TY - JOUR
AU - Goodman, Leonard S.
AB - Vol.1 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL HISTORY Mandamus in the Colonies-The Rise of the Superintending Power of American Courts by LEONARD S. GOODMAN* AT THE CORE of the autonomous role of the judiciary in the fi. control of administrative action lies the writ of man- damus. The court, by the use of this writ, may order the executive branch to perform a particular act. A potential con- stitutional conflict lay behind the issuance of the first judicial writ of mandamus in 1615. Common law was competing with other segments of English law for primacy; the prerogative writs of the common law courts were among the factors that eventually decided the struggle. Even more, a doctrine of "common law of judicial review," to use Professor Jaffe's words, emerged. This paper will be concerned with the rise in the American colonies of this same, singular role of com- mon law courts. Emphasis throughout will be on the practice in the writ of mandamus: how and when this jurisdiction arose, and the scope and content of the power exercised through the writ. MANDAMUS IN ENGLAND The "supervisory" or "superintending" jurisdiction of courts is one that early finds its voice in England in 
TI - Mandamus in the Colonies—The Rise of the Superintending Power of American Courts
JF - American Journal of Legal History
DO - 10.2307/844023
DA - 1957-10-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/mandamus-in-the-colonies-the-rise-of-the-superintending-power-of-fnM0MYMpVc
SP - 308
EP - 335
VL - 1
IS - 4
DP - DeepDyve
ER -