Also known as: certiorando · certiorari · writ of certiorari
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A writ ordering a sheriff to certify a fact.
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Denise Donovan appealed a district court judgment to the court of appeals. The record contained a minor clerical error in the transcript. The court examined the full record and determined the error did not affect substantial rights, so it affirmed the judgment after the sheriff certified the underlying fact via the writ.
Damian Decker challenged an agency rule in federal court. The court of appeals upheld the rule under deferential standards. A writ de certiorando issued to the sheriff to certify the administrative record before further proceedings.
David Dawson sued in federal court under diversity jurisdiction. The defendant moved to dismiss for improper service. The court applied federal procedural rules after the sheriff certified service facts through the writ.
Diego Duarte faced deportation after a legislative veto. He petitioned for review. The court required certification of the legislative record via writ before addressing the separation of powers claim.
Destiny Davis published an article about a public official. The official sued for libel. The court ordered the sheriff to certify publication facts before applying actual malice standards to the record.
Danielle Dixon purchased property subject to a racial covenant. Neighbors sought enforcement. The court directed certification of the covenant's recording through the writ to determine its validity.
The writ directs the sheriff to certify a specific fact for the court record.
De certiorando orders certification of a discrete fact by the sheriff while certiorari seeks review of a lower court decision by a higher court.
A court may issue the writ when it needs official confirmation of a fact from the sheriff to complete the record before deciding whether an error affected substantial rights.
…(1971). III It might have been preferable if the defendant, pursuant to our Rule 20, had presented to us a petition for certiorari before judgment in the Court of Appeals with respect to the granting of the plaintiffs' prayer for declaratory relief. Our decisions in Mitchell v. Donovan , 398 U. S. 427 (1970), and…