This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2007-02-21 |
QUISUMBING, J. |
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| As we have previously held in People v. Serrano, Sr.:[36] A verdict of acquittal is immediately final and a reexamination of the merits of such acquittal, even in the appellate courts, will put the accused in jeopardy for the same offense. The finality-of-acquittal doctrine has several avowed purposes. Primarily, it prevents the State from using its criminal processes as an instrument of harassment to wear out the accused by a multitude of cases with accumulated trials. It also serves the additional purpose of precluding the State, following an acquittal, from successively retrying the defendant in the hope of securing a conviction. And finally, it prevents the State, following conviction, from retrying the defendant again in the hope of securing a greater penalty.[37] In People v. Velasco,[38] we stressed that an acquitted defendant is entitled to the right of repose as a direct consequence of the finality of his acquittal. Hence, it cannot be disputed that the verdict of the Court of Appeals acquitting Ramon Galicia is now final and irreviewable.[39] | |||||