Can a lower court sue a higher court?

An important factor against allowing a lower court to sue a higher court is the inevitable erosion of the working relationship between the institutions. By analogy, the seminal case of Carsten v. Psychology Examining Com., supra, 27 Cal.3d 793, 166 Cal.Rptr. 844, 614 P.2d 276, is instructive. In Carsten the court held that a member of an administrative agency may not bring an action in mandate to challenge the legality of action taken by the board on which he or she serves as a member, for the reason that such a party lacks a beneficial interest in the outcome (required by Code of Civil Procedure section 1086 controlling actions for writs of mandate) and further that the pursuit of litigation for such purpose "will be disruptive to the administrative process and antithetical to its underlying purpose of providing expeditious disposition of problems in a specialized field without recourse to the judiciary. Board members will be compelled to testify against each other, to attack members with conflicting views and justify their own positions taken in administrative hearings, and to reveal internal discussions and deliberations. Litigation--even the threat of litigation--is certain to affect the working relationship among board members." (27 Cal.3d at p. 799, 166 Cal.Rptr. 844, 614 P.2d 276.)