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26 Geo. L. J. 831 (1937-1938)
Writ of Prohibition

handle is hein.journals/glj26 and id is 857 raw text is: THE WRIT OF PROHIBITION* WILLIAM J. HUGHES ' AND EUGENE BROWN * T HE SUBJECT of prohibition, because of the infrequency of the issuance of the writ, has received but little attention from the text-writers, and investigation is therefore attended with considerable difficulty. The learning on the subject is scattered through the re- ports, with the exception of a few unsatisfactory chapters by writers on extraordinary legal remedies.' This extraordinary remedy is one of the most powerful weapons of superintending control at the command of superior courts, to keep inferior courts within their legal limits. It is a writ of high preroga- tive, which ranks with mandamus and quo wcrrcnto as an extraordi- nary remedy. Lilly writing in 1745 said: 2 Prohibition is a writ which lies to prohibit the Spiritual or Ad- miralty Courts and other Inferior Courts, from meddling with any- thing out of their jurisdictions, or of which they have not any con- usance, and shall be directed as well to the parties as the judge. Blackstone defined the writ a few years later as: 3 A writ issuing properly out of the Court of Kings Bench, being the King's prerogative writ; but for the futherance of justice it may now also be had in some cases out of the court of chancery, common pleas, or exchequer, directed to the judge and parties of a suit in any in- ferior court, commanding them to cease from the prosecution thereof, upon suggestion that either the cause originally, or some collateral matter arising therein, does not belong to that jurisdiction but to the cognizance of some other court. Analogous in some respects to mandamus, prohibition yet differed therefrom very materially. The former was directed to a court or person and commanded the performance of a particular duty; the * The basis of this paper is Mr. Hughes' thesis submitted to the faculty of the Georgetown Law School in 1892 for his master's degree. Recently he revised this paper and, with the aid of Mr. Brown, brought it up to date to include those decisions rendered since its first writing. t LL. B. Georgetown University Law School (1891), LL. M. Id. 1892, LL. D. Id. 1931. Late Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law School. For many years legal adviser on matters of Federal practice and procedure, United States Department of Justice, Author of FEDERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE (1931). $ LL. B. Georgetown University Law School (1935). Member of the Bar of the District of Columbia and of the Bar of Illinois. 1 HIGH, EXTRAORDINARY LEGAL REMEDIES (1874); WAIT, ACTIONS AND DEFENSES (1877). 2 LILLY'S ABRIDGMENT (1735) 474. 3 3 BL. COMM. *112.

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