Canon

Chapter III

The Lawyer and the Courts

CANON 10 – A Lawyer owes candor, fairness and good faith to the court.

Rule 10.01 – A lawyer shall not do any falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any in court; nor shall he mislead or allow the court to be mislead by any artifice.

Rule 10.02 – A lawyer shall not knowingly misquote or misrepresent the contents of the paper, the language or the argument of opposing counsel, or the text of a decision of authority, or knowingly cite as law a provision already rendered inoperative by repeal or amendment, or assert as a fact that which has not been approved.

Rule 10.03 – A lawyer shall observe the rules of procedure and shall not misuse them to defeat the ends of justice.

* Judge-lawyer relationship:  based on independence and self-respect.

* Lawyer’s duty to the court:

1. respect and loyalty

2. fairness, truth and candor

3. no attempt to influence courts

* Cases of falsehood:

1. stating in the Deed of Sale that property is free from all liens and encumbrances when not so

2. encashing check payable to a deceased cousin by signing the latter’s name on the check

3. falsifying a power of attorney and using it in collecting the money due to the principal

4. alleging in one pleading that the clients were mere lessees and in another pleading that the same clients were owners

5. presenting falsified documents in court which he knows to be false

6. filing false charges on groundless suits

7. using in pleadings the IBP number of another lawyer

8. unsolicited appearances

9. use of fictitious residence certificate

10. misquotation/misrepresentation

11. citing a repealed or amended provision

12. asserting a fact not proved

13. verbatim reproductions down to the last word and punctuation mark

14. slight typo mistake: not sufficient to place him in contempt

CANON 11 – A lawyer shall observe and maintain the respect due to the courts and to judicial officers...