S. Ct. Civ. No. 2014-0070

A petition for writ of mandamus filed by a defendant charged with numerous offenses, including first-degree murder, seeking an order directing the Superior Court judge presiding over the underlying criminal matter to issue a merits ruling on a motion for determination of the methods for preserving error during jury selection, is denied. To obtain a writ of mandamus, a petitioner must establish that it has no other adequate means to attain the desired relief and that its right to the writ is clear and indisputable, and the court must be satisfied, in the exercise of its discretion, that the writ is appropriate under the circumstances. The petitioner in this case has failed to meet this high burden. The Superior Court did, in fact, issue an order denying petitioner's motion, finding it premature, and that court may exercise its discretion to defer a merits ruling on a motion if the interests of judicial economy would be furthered by considering the issue at a later date. Thus petitioner's right to a merits ruling is not clear and indisputable. In addition, he possesses an adequate alternate means to obtain a merits ruling since it is clear that the Superior Court is amenable to issuing a merits ruling in the event a jury selection issue arises during trial. Thus the petition for writ of mandamus is denied.