Certiorari Definition

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(sersh-e-oh-rar-ee)

Latin for "to be fully informed." Certiorari is an order (called a "writ") by an appeals court to a lower court to send all the documents in a case so that the appeals court can review the lower court's decision. Certiorari is most commonly used by the United States Supreme Court, which grants certiorari when at least four Justices believe that the case involves a question or issue that the Court should decide.

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