A lady lawyer who claimed she could influence Court of Appeals justices in an illegal drugs case, collected a huge amount of money from a client, and fabricated a court decision was disbarred by the Supreme Court.
Stripped of her license to practice law was Marie Frances E. Ramon who was found guilty of grave misconduct and violations of the Lawyer’s Oath and the Code of Professional Responsibility.
Her disbarment was without prejudice to the filing of criminal and civil cases against her, the SC Public Information Office said.
The PIO said the SC “adopted the findings of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Commission and the recommendation of the IBP Board.”
It said the complaint against Ramon was filed by CA Associate Justices Fernanda Lampas-Peralta, Stephen C. Cruz, and Ramon Paul L. Hernando, now a member of the SC.
“The complainants CA justices accused Atty. Ramon of, among others, representing herself as a lawyer who can influence justices of the CA to secure an acquittal of an accused; defrauding the relatives of an accused to amass a large amount of money, and committing the crimes of estafa and falsification,” it said.
It said “the SC held that Atty. Ramon violated the Lawyer’s Oath and several canons and rules of the Code of Professional Responsibility when she represented to a certain Maria Rossan de Jesus that she could secure the acquittal of one Tirso Fajardo, a cousin of De Jesus, for the crime of violation of Sections 5 and 7 of RA 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act), and used the names of the three CA associate justices to accomplish her ill-motives.”
The PIO also said: “Atty. Ramon defrauded her clients by drafting a fake, spurious, and sham decision regarding the purported acquittal of Fajardo and placed the names of the complainants in the fake decision even though the criminal case of Fajardo was raffled in a different division and assigned to a different Associate Justice.
“The Court held that Atty. Ramon has tarnished the image of the legal profession and has lessened the public faith in the Judiciary. Hence, the ultimate penalty of disbarment must be imposed upon her.” (Rey Panaligan)
