Court Opinion

ID: 9628965
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 09:35:07.046978+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:07:13.818845
License: Public Domain

UDALL, Justice
(Specially concurring).
I was not present when the alternative writ of prohibition was issued in the instant case, but in the companion case City of Phoenix v. Struckmeyer, 77 Ariz. 84, 267 P.2d 724, for the reasons hereinafter stated I voted against the issuance of the writ. However, being now fully advised in the premises I concur in the construction given to section 16-701, A.C.A.1939, and under the interpretation arrived at by the court’s majority I agree that the Superior Court of Pima County was without jurisdiction to enjoin the passage, by the city council, of the annexation ordinance in question.
The law is well settled that in the exercise of its revisory jurisdiction, the issuance by this court of the extraordinary writ of prohibition is ordinarily discretionary and the writ only issues as a matter of right where there is no other remedy. Redewill v. Superior Court of Maricopa County, 43 Ariz. 68, 29 P.2d 475. If the remedy by appeal is adequate, the writ of prohibition will not ordinarily lie, City of Phoenix v. Superior Court of Maricopa County, 65 Ariz. 139, 175 P.2d 811, nor can this writ be resorted to simply to circumvent ordinary appeal process. Westerlund v. Croaff, 68 Ariz. 36, 198 P.2d 842; Bank of Arizona v. Superior Court, 30 Ariz. 72, 245 P. 366. It is my view that in the borderline cases, such as this, where the ultimate answer is in grave doubt, we should permit the trial court to determine its jurisdiction after a hearing is had on the temporary restraining order rather than for us to step in by prohibition and settle the question. I do not perceive in the instant case how serious harm or even a delay would have been caused if we had kept “hands off” and corrected an erroneous ruling—if such had been made—on appeal. On the time element it has always been the *79policy to advance on our docket appeals involving the public interest.
Had the majority of this court held the annexation petitions were inadequate, then obviously the writ of prohibition should not have issued. To me prudence dictates that this court should only issue such prerogative writ when there clearly appears a reasonable basis for believing that the lower court is proceeding without or in excess of its jurisdiction and that there is no adequate remedy at law. Except by hindsight this was not evident in the instant case.