A court order directing a lower court or administrative body to stop proceedings that exceed their jurisdiction or violate the law. It prevents rather than compels action, protecting against judicial or administrative overreach.
From Latin 'prohibere' meaning 'to forbid' or 'hold back.' Developed alongside other common law writs as a supervisory tool for higher courts to control inferior tribunals. The writ ensured that courts and officials stayed within their proper bounds of authority.
Prohibition is the judicial equivalent of a referee's whistle—it stops the game when someone is playing outside the rules. This writ has been crucial in maintaining the boundaries between different levels of government and ensuring that courts don't exceed their jurisdiction. During the New Deal era, prohibition writs were used to challenge federal agencies that exceeded their statutory authority, helping define the limits of administrative power.
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