certiorari

certiorari, in common-law jurisdictions, a writ issued by a superior court for the reexamination of an action of a lower court. Certiorari also is issued by an appellate court to obtain information on a case pending before it. The writ of certiorari was at first an original writ from England’s Court of Queen’s Bench to the judges of inferior courts ordering them to present certain records. Certiorari was later expanded to include the chancery (equity) courts. The writ was abolished in 1938, but the High Court of Justice retained the right to make an order of certiorari. Such orders have been useful in the review of decisions of administrative courts from which there is no regular means of appeal, particularly in reviewing questions of error in the admission and exclusion of evidence.

In the United States certiorari is used by the Supreme Court to review questions of law or to correct errors and to ensure against excesses by the lower courts. Such writs are also issued in exceptional cases when an immediate review is required. For the Supreme Court to issue a writ of certiorari, four of the court’s nine justices must agree to review the case.