§ 1068.When Writ of Review Granted

Two things have to be true before a writ of review can issue. First, an inferior tribunal, board, or officer exercising judicial functions must have exceeded its jurisdiction -- done something the law didn't authorize it to do, not merely gotten something wrong within its authority. Second, there must be no appeal and, in the court's judgment, no other plain, speedy, and adequate remedy.

That second requirement is what makes the writ of review an extraordinary remedy rather than a routine one. A litigant who could appeal the decision, or pursue some other adequate remedy, has to use that route instead -- the writ exists as a backstop for jurisdictional excess that would otherwise go uncorrected.

Subdivision (b) extends the same authority downward: the appellate division of the superior court may grant a writ of review directed at the superior court itself in a limited civil case or a misdemeanor or infraction case. When it does, the superior court is treated as the inferior tribunal for purposes of this chapter -- the same jurisdictional-excess standard applies, just one level down the court structure.