ITEM 10A | INTRODUCTION
An extraordinary writ petition is a different way to ask an appellate court to review the actions or inactions of a lower tribunal. Writ petitions can only be used in very rare, or “extraordinary,” circumstances, where there is no other adequate remedy or ability to appeal. See Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.100. In civil cases, writs are most commonly used to: compel a judge or other official to perform a ministerial act he or she refuses, but is required, to do (writs of mandamus); prevent a lower tribunal from performing an act it has no jurisdiction to do (writs of prohibition); or challenge non-final orders that cannot otherwise be immediately appealed (writs of certiorari). An extraordinary writ petition can be filed, provided certain criteria are satisfied, with the appellate court while the case is still going on in the lower tribunal.
Filing a writ petition usually does not stay (stop) the proceedings in the lower tribunal. Rather, to stay the lower tribunal proceedings during the writ proceeding, a party would normally have to also move for and be granted a stay. Stay motions are discussed in Chapter 11 of this Handbook. See also Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.310.
An extraordinary writ petition is not the same as an appeal. First, the parties to a petition have different titles than in an appeal. In an appeal, the appealing party is the “appellant,” and the opposing party is the “appellee.” In contrast, in a writ proceeding, the party petitioning the appellate court is called the “petitioner,” and the opposing party is called the “respondent.” A writ proceeding is begun by filing the petition, which is like the initial brief, directly with the appellate court (unlike an appeal, which begins by filing a notice of appeal in the lower tribunal). The writ petition is filed in the appellate court and served on the opposing parties. Depending on the type of writ, the deadline is usually 30 days from the date the challenged order was entered or action performed.
In addition, in some types of writ proceedings, such as when a party files a petition for writ of mandamus or prohibition, the judge in the lower tribunal must also be (a) named as a respondent in the body of the petition, but not in the case name (caption), and (b) served with a copy of the petition for writ mandamus or prohibition. In the case of a petition for writ of certiorari, the lower tribunal judge is not named as a party at all, but is served with a copy of the petition. In contrast, in a regular appeal, the lower tribunal judge is not named as a party nor served with the documents filed in the appeal.
Extraordinary writs are called extraordinary because they are very unusual. Appellate courts do not grant petitions for extraordinary writs except in very special circumstances. It is very hard to meet the requirements for an extraordinary writ. Even if all the requirements are met, the appellate court can still deny the writ and not decide the issues raised in the petition. Extraordinary writ petitions are used by the appellate courts only to fix a miscarriage of justice that cannot be fixed any other way.
You might need to reference it during your pursuit of justice.
For instance, you might need to examine this handbook in order to protect yourself from judges/lawyers/organizations who break the law (see this example of a Florida judge who outright committed perjury).
Nevertheless – and as always – please get the justice you deserve.
Sincerely,
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