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Glite Dictionary
quo warranto

quo warranto

1 9.9
A court action asking what right someone has to hold an office
  • noun
  • /ˈkwoʊ wəˈrɑːnˌtoʊ/
  • Formal
: quo warranto
  • On May 15, Halverson filed her lawsuit against Hardcastle, an unusual petition for a writ of quo warranto that challenges the chief judge's authority over Halverson.
  • writ of quo warranto

Examples

  • The court issued a quo warranto to determine whether the mayor had the authority to grant the franchise without proper approval.

  • Citizens have the option to initiate a quo warranto proceeding if they believe an official is unlawfully occupying a position.

  • In the case of a disputed election, a candidate can file a quo warranto to question the winner's right to hold office.

Synonyms

warranto
vsquo warranto
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Authority someone has to hold a public office and use power

is the formal court action that asks which authority gives that right

Surface Forms

quo warranto singular
quo warrantos plural

Morphology

quo + warranto

This is a Latin legalism composed of non‑transparent/rare constituents: 'quo' is not an ordinary English word and 'warranto' is a specialist legal noun. The overall juridical meaning ('by what authority one holds office') is technical and not derivable by a B1 learner from the parts, so it functions as an opaque legal idiom.

Etymology

Quo warranto comes from old legal words: the parts quo and warranto literally mean 'by what authority'. Courts used that question to ask someone to show proof they had the right to hold an office, so the phrase now means an official legal case that challenges someone's right to a position.