Where a PROCEEDING is pending before an inferior court or tribunal that is exceeding its JURISDICTION, the appropriate writ to RESTRAIN it from proceeding is:

Prohibition is issued to an inferior court or tribunal to RESTRAIN it from CONINUING a proceeding in which it is exceeding, or proposes to exceed, its jurisdiction, while the matter is still PENDING. Certiorari, by contrast, is issued to QUASH an order that has already been made in excess of jurisdiction or on an error apparent on the face of the record. Mandamus commands performance of a public duty, and quo warranto tests a claim to a public office. The temporal difference - prohibition before decision, certiorari after - is the classic distinction between the two prerogative writs.