writ of mandamus

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

writ of mandamus - an extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official's discretion; used only when all other judicial remedies failmandamusjudicial writ, writ - (law) a legal document issued by a court or judicial officerlaw, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"