Certiorari

Certiorari is a writ (or an order) issued from a higher court (usually a supreme court) directing a lower court to send it the record of a particular case so the higher court can review it. To obtain a Writ of Certiorari, one of the parties in a legal action must file a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the higher court. When the party files this petition, the objective is to get a supreme court (either state or federal) to review a case or review an issue in a case that has already been determined. Certiorari means “to be searched” in Roman or “to be informed” or “to be assured” in Latin.