Opinion ID: 2381895
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Court of Appeals and Mandamus and Prohibition

Text: From the preceding discussion we may assume that the common law power of the Court of King's Bench to issue prerogative writs was possessed by the Provincial Court and passed to the General Court. This is consistent with the authorities we have cited and with the notion that the mandamus and prohibition powers ordinarily reside in the highest court of original jurisdiction. [5] F. Ferris, The Law of Extraordinary Legal Remedies, §§ 219, 220, 328 (1926). Whether this Court has that power is the question to which we now turn. Of course, a court may be granted mandamus or prohibition power by express constitutional or legislative grant. A court may also have that power if it exercises, by express grant or otherwise, the superintending powers of King's Bench. Finally, there is authority to the effect that a court exercising appellate jurisdiction may issue the writs in aid of that jurisdiction. Do any of these principles support the conclusion that this Court has authority to issue prerogative writs? We can quickly dispose of any notion of an express grant. The Maryland Constitution is silent as to any mandamus or prohibition power in this Court. The only general statutory provision dealing with mandamus jurisdiction is Md.Code (1984 Repl.Vol., 1987 Cum.Supp.) § 3-8A-01 of the Cts. & Jud.Proc. Art.; it relates only to the circuit courts. [6] Nor is there any express grant of superintending power to this Court. [7] Whether we have, as the highest court of this State, an inherent superintending or supervisory power over the courts below us in the judicial hierarchy, and whether any such power is implicit in Article IV, § 18 of the Maryland Constitution, are questions we reserve for another day. We need not and do not address them today because we hold that under the circumstances of this case we have the power to issue a writ of mandamus or a writ of prohibition in aid of our appellate jurisdiction. [8]
As the preceding sections (A and B) of this opinion show, certain courts, both in England and in Maryland, could issue writs of mandamus and prohibition in exercise of their original jurisdiction. We cannot claim the power to issue those writs on that basis, for we are a court of appellate jurisdiction only, as we have held consistently since Ex Parte O'Neill, 8 Md. 227, 229 (1855). See Shell Oil Co. v. Supervisor, 276 Md. 36, 40-43, 343 A.2d 521, 524-525 (1975); Board v. Attorney General, 246 Md. 417, 427, 229 A.2d 388, 393 (1967). The cases are cited in Shell Oil, 276 Md. at 42, 343 A.2d at 524, where Judge Eldridge, for the Court, quoted Sevinskey v. Wagus, 76 Md. 335, 336, 25 A. 468, 469 (1892) to the following effect: This Court is an appellate court, and is so styled in the Constitution; and no provision is made in that instrument for instituting or conducting any original proceedings herein. The Constitution, Art. 4, sec. 14, in defining the jurisdiction of this court, declares, that The jurisdiction of said Court of Appeals shall be co-extensive with the limits of the State, and such as now is or may hereafter be prescribed by law; that is to say, such appellate jurisdiction as the court then had or might thereafter have conferred upon it. The court at the time of the adoption of the present [1867] Constitution had, under former Constitutions, appellate jurisdiction only; and the terms by which the jurisdiction is defined in the present Constitution, are substantially the same in meaning as those employed in the Constitutions of 1851 and 1864. It would therefore seem to be clear that the jurisdiction of this Court is appellate only; for if not so, and the Legislature could confer original jurisdiction upon it in cases of habeas corpus, it could also confer such jurisdiction in cases of mandamus, or in cases of any other subject-matter of original jurisdiction. Shell Oil, 276 Md. at 41, 343 A.2d at 524 [emphasis in original]. The touchstone of appellate jurisdiction is an initial exercise of judicial power or authority by a court. Shell Oil, 276 Md. at 42, 343 A.2d at 525. That prerequisite, of course, exists in this case; the grant of Katz's motion for a new trial was an exercise of judicial authority by the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. We have seen at least one instance in which the Provincial Court of Appeals issued a writ of mandamus to a lower court; in Mitchells Adrs. v. Majsty (1715), supra, see text accompanying n. 3, the Court of Appeals issued the writ to the Provincial Court. The early Court's appellate jurisdiction, together with power to issue extraordinary writs in aid of it, passed to our predecessor Court by virtue of § 56 of the Constitution of 1776, providing for a court of appeals ... whose judgment shall be final and conclusive in all cases of appeal, from the general court, court of chancery, and court of admiralty.... The constitutional amendment proposed by Ch. 55, Acts of 1804 (ratified in 1805) was somewhat more specific: Sec. 5. There shall be a court of appeals ... which ... shall hold, use, and exercise, all and singular the powers, authorities, and jurisdictions heretofore held, used and exercised by the court of appeals of this state, and also the appellate jurisdiction heretofore used and exercised by the General Court.... [9] The 1805 provision not only transmitted the appellate jurisdiction of the 1776 Court of Appeals; it transferred the appellate jurisdiction of the General Court. That court, like its predecessor, the Provincial Court and like the Court of King's Bench, exercised both original and appellate jurisdiction, including the prerogative writ power, as we have seen. Thus, by 1805, the Court of Appeals had not only the appellate jurisdiction of its own predecessor courts, but also that of the General Court, including the prerogative writ power that could be exercised in aid of that jurisdiction. It is true that on some occasions we had expressed doubts about the power to issue these writs. See, e.g., Henson v. State, 227 Md. 659, 660, 180 A.2d 300, 301 (1962); Hendrick v. State, 115 Md. 552, 558-559, 81 A. 18, 20 (1911). And in State v. Haas, 188 Md. 63, 76, 51 A.2d 647, 653 (1947), we said, by way of dictum, that we could not issue a writ of prohibition. But these cases involved what we characterized as efforts to seek writs pursuant to original jurisdiction as opposed to in aid of appellate jurisdiction. In Henson, for instance, we noted that the application before us was in substance an original petition to this Court for a writ of mandamus to effect a purpose not related to the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction. 227 Md. at 660, 180 A.2d at 301. And in State v. Rutherford, 145 Md. 363, 369, 125 A. 725, 727 (1922), we flatly stated that [i]t can be readily seen that cases may arise where, for the proper and complete exercise of its appellate jurisdiction, it may be necessary for this Court to grant the writs of certiorari or mandamus, and the cases above cited do not mean to say, nor do we here decide, that this Court could not issue any appropriate writ in aid of its appellate jurisdiction. More recently, in State ex rel. Sonner v. Shearin, 272 Md. 502, 325 A.2d 573 (1974), we had occasion to discuss prerogative writs. In that case a trial judge suspended a portion of a sentence in direct violation of a legislative command. We concluded that he erred in doing so. Id. at 519, 325 A.2d at 582. We held that the law as it then stood permitted the State to appeal from the imposition of an illegal sentence. Id. at 526, 325 A.2d at 586. Therefore, we were not required to decide whether we possessed power to issue mandamus or prohibition in those circumstances, although the State had sought those writs by way of alternative relief. We did not reject the possibility of the availability of mandamus. Id. at 519-520, 325 A.2d at 583. Speaking through Judge Smith, we were more positive as to prohibition: A lower court which thus exceeds its power [by imposing an illegal sentence] must be bridled by a the court of last resort. Were it otherwise, mandates of the General Assembly could be defied with impunity and the only protection of the public would be the torturous process of judicial removal which would not have the effect of correcting the specific error. Therefore, if there were no right of appeal in this case, we would have no hesitancy in saying that we would act by issuance of the writ of prohibition. See Kardy v. Shook, J., 237 Md. 524, 544, 207 A.2d 83 (1965).[ [10] ] Id. at 526, 325 A.2d at 586. Still more recently, in Dean v. State, 302 Md. 493, 500 n. 5, 489 A.2d 22, 25 n. 5 (1985), we made it clear that so far as we were aware, this Court had never issued a writ of prohibition, but we did not say we could not do so. We implied the contrary when we added that [o]ur past history indicates that the writ would be used only in an extreme case. Id. We offered no citation to that past history, but Thompson v. M'Kim, 6 H. & J. 302, 335 (1823), may be an instance of such an extreme case. It involved a stay issued by this Court as the functional equivalent of a writ of prohibition in aid of appellate jurisdiction. We think it plain enough then that we have long recognized the availability of writs such as mandamus or prohibition, in aid of our appellate jurisdiction, even if we have almost never exercised the power to issue them. The problem lies in deciding what is in aid of our appellate jurisdiction. More specifically, does there have to be an appeal to this Court, or at least an appealable judgment, before we can issue a writ? In Haas, 188 Md. at 67, 51 A.2d at 649, we seemed to answer this question in the affirmative. Dismissing a petition for common law certiorari, Chief Judge Marbury wrote for the Court: If we have jurisdiction to entertain an appeal in this case, then there is no occasion for the issuance of a writ of certiorari. The entire record is before us and we can pass upon all questions ready for our consideration. On the other hand, if an appeal does not lie then we have no power to originate a proceeding here by the writ of certiorari. See also Moore v. License Com. Pr. Geo.'s Co., 203 Md. 502, 505-506, 102 A.2d 272, 274 (1954). Thus, at least where there is an appealable judgment, this Court may issue process to avoid the possibility that judicial review will be frustrated. In Thompson v. M'Kim, 6 H. & J. 302 (1823), Chancellor Bland ordered Thompson to pay a large sum of money into court and the chancellor refused to stay the order pending appeal. It was argued, indeed, that the order was not appealable at all, but our predecessors held otherwise. Id. at 335. The question then became whether this Court had a common law power to issue a stay to the Court of Chancery. The Court ordered one. Chief Judge Buchanan reasoned: it is manifestly necessary, to the ends of justice, that there should be a power in special cases to suspend proceedings on the matter appealed from.... [This power, like the same power in the House of Lords,] is necessarily incident to this Court, to preserve the usefulness of its appellate jurisdiction. If it were otherwise, cases might arise in which the appeal would be but as a shadow, pending which the substance might be lost. Id. at 333. In Thompson, as we have noted, the issuance of a stay was the functional equivalent of the issuance of a writ of prohibition. It was done to preserve the appeal, for if Thompson had had to pay the sum into court, he might not have been able to press the appeal and in any case, he would have been irreparably injured. 6 H. & J. at 334. Going a step beyond Thompson are some decisions of the Supreme Court of Mississippi. In Mississippi, as in Maryland, the court of last resort has appellate jurisdiction only. There is no express grant of superintending power over inferior tribunals. See Miss. Const., Art. 6, § 146 (1890). [11] And see, e.g., State v. Keeton, 176 Miss. 590, 595, 169 So. 760, 762 (1936); White v. State, 159 Miss. 207, 211, 131 So. 96, 97 (1930); Yazoo & Miss. Valley R.R. Co. v. Wallace, 90 Miss. 609, 614-615, 43 So. 469, 470 (1907). In Mississippi there also is a statute  Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-17 (1972)  under which if a trial judge has not rendered a decision within certain time limits, the party seeking the decision may appeal as if the decision had been rendered adversely to that party. In Woods v. Lee, 390 So.2d 1010 (Miss. 1980), the trial judge failed for over a year to rule on a plaintiff's motion for judgment n.o.v. or a new trial. The plaintiff appealed. The supreme court held that no appeal would lie because a judgment adverse to the plaintiff's motion would not, under Mississippi law, have been appealable. But despite the absence of a viable appeal, it held that there was a remedy: mandamus to compel the trial judge to act. Later came State v. Maples, 402 So.2d 350 (Miss. 1981). There the judge in a criminal case refused to recuse himself. That decision was not immediately appealable. The State, which had sought the recusal, applied to the Supreme Court of Mississippi for a writ of prohibition, commanding the judge not to sit. The Supreme Court of Mississippi issued the writ. It did so because in this context the function of prohibition, like that of mandamus, is to aid in the appellate process: The writ of mandamus is an aid to the appellate process because a superior court directs an inferior court to take some affirmative action so the action of the inferior court may be reviewed on appeal. A writ of prohibition is an aid to the appellate process by preventing action by an inferior court or judge which cannot be remedied on appeal. 402 So.2d at 353. Although the court recognized that refusal to recuse is interlocutory and not immediately appealable, it pointed out that if it denied the writ, the State might never be able to obtain review of the question, because in the event of an acquittal, it could not appeal at all. Id. In this way  by making possible the review of a potentially unreviewable question  prohibition aided the appellate process. In Glenn v. Herring, 415 So.2d 695, 698 (Miss. 1982), the Mississippi court summarized the development of this line of cases: Section 146 of the Constitution confers upon this Court appellate jurisdiction. Appellate jurisdiction, of necessity, includes issuance of such incidental procedural orders or writs necessary to enable this Court to fully exercise its appellate jurisdiction. At a very early age in the history of the Republic, the United States Supreme Court in Cohens v. Virginia, 6 Wheat. 264, 5 L.Ed. 257 (1821), speaking through Chief Justice Marshall, recognized that, [A] writ of prohibition or any other similar writ is in the nature of appellate process. [6 Wheat. at 397, 5 L.Ed. at 289.] Recognizing that writs of prohibition, writs of mandamus, or other similar writs are aids to the appellate process, we have held that this Court has jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus and writs of prohibition to inferior courts as an aid to the appellate process.... The writ of mandamus is an aid to the appellate process, because by it, the appellate court directs an inferior tribunal to take some action so its judicial decision may be reviewed on appeal [some citations omitted]. The Tennessee Supreme Court also is a court of exclusively appellate jurisdiction. See Tenn. Const. Art. 6, § 2; State ex rel. Kain v. Hall, 65 Tenn. 3, 6 (1873). It has taken an approach similar to that employed by the Mississippi Supreme Court. In State ex rel. Kain v. Hall , the court dismissed a petition for a writ of mandamus directed to an inferior court concluding that under the circumstances issuance would not have been proper. Nonetheless, the court explained that it had the power to issue the writ in aid of its appellate jurisdiction: It was held ... that the Constitution of 1834 deprived the Supreme Court of all original jurisdiction; and ... that the legislature could confer no such jurisdiction upon it.... But it will issue an original process in aid of its appellate jurisdiction.... The jurisdiction of this court, then, to award the writ of mandamus is merely auxiliary to its appellate power. The jurisdiction it possesses, not by virtue of any statute, but under the common law, as inherent and necessary to the exercise of its functions as a court of appellate jurisdiction. Id. at 6 [emphasis supplied]. Also see ABA Standards on Judicial Administration, Standards Relating to Appellate Courts § 3.00 at 5 (Approved Draft 1977), explaining that [a]lthough used infrequently, the power to issue extraordinary writs to protect an appellate court's jurisdiction, and to secure conformity to its mandates, is essential for maintaining the integrity of the legal system. Under generally recognized principles of law, that power is inherent and should be universally so regarded. The notion that mandamus or prohibition may be used as an aid to appellate jurisdiction, even though there is no appeal pending in an appellate court, and even though no immediate appeal is possible, finds support in federal cases as well. Indeed, it was federal authority upon which the Mississippi court substantially relied in the trilogy of cases we have just reviewed. Early on, in Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch 137, 2 L.Ed. 60 (1803), the Supreme Court of the United States, through Chief Justice Marshall, declared unconstitutional Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 (1 Stat. 53, 58-59) which purported to give the Court power to issue mandamus to public officers. Chief Justice Marshall wrote: To enable this court, then, to issue a mandamus it must be shown to be an exercise of appellate jurisdiction, or to be necessary to enable them to exercise appellate jurisdiction. Id. at 175, 2 L.Ed. at 73. And he defined appellate jurisdiction: It is the essential criterion of appellate jurisdiction, that it revises and corrects the proceedings in a cause already instituted, and does not create that cause. Although, therefore, a mandamus may be directed to courts, yet to issue such a writ to an officer for the delivery of a paper, is in effect the same as to sustain an original action for that paper, and, therefore, seems not to belong to appellate but to original jurisdiction. Id. at 175-176, 2 L.Ed. at 73. [12] As a consequence, Congress could not constitutionally authorize the Court to issue mandamus to the Secretary of State. See also, e.g., Chandler v. Judicial Council, 398 U.S. 74, 86, 90 S.Ct. 1648, 1654, 26 L.Ed.2d 100, 108-109, reh'g denied, 399 U.S. 937, 90 S.Ct. 2248, 26 L.Ed.2d 809 (1970) (authority of Supreme Court to issue prohibition or mandamus can be constitutionally exercised only insofar as those writs are in aid of its appellate jurisdiction). In Cohens v. Virginia, 6 Wheat. 264, 397, 5 L.Ed. 257, 289 (1821), Chief Justice Marshall once more identified a writ of prohibition or any other similar writ [as] in the nature of appellate process. And in Ex parte Crane, 5 Pet. 190, 8 L.Ed. 187 (1831), the Chief Justice, again writing for the Court, held that § 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the Court power to issue mandamus to a trial court to require it to restore the text of jury instructions to bills of exceptions, thereby making the jury charge subject to appellate review. He explained: A mandamus to an officer is held to be the exercise of original jurisdiction; but a mandamus to an inferior court of the United States is in the nature of appellate jurisdiction. 30 U.S. 5 Pet. at 193, 8 L.Ed. at 94. [13] Thus it appears that mandamus or prohibition may issue in aid of appellate jurisdiction even though no appellate proceeding is pending in the appellate court, at least where there is some potentiality of eventual appellate review by appeal or by certiorari. See Ex Parte Republic of Peru, 318 U.S. 578, 584-585, 63 S.Ct. 793, 797-798, 87 L.Ed. 1014, 1018-1019 (1943); Wolfson, Extraordinary Writs in the Supreme Court Since Ex Parte Peru, 51 Colum.L.Rev. 977, 978-981 (1951). The federal position is made clear in McClellan v. Carland, 217 U.S. 268, 30 S.Ct. 501, 54 L.Ed. 762 (1910). In that case, McClellan and others petitioned the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit for mandamus to require a United States district court judge to set aside certain stay orders and to proceed to try and determine a case then pending before him. The Circuit Court of Appeals refused to do so. The Supreme Court reversed. Pointing out that if the pending case were decided the circuit court would have appellate jurisdiction, the Supreme Court reasoned: There are not wanting decisions in the Federal courts holding different views as to the right to issue such writs as are involved in this case, before the appellate court has actually obtained jurisdiction of the case. There are expressions in opinions of this court to the effect that such writs issue in aid of a jurisdiction actually acquired. But we think it the true rule that where a case is within the appellate jurisdiction of a higher court a writ of mandamus may issue in aid of the appellate jurisdiction which might otherwise be defeated by the unauthorized action of the court below.       Inasmuch as the order of the ... [trial] court staying the proceeding until after final judgment in the state court, might prevent the adjudication of the questions involved, and thereby prevent a review thereof in the circuit court of appeals, which had jurisdiction for that purpose, we think the court had power to issue the writ of mandamus to require the .. . [trial] court to proceed with and determine the action before it. 217 U.S. at 280, 30 S.Ct. at 504, 54 L.Ed. at 766. In short, a writ may issue in aid of appellate jurisdiction even though no case is pending in the appellate court. La Buy v. Howes Leather Co., Inc., 352 U.S. 249, 255, 77 S.Ct. 309, 313, 1 L.Ed.2d 290, 296 (1957). And see Chandler v. Judicial Council, 398 U.S. at 112, 90 S.Ct. at 1668, 26 L.Ed.2d at 123-124 (Harlan, J., concurring); 16 C. Wright, A. Miller, E. Cooper & E. Gressman, Federal Practice and Procedure §§ 3932 & 4005 (1977). We are persuaded that this view of the appellate use of writs such as mandamus and prohibition is sound. If the use of a writ is necessary to enable ... [the Court] to exercise appellate jurisdiction it is in aid of that jurisdiction. Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch at 175, 2 L.Ed. at 73. The power is necessary to preserve the usefulness of ... appellate jurisdiction if the failure to exercise it would cause the right to appellate review to be but a shadow, pending which the substance might be lost. Thompson v. M'Kim, supra, 6 H. & J. at 333. In the case before us, the trial court acted in a criminal case that had been tried on the merits, and in which a guilty verdict had been entered. We have appellate jurisdiction, or at least potential jurisdiction, over that category of case. The potential exercise of that jurisdiction has been frustrated by the trial court's refusal to enter a final judgment; instead it ordered a new trial. Should the new trial result in an acquittal, from which the State could not appeal, any appellate review of the court's action in ordering the new trial would be totally precluded. State v. Maples, supra, 402 So.2d at 353. Under these circumstances, we have the power to issue mandamus or prohibition. To the extent that Henson v. State, 227 Md. at 660, 180 A.2d at 301; Moore v. License Com. Pr. Geo.'s Co., 203 Md. at 505-506, 102 A.2d at 274; State v. Haas, 188 Md. at 67, 51 A.2d at 649; and State v. Rutherford, 145 Md. at 368-369, 125 A. at 727, all supra indicate that a writ cannot issue unless there is an immediately appealable judgment below, or a case actually pending in this Court, they are overruled. [14] As to which writ should issue in a case of this sort, we are not disposed to engage in common law quibbles about the differences between mandamus and prohibition. If, as we hold, we have jurisdiction to issue to an inferior court peremptory writs in aid of our appellate jurisdiction, we have the power to take appropriate remedial action. How we label the document we issue is not important. As Justice Holmes once remarked, [i]t does not matter very much in what form an extraordinary remedy is afforded.... Ex Parte Simons, 247 U.S. 231, 239-240, 38 S.Ct. 497, 498, 62 L.Ed. 1094, 1096 (1918). And see 16 Wright, supra, § 3932 at 206-208. What is important is whether any prerogative writ should issue in this case. To that subject we now turn.