Opinion ID: 1133642
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: How the DCAs Proceed in Such Cases

Text: The district courts of appeal rely on the petition for writ of certiorari to review interlocutory discovery orders. [1] This Court defined the nature and scope of certiorari as follows: Generally stated, a writ of certiorari may, in the discretion of the court, be issued where it is duly made to appear, at least prima facie, that the record of a lower court shows that the proceedings in a cause have violated established principles of law, or that the adjudication in the cause is a palpable miscarriage of justice, and that the result is a substantial injury to the petitioner, who has no other remedy, and seeks a writ of certiorari. American Ry. Express Co. v. Weatherford, 84 Fla. 264, 268, 93 So. 740, 742 (1922). Thus, for example, in Esman v. Board of Regents, 425 So.2d 156 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983), the First District Court of Appeal exercised its certiorari power in the case of an interlocutory discovery order thusly: The rule is well-established ... that interlocutory orders rendered in connection with discovery proceedings may be reviewed by common law certiorari when it is demonstrated that the order complained of was rendered by the court in excess of its jurisdiction, or that the order does not conform to the essential requirements of the law and may cause material injury through subsequent proceedings for which the remedy by appeal will be inadequate. Id. at 157 (where the court reviewed by certiorari a trial court's denial of a party's discovery request in light of the work-product privilege); see Crocker Constr. Co. v. Hornsby, 562 So.2d 842, 843 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)(stating that certiorari relief may be granted to avoid harmful cat-out-of-the-bag disclosures). This Court, however, does not have jurisdiction to entertain petitions for common law certiorari. We therefore must rely on our constitutional jurisdiction to hear appeals from final judgments of trial courts imposing the death penalty to avoid such harmful cat-out-of-the-bag disclosures that can result in irreparable harm.