US v Sweet Digest 1901

G.R. No. 448           September 20, 1901

THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellee,
vs.
PHILIP K. SWEET, defendant-appellant.

Theofilus B. Steele, for appellant.
Office of the Solicitor-General Araneta, for appellee.

LADD, J.:

Facts of the Case:

             Philip K. Sweet was an employee of the United States military authorities in the Philippines. He assaulted a prisoner of war for which he was charged with the crime of physical injuries.

Issue: Whether or not the case can be prosecuted under our civil courts.

Held: 

                Yes. The case against Sweet can be prosecuted under our civil courts. The fact that the acts charged in the complaint would be punishable as an offense under the Spanish military legislation does not render them any less an offense under the article of the Penal Code punishable under civil courts. Moreover, the military character sustained by the person charged with the offense at the time of its commission does not exempts him from the ordinary jurisdiction of the civil tribunals.