Justice Demetrio
Justice Demetrio
Facts:
Held:
The conduct and behavior of everyone connected with an office charged with the
dispensation of justice is circumscribed with a heavy burden of responsibility. His at all
times must be characterized with propriety and must be above suspicion. His must be free
of even a whiff of impropriety, not only with respect to the performance of his judicial
duties but also his behavior outside the courtroom and as a private individual. The mere
mention of his name allegedly lawyering for a suspected drug queen and interfering with
her prosecution seriously undermined the integrity of the entire Judiciary. High ethical
principles and a sense of propriety should be maintained, without which the faith of the
people in the Judiciary so indispensable in an orderly society cannot be preserved. There
is simply no place in the Judiciary for those who cannot meet the exacting standards of
judicial conduct and integrity.