Ex-judge in mistaken identity case cleared by SC, gets retirement perks

The Supreme Court has cleared the name of a former Tuguegarao City judge who was mistaken for his father, his namesake, who faced a disbarment case almost two decades ago. In a four-page resolution promulgated on October 12, Tuesday, the court's Second Division cleared the name of Judge Jimmy F. Luczon Jr. and ordered the Office of the Bar Confidant to make the necessary corrections to facilitate the release of the judge's retirement benefits. In 1992, a certain Trinidad Irorita filed a disbarment case against the judge's father, lawyer Jimmy C. Luczon. The father died in 1994, but the case was not yet dismissed. The disbarment case was docketed as "Trinidad Irorita vs Atty. Jimmy Luczon." When Luczon Jr. retired last May 2010 as Tuguegarao City Regional Trial Court Branch 1 presiding judge, he did not get his retirement benefits and the monetary value of his leave credits because he was presumed as the "Atty. Jimmy Luczon" in the disbarment case. Luczon Jr. then sought redress from the Supreme Court to resolve the discrepancy and order the release of his retirement benefits. The court then granted his motion. Apart from that, it also dismissed the disbarment case against his deceased father. "We find Judge Luczon's motion to be meritorious. The documents submitted sufficiently established the identities of both Atty. Jimmy C. Luczon and Judge Jimmy F. Luczon Jr., and that they are two different individuals," said the court. "It is likewise established that Judge Luczon could not have been the respondent in the instant case. Furthermore, in view of the death of Atty. Jimmy Luczon during the pendency of the ase, we deem it proper to dismiss the instant case for being moot and academic," it added. — Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMANews.TV