When reviewing a question of law, an appellate court reaches a conclusion independent of the lower court's ruling. When a demurrer is interposed stating several grounds, the court sustaining the demurrer should specify the grounds upon which it is sustained. Otherwise, an appellate court is not informed in regard to wherein the complaint was determined to be deficient. A demurrer reaches only defects which appear on the face of a petition and admits all allegations of fact which are relevant, material, and well pled, but does not admit the pleader's conclusions of law. A demurrer reaches an instrument filed with a petition and made a part thereof but does not admit any construction placed on any instrument pled and set forth in the petition.
Mandamus is a law action.
In considering whether to grant a writ of mandamus, an appellate court considers whether the duty to be enforced was one which existed at the time the petition was filed. Mandamus is available to enforce the performance of ministerial duties of a public official but is not available if the duties are quasi-judicial or discretionary. The general rule is that an act or duty is ministerial if there is an absolute duty to perform in a specified manner upon the existence of certain facts. Probation and Parole. The granting of parole to an inmate is a discretionary act on the part of the Nebraska Board of Parole based upon a predictive judgment of what is best for the inmate and the community.