an order of a superior court directing that a record of proceedings in a lower court be sent up for review
See also mandamus, prohibition
Word origin
C15: from legal Latin: to be informed
certiorari in American English
(ˌsɜrʃiəˈrɛri)
noun
Law
a discretionary writ from a higher court to a lower one, or to a board or official with some judicial power, requesting the record of a case for review
Word origin
ME < LL, lit., to be made more certain: a word in the writ
Examples of 'certiorari' in a sentence
certiorari
Stare decisis, amicus curiae, writs of certiorari, all that stuff.