57
O AfLer hearlng Lhe courL below rendered lLs declslon on november 28 1940 Lhe dlsposlLlve
porLlon of whlch reads as follows
WlLhouL golng furLher lnLo a dlscusslon of all Lhe oLher mlnor polnLs and quesLlons ralsed by
Lhe peLlLloner the court dec/ores thot the pordon extended in fovor of the respondent on
uecember 24 19l9 hos hod the effect of exc/udinq the respondent from the disquo/ificotion
creoted by section 94 subsection {b) of the New /ection code 1he petition for exc/usion of
the respondent 1eofi/o c 5ontos shou/d be os it hereby is denied
LeL Lhere be no cosLs

eLlLloner CrlsLobal has flled Lhe presenL peLlLlon for cerLlorarl ln whlch he lmpugns Lhe declslon
of Lhe courL below on Lhe several grounds sLaLed ln Lhe peLlLlon
lL ls Lhe contention of the petitioner tbot tbe potJoo qtooteJ by nls xcelleocy tbe lteslJeot of
tbe lblllpploes to tbe tespooJeot 1eofllo c 5ootos JlJ oot testote tbe solJ tespooJeot to tbe
foll eojoymeot of bls polltlcol tlqbts becoose (o) tbe potJooloq powet of tbe cblef xecotlve
Joes oot opply to leqlslotlve ptoblbltloos (b) tbe potJooloq powet bete woolJ omooot to oo
oolowfol exetclse by tbe cblef xecotlve of o leqlslotlve fooctloo ooJ (c) tbe tespooJeot bovloq
setveJ bls seoteoce ooJ oll tbe occessoty peooltles lmposeJ by low tbete wos ootbloq to
potJoo
All Lhese proposlLlons lnvolve an lnqulry lnLo Lhe prlmary quesLlon of Lhe naLure and exLenL of
Lhe pardonlng power vesLed ln Lhe Chlef LxecuLlve of Lhe naLlon by Lhe ConsLlLuLlon
aragraph 6 of secLlon 11 of ArLlcle vll of our ConsLlLuLlon provldes
(6) 1he resldenL shall have Lhe power Lo granL reprleves commuLaLlons and pardons and
remlL flnes and forfelLures afLer convlcLlon for all offenses excepL ln cases of lmpeachmenL
upon such condlLlons and wlLh such resLrlcLlons and llmlLaLlons as he may deem pro Lo lmpose
Pe shall have Lhe power Lo granL amnesLy wlLh Lhe concurrence of Lhe naLlonal Assembly
lL should be observed LhaL Lhere are Lwo llmlLaLlons upon Lhe exerclse of Lhls consLlLuLlonal
prerogaLlve by Lhe Chlef LxecuLlve namely (a) LhaL Lhe power be exerclsed afLer convlcLlon
and (b) LhaL such power does noL exLend cases of lmpeachmenL
O Sub[ecL Lo Lhe llmlLaLlons lmposed by Lhe ConsLlLuLlon Lhe pardonlng power cannoL be
resLrlcLed or conLrolled by leglslaLlve acLlon
O lL musL remaln where Lhe soverelgn auLhorlLy has placed lL and musL be exerclsed by Lhe
hlghesL auLhorlLy Lo whom lL ls enLrusLed
O An absoluLe pardon noL only bloLs ouL Lhe crlme commlLLed buL removes all dlsablllLles
resulLlng from Lhe convlcLlon
ln Lhe presenL case Lhe dlsablllLy ls Lhe resulL of convlcLlon wlLhouL whlch Lhere would be no
basls for dlsquallflcaLlon from voLlng
O lmprlsonmenL ls noL Lhe only punlshmenL whlch Lhe law lmposes upon Lhose who vlolaLe lLs
command
O 1here are accessory and resulLanL dlsablllLles and Lhe pardonlng power llkewlse exLends Lo
such dlsablllLles
O When granLed afLer Lhe Lerm of lmprlsonmenL has explred absoluLe pardon removes all
LhaL ls lefL of Lhe consequences f convlcLlon
O ln Lhe presenL case wblle tbe potJoo exteoJeJ to tespooJeot 5ootos ls cooJltloool lo tbe
seose tbot be wlll be ellqlble fot oppolotmeot ooly to posltloos wblcb o e cletlcol ot mooool
lo ootote lovolvloq oo mooey ot ptopetty tespooslblllty lt ls obsolote losofot os lt testotes
tbe tespooJeot to foll clvll ooJ polltlcol tlqbts (ardon LxhlblL 1 exLended uecember 24
1939)
O Whlle Lhere are cases ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes whlch hold LhaL Lhe pardonlng power does noL
resLore Lhe prlvllege of voLlng Lhls ls because as sLaLed by Lhe learned [udge below ln Lhe
unlLed SLaLes Lhe rlghL of suffrage ls a maLLer excluslvely ln Lhe hands of Lhe SLaLe and noL
ln Lhe hands of Lhe lederal CovernmenL (ueclslon page 9) Lven Lhen Lhere are cases Lo
Lhe conLrary (!ones v 8oard of 8eglsLrars 36 Mlss 766 PlldreLh v PeaLh 1 lll App 82)
upon oLher hand Lhe suggesLlon LhaL Lhe dlsquallflcaLlon lmposed ln paragraph (b) of
secLlon 94 of CommonwealLh AcL no 337 does noL fall wlLhln Lhe purvlew of Lhe pardonlng
power of Lhe Chlef LxecuLlve would lead Lo Lhe lmpalrmenL of Lhe pardonlng power of Lhe
Chlef LxecuLlve noL conLemplaLed ln Lhe ConsLlLuLlon and would lead furLhermore Lo Lhe
resulL LhaL Lhere would be no way of resLorlng Lhe pollLlcal prlvllege ln a case of Lhls naLure
excepL Lhrough leglslaLlve acLlon

Avancena C ! lmperlal and ulaz !! concur
MALACARAn ALACL
MAnlLA
8? 1PL 8LSluLn1 Cl 1PL PlLllnLS
8y vlrLue of Lhe auLhorlLy conferred upon me by Lhe ConsLlLuLlon and upon Lhe
recommendaLlon of Lhe Ponorable Lhe SecreLary of !usLlce 1eofllo C SanLos convlcLed by Lhe
CourL of llrsL lnsLance of 8lzal of Lhe crlme of esLafa and senLenced Lo suffer lmprlsonmenL for
a Lerm of slx monLhs wlLh Lhe accessorles of Lhe law and Lo reLurn Lo Lhe offended parLles
1orlblo Alarcon Lhe amounL of 373 and Lo Lmlllo 8aymundo Lhe amounL of 123 or Lo suffer
Lhe correspondlng subsldlary lmprlsonmenL ln case of lnsolvency and Lo pay Lhe cosLs of Lhe
proceedlngs ls hereby resLored Lo full clvll and pollLlcal rlghLs excepL LhaL wlLh respecL Lo Lhe
rlghLs Lo hold publlc offlce or employmenL he wlll be ellglble for appolnLmenL only Lo poslLlons
whlch are clerlcal or manual ln naLure lnvolvlng no money or properLy responslblllLy
Clven under my hand aL Lhe ClLy of Manlla hlllpplnes Lhls 24Lh day of uecember ln Lhe year
of Cur Lord nlneLeen hundred and LhlrLynlne and of Lhe CommonwealLh of Lhe hlllpplnes
Lhe flfLh
(Sgd) MAnuLL L CuLZCn

8y Lhe resldenL
(Sgd) !C8CL 8 vA8CAS
SecreLary Lo Lhe resldenL

La mayorla de esLe 1rlbunal fundada en el decreLo de lndulLo oplna
An absoluLe pardon noL only bloLs ouL Lhe crlme commlLLed buL removes all dlsablllLles
resulLlng from Lhe convlcLlon ln Lhe presenL case Lhe dlsablllLy ls Lhe resulL of convlcLlon
wlLhouL whlch Lhere would be no basls for dlsquallflcaLlon from voLlng lmprlsonmenL ls noL Lhe
only punlshmenL whlch Lhe law lmposes upon Lhose who vlolaLe lLs command 1here are
accessory and resulLanL dlsablllLles and Lhe pardonlng power llkewlse exLends Lo such
dlsablllLles When granLed afLer Lhe Lerm of lmprlsonmenL has explred absoluLe pardon
removes all LhaL ls lefL of Lhe consequences of convlcLlon ln Lhe presenL case whlle Lhe pardon
exLended Lo respondenL SanLos ls condlLlonal ln Lhe sense LhaL he wlll be ellglble for
appolnLmenL only Lo poslLlons whlch are clerlcal or manual ln naLure lnvolvlng no money or
properLy responslblllLy lL ls absoluLe lnsofar afLer lL resLores Lhe respondenL of full clvll and
pollLlcal rlghLs (ardon LxhlblL 1 exLended uecember 24 1939) Whlle Lhere are cases ln Lhe
unlLed SLaLes whlch hold LhaL Lhe pardonlng power does noL resLore Lhe prlvllege of voLlng Lhls
ls because as sLaLed by Lhe learned [udge below ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes Lhe rlghL of suffrage ls a
maLLer excluslvely ln Lhe hands of Lhe SLaLe and noL ln Lhe hands of Lhe lederal CovernmenL
(ueclslon page 9) Lven Lhen Lhere are cases Lo Lhe conLrary (!ones v 8oard of 8eglsLrars 36
Mlss 766 PlldreLh v PeaLh 1 lll App 82)
upon Lhe oLher hand Lhe suggesLlon LhaL Lhe dlsquallflcaLlon lmposed ln paragraph (b) of
secLlon 94 of CommonwealLh AcL no 337 does noL fall wlLhln Lhe purvlew of Lhe pardonlng
power of Lhe Chlef LxecuLlve would lead Lo Lhe lmpalrmenL of Lhe pardonlng power of Lhe
Chlef LxecuLlve noL conLemplaLed ln Lhe ConsLlLuLlon and would lead furLhermore Lo Lhe
resulL LhaL Lhere would be no way of resLorlng Lhe pollLlcal prlvllege ln a case of Lhls naLure
excepL Lhrough leglslaLlve acLlon
SecLlon 32 8 CperaLlon 11 ln Ceneral When a full and absoluLe pardon ls granLed lL
exempLs Lhe lndlvldual upon whom lL ls besLowed from Lhe punlshmenL whlch Lhe law lnfllcLs
for Lhe crlme whlch he has commlLLed 1he crlme ls forglven and remlLLed and Lhe lndlvldual ls
relleved from all of lLs legal consequences 1he effecL of a full pardon ls Lo make Lhe offender a
new man Whlle a pardon has generally been regarded as bloLLlng ouL Lhe exlsLence of gullL so
LhaL ln Lhe eye of Lhe law Lhe offender ls as lnnocenL as lf he had never commlLLed Lhe offense
lL does noL so operaLe for all purposes and as Lhe very essence of a pardon ls forglveness or
remlsslon of penalLy a pardon lmplles gullL lL does noL obllLeraLe Lhe facL of Lhe commlsslon of
Lhe crlme and Lhe convlcLlon Lhereof lL does noL wash ouL Lhe moral sLaln as has been Lersely
sald lL lnvolves forglveness and noL forgeLfulness
Ln SLaLe of WashlngLon v Llnda 8urfleld Pazzard 47 A L 8 pp 340341 el 1rlbunal Supremo
de WashlngLon dl[o
ardons may relleve from Lhe dlsablllLy of flnes and forfelLures aLLendanL upon a convlcLlon
buL Lhey cannoL erase Lhe sLaln of bad characLer whlch has been deflnlLely flxed (SLaLe v
Serfllng 131 Wash 603 230 ac 847)
ln 8aldl v CllchrlsL 204 App ulv 423 198 n ? Supp 493 a pardoned felon was denled a
llcense Lo operaLe a Laxlcab upon Lhe ground LhaL hls prevlous convlcLlon of crlme esLabllshed a
bad characLer 1he Supreme CourL sald
8espondenL conLends LhaL because he was pardoned by Lhe Covernor no furLher
consequences should follow hls convlcLlon of crlme 8uL Lhe execuLlve acL dld noL obllLeraLe Lhe
facL of Lhe convlcLlon As was sald ln 8oberLs v SLaLe 160 n ? 217 34 n L 678 13 Am Crlm
8ep 361
lL ls manlfesL LhaL Lhe appellanLs pardon and resLoraLlon Lo Lhe rlghLs of clLlzenshlp had no
reLroacLlve effecL upon Lhe [udgmenL of convlcLlon whlch remalns unreversed and has noL been
seL aslde We Lhlnk Lhe effecL of a pardon ls Lo relleve Lhe offender of all unenforced penalLles
annexed Lo Lhe convlcLlon buL whaL Lhe parLy convlcLed has already endured or pald Lhe
pardon does noL resLore When lL Lakes effecL lL puLs an end Lo any furLher lnfllcLlon of
punlshmenL buL has no operaLlon upon Lhe porLlon of Lhe senLence already execuLed A pardon
proceeds noL upon Lhe Lheory of lnnocence buL lmplles gullL
ln eople ex rel ueneen v Cllmore 214 lll 369 69 L 8 A 701 73 n L 737 lL was held LhaL a
pardon lssued Lo an aLLorney afLer convlcLlon and senLence dld noL efface Lhe moral LurplLude
esLabllshed by convlcLlon Lhe courL saylng 1he crlme of whlch Lhe respondenL was convlcLed
and lmprlsoned ln Lhe penlLenLlary of Lhe sLaLe of Mlssourl was an lnfamous offense whlch
lnvolved noL only moral LurplLude buL also Lhe lack of professlonal lnLegrlLy 1he convlcLlon of
LhaL crlme had Lhe effecL Lo degrade hlm and Lo esLabllsh LhaL he was of bad moral characLer
as a man and as a lawyer 1he pardon granLed hlm by Lhe Lhen acLlng Covernor of Lhe sLaLe of
Mlssourl dld noL efface Lhe moral LurplLude and wanL of professlonal honesLy lnvolved ln Lhe
crlme nor obllLeraLe Lhe sLaln upon hls moral characLer
ln 8e Spenser 3 Sawy 193 led Cas no 13234 Lhe courL was called upon Lo declde wheLher
a pardon obllLeraLed and wlped ouL Lhe facL of convlcLlon of crlme so LhaL lL could noL be urged
agalnsL an appllcanL for clLlzenshlp lL was Lhere sald
1he offender ls purged of hls gullL and LhenceforLh he ls an lnnocenL man buL Lhe pasL ls noL
obllLeraLed nor Lhe facL LhaL he had commlLLed Lhe crlme wlped ouL
Apply Lhese prlnclples Lo Lhls case 8y Lhe commlsslon of Lhe crlme Lhe appllcanL was gullLy of
mlsbehavlor wlLhln Lhe meanlng of Lhe sLaLuLe durlng hls resldence ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes 1he
pardon has absolved hlm from Lhe gullL of Lhe acL and relleved hlm from Lhe legal dlsablllLles
consequenL Lhereupon 8uL lL has noL done away wlLh Lhe facL of hls convlcLlon lL does noL
operaLe reLrospecLlvely 1he answer Lo Lhe quesLlon Pas he behaved as a man of good moral
characLer? musL sLlll be ln Lhe negaLlve for Lhe facL remalns noLwlLhsLandlng Lhe pardon LhaL
Lhe appllcanL was gullLy of Lhe crlme of per[ury dld behave oLherwlse Lhan as a man of good
moral characLer (Las curslvas son nuesLras)
Ln SLaLe v CranL 133 ALl 8ep pag 791 se declaro
A pardon ls noL presumed Lo be granLed on Lhe ground of lnnocence or LoLal reformaLlon lL
removes Lhe dlsablllLy buL does noL change Lhe commonlaw prlnclple LhaL Lhe convlcLlon of an
lnfamous offense ls evldence of bad characLer for LruLh (Las curslvas son nuesLras)
Ln la declslon promulgada el 19 de febrero de 1917 en el caso de eople v MclnLyre 163 n ?
S 328329 se dl[o
LhaL Lhe Covernor may granL a pardon whlch shall relleve from a [udgmenL of hablLual
crlmlnallLy buL upon subsequenL convlcLlon for felony of a person so pardoned a [udgmenL of
hablLual crlmlnallLy may agaln be pronounced a pardon whlle rellevlng from Lhe penalLy of an
offense does noL change Lhe facL LhaL Lhe one pardoned had been convlcLed and ln a
prosecuLlon for a subsequenL offense Lhe offense of whlch he was pardoned may be shown Lo
esLabllsh hls hablLual crlmlnallLy (Las curslvas son nuesLras)
Ln unlLed SLaLes v SwlfL 186 led 8ep p 1003 hallamos lo que slgue
8 ardon (Sec l ) naLure of ardon AmnesLy A pardon or amnesLy secures
agalnsL Lhe consequences of ones acLs and noL agalnsL Lhe acLs of Lhemselves lL lnvolves
forglveness noL forgeLfulness
1enemos pues que la lnfamla que el dellLo lmprlme en el reo no puede ser borrada por el
lndulLo no hay en las fuenLes de la pledad crlsLlana mas acendrada aguas suflclenLes que
puedan lavarla
1L8CL8A CCnCLuSlCn
Cue el lnclso (b) del arLlculo 94 del Codlgo LlecLoral no es proplamenLe hablando una pena nl
una lncapacldad (dlsablllLy) resulLanLe de la convlcclon del recurrldo
Ll oder LeglslaLlvo al lncorporar en el Codlgo LlecLoral el lnclso (b) del arLlculo 94 del mlsmo
cuerpo legal no Luvo en cuenLa o mas claramenLe no se referla de un modo slngular al
recurrldo SanLos ulcho lnclso es una dlsposlclon general que el LsLado haclendo uso de sus
poderes de pollcla medlanLe el poder correspondlenLe del mlsmo el leglslaLlvo ha dlcLado
como medlda de prevlslon y proLecclon conLra los que por su Lorpeza moral probada puedan
adulLerar la pureza del sufraglo unlca fuenLe del poder en las uemocraclas
Ln Pawker v new ?ork 170 u S 189) el acusado era un medlco que habla sldo convlcLo del
dellLo de aborLo y senLenclado a dlez anos de prlslon en el ano 1878 Pablendo e[ercldo la
medlclna despues de exLlngulr su condena a pesar de la prohlblclon de una ley de la LeglslaLura
de nueva ?ork promulgada el 9 de mayo de 1893 relaLlva a la salud publlca y que se lee asl
any person who afLer convlcLlon of a felony shall aLLempL Lo pracLlce medlclne or shall so
pracLlce shall be gullLy of a mlsdemeanor and on convlcLlon Lhereof shall be punlshed by a
flne of noL more Lhan Lwo hundred and flfLy dollars or lmprlsonmenL for slx monLhs for Lhe flrsL
offense and on convlcLlon of any subsequenL offense by a flne of noL more Lhan flve hundred
dollars or lmprlsonmenL for noL less Lhan one year or by boLh flne and lmprlsonmenL
dlcho acusado fue procesado en abrll de 1896 por lnfracclon de la clLada ley Pablendo sldo
convlcLo apelo de la senLencla para anLe el 1rlbunal de Apelaclones del LsLado de nueva ?ork
el cual conflrmo el fallo del Lrlbunal de orlgen LnLonces presenLo un wrlL of errors en el
1rlbunal Supremo de los LsLados unldos que conflrmoo a su vez el fallo apelado y en su
senLencla enLre oLras cosas dl[o
uoubLless one who has vlolaLed Lhe crlmlnal law may LhereafLer reform and become ln facL
possessed of a good moral characLer 8uL Lhe leglslaLure has power ln cases of Lhls klnd Lo make
a rule of unlversal appllcaLlon and no lnqulry ls permlsslble back of Lhe rule Lo ascerLaln
wheLher Lhe facL of whlch Lhe rule ls made Lhe absoluLe LesL does or does noL exlsL lllusLraLlons
of Lhls are abundanL AL common law one convlcLed of crlme was lncompeLenL as a wlLness
and Lhls rule was ln no manner affecLed by Lhe lapse of Llme slnce Lhe commlsslon of Lhe
offense and could noL be seL aslde by proof of a compleLe reformaLlon So ln many SLaLes a
convlcL ls debarred Lhe prlvlleges of an elecLor and an acL so debarrlng was held appllcable Lo
one convlcLed before lLs passage (WashlngLon v SLaLe 73 Alabama 382) (Supra 197)