Sullivan

In this appeal we determine that a writ of mandate (Code of Civ. Proc., § 1085) does not lie (1) to compel the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to refrain from ordering its officers to appear as witnesses in court absent service upon the officers of a lawful subpoena or (2) to compel the state or county government to compensatexifficers of the CHP for time spent on standby status as peace officer witnesses. We conclude that plaintiffs, who are CHP officers, have adequate recourse in lieu of the extraordinary judicial remedy sought here through the collective bargaining machinery of the state Employer-Employee Relations Act (SEERA; Gov. Code, § 3512 et seq.).

The controversy focuses on a practice adopted by the CHP in Ventura County in cooperation with the district attorney to deal with congested court calendars. The practice is designed to facilitate the availability of officer witnesses to testify in criminal cases. To secure the attendance of a CHP officer as a witness, the district attorney makes a written request to the Ventura CHP office that a certain officer be prepared to testify on a given date. The written request is known locally as a “subpoena memorandum.” The…