Mahlon Pitney

“ Our jurisdiction is invoked upon the ground that the police court has not jurisdiction to try the information, and that the construction of the Food and Drugs Act, a law of the United States, is drawn in question by plaintiff in error, who was defendant below. The motion to dismiss is based upon the twofold ground that the case is one arising under the criminal laws, and that the judgment of the court of appeals is not a final judgment within the meaning of the opening words of section 250. ”

“ Certiorari always has been recognized in the District as a appropriate process for reviewing the proceedings of a subordinate tribunal when it has proceeded, or is proceeding, to judgment without lawful jurisdiction. Kennedy v. Gorman, 4 Cranch, C. C. 347, Fed. Cas. No. 7702; Bates v. District of Columbia, 1 MacArthur (D. C.) 433, 449. And the power to employ the writ inheres in the Supreme Court of the District as possessing a general common-law jurisdiction and supervisory control over inferior tribunals, analogous to that of the King's Bench. United States v. West, 34 App. D. C. 12, 17. ”

“ The function of the writ of certiorari, when thus issued prior to judgment, being simply to remove the record and proceedings into the superior court, to the end that justice may there be done, by quashing the indictment or information, by proceeding to trial upon it, or otherwise as the circumstances of the case may require, it is obvious that it merely brings into play a supervisory jurisdiction, without changing the nature of the case that is to be heard and determined ”