Extraordinary writs are a form of relief that appellate courts have discretion to issue in certain circumstances. The power to issue extraordinary writs comes from Article V, section 4(b)(3) of the Florida Constitution. In civil matters, district courts of appeal may issue writs of mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto, and all other writs necessary to exercise their jurisdiction. Writs of mandamus are a less commonly used, but uniquely powerful type of writ that a Florida appellate attorney may pursue when urgent judicial intervention is needed.
Mandamus: Compelling a Party in an Official Position to Perform a Legal Duty
In layman’s terms, writs of mandamus are used to make an official do something that they are legally obligated to do. The official may be an individual (state officers, local public officials, judges, etc.) or a state agency. Moreover, the official can be a private actor (e.g., directors or officers of a private corporation, personal representatives of an estate, trustees, guardians, etc.) so long as the official has a legal duty to perform a certain act. The district courts of appeal and Florida Supreme Court have concurrent jurisdiction to issue these writs; However, the supreme court can only issue writs of mandamus to state officers and state agencies.
Writs of Mandamus: When Judges Must Comply
The legal duty sought to be compelled must be a ministerial one and not a discretionary one, which a Florida appellate attorney must carefully analyze before filing. For example, a trial court judge has a ministerial duty to conduct a hearing (or a certain type of hearing) when a party is entitled to one. See, e.g., Griffin Windows & Doors, LLC v. Pomeroy, 351 So. 3d 1125, 1127 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022) (holding that a trial court has a duty to set an evidentiary hearing on the award of attorney’s fees and costs after ruling on the entitlement to such fees); However, a trial court judge would have discretion to to rule in either party’s favor after conducting such a hearing – in the context of an evidentiary hearing to determine the amount of an attorneys’ fees award, a trial court judge would have discretion to determine the amount.
Violation of a Clear Legal Right and Breach of an Indisputable Legal Duty
The burden to obtain mandamus relief is upon the party who petitions the appellate court for such relief. The petitioning party must show that the official has violated a clear legal right and breached an indisputable legal duty. Again, the duty must be ministerial and not discretionary. Put another way, a writ of mandamus can be used to enforce a legal right by compelling an official to perform a duty enabling one to enforce this legal right, but mandamus cannot be used to litigate a party’s entitlement to this legal right.
Exhaustion of All Administrative or Legal Remedies
To obtain mandamus relief, a party must show that there is no other adequate remedy available. Using the same example as above, a party may petition an appellate court for mandamus to make a trial court judge conduct an evidentiary where a party is entitled to one (and where the trial court judge refuses to hold one) because there generally is no other mechanism by which one can obtain this kind of relief. That is, if a trial court judge refuses to hold a hearing that a party is entitled to, the party generally cannot turn to anyone but the appellate court to make the trial court judge perform this duty.
We provide examples of how mandamus can be used to make a trial court judge perform a certain duty because in our practice this is the most common context in which mandamus relief is sought. But another common use of these writs occurs when a public official or agency refuses to issue a license or permit to which a party is entitled. If a petitioner can demonstrate that he or she has a clear legal right to obtain a license or permit, the government official charged with the task of issuing the license or permit has no discretion to deny it. And because there is generally no other mechanism by which the party can make the official issue the permit, when the official simply refuses to do so, a writ of mandamus will be issued in this context.
Common Types of Mandamus Relief
A trial court’s refusal to conduct a hearing to which a party is entitled, and a state official’s refusal to issue a permit or license to which a party is entitled, are two common scenarios where a Florida appellate attorney may seek mandamus relief. In our practice at Valero Law, we find that filing a writ of mandamus is most often appropriate when a trial court judge refuses to act.
So, another common scenario where this type of extraordinary writ is useful to make a trial court act occurs when a trial court refuses to exercise jurisdiction over a matter. If a trial court grants a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the trial court effectively refuses to exercise jurisdiction when it is obligated to do so. In such a case, a writ of mandamus may be issued to make the trial court exercise jurisdiction. Moreover, a trial court cannot simply refuse to rule upon the motion to dismiss – while a trial court has discretion to manage its docket, it still has an obligation to rule on the issues before it – and if a trial court refuses to do so, mandamus may be the appropriate relief for compelling the trial court to act.
When to Use Mandamus to Challenge Improper Judicial Disqualification
Florida courts have routinely held that mandamus is the proper remedy to correct a trial court judge’s erroneous order granting a motion to disqualify the judge. This is so because if a trial court judge, without proper grounds, disqualifies himself/herself, he/she is refusing to preside over a matter when he/she is obligated to do so. Conversely, if a trial court judge erroneously denies a motion to disqualify the judge, the proper remedy is the issuance of a writ of prohibition which can be used to prevent a judge from exercising jurisdiction when he/she is not allowed to do so.
What to Know Before Filing a Florida Mandamus Petition
Entire chapters of Florida Bar appellate practice treatises are dedicated to the subject of this extraordinary remedy. While this article is not intended to provide a full and complete treatment of writs of mandamus, it is a useful starting point which addresses some of the more common questions that arise.
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