Philadelphia County Grand Jury Investigation Case

Dissenting Opinion by

Mr. Chief Justice Maxey:

I dissent from the majority opinion as I find in this record no legal justification whatsoever for this court to issue a writ prohibiting the court below from proceeding with the Grand Jury investigation it has ordered. The writ of prohibition is referred to by jurists and textbook writers as an “extraordinary writ”, and as such it is aptly named for it has been issued by courts only on rare and extraordinary occasions to meet extraordinary emergencies. How extraordinary this writ is is evidenced by the fact that during the 222 years existence of…