State Ex Rel. Lindley v. MacCabees

Under the common law, because franchises emanated from and public offices were under the control of the crown, the writ of quo warranto was never employed by a private individual to test the usurpation or misuser of a franchise, or to challenge the title to the office. The writ could only be employed by the crown at the instance of its own officers, usually the Attorney General. The function of the writ was to protect the rights of the crown against the usurpation of governmental prerogatives, and thus safeguard the public interests. The right to use the information on the relation of a…