Rule 1.1402.Procedure

Rule 1.1402(1) sets the caption for a certiorari petition: the petitioner is named as plaintiff, and the inferior tribunal, board, or officer is named as defendant. Rule 1.1402(2) tells the petitioner what kind of proceeding to expect — the action proceeds by ordinary proceedings, so far as those procedures apply to this specialized action.

The real pressure point is rule 1.1402(3)'s deadline. The petition must be filed within 30 days from the time the tribunal, board, or officer exceeded its jurisdiction or otherwise acted illegally — a short window measured from the challenged act itself, not from when the petitioner later learns about it. The rule does allow an extension, but only on a specific showing: the reviewing court may grant more time if the petitioner shows that the failure to file within 30 days was due to the tribunal, board, or officer's own failure to notify the petitioner of the challenged decision. Even that extension request has its own outer limit — any motion for an extension must be filed with the clerk of the court where the writ is sought within 90 days of the challenged decision. The motion and any resistance to it can be supported only by copies of relevant portions of the record being challenged and by affidavits; the rule specifies that no other form of evidence will be received.