A writ of certiorari is ______.

a. a brief filed by interested parties to encourage the court to make a certain decision
b. a petition by the losing side in a lower court for the Supreme Court to hear an appeal
c. an order that a defendant be brought into court to hear the charges against him or her
d. an order by the Supreme Court to a lower court to rehear a case
e. a ruling in a criminal appeal that overturns a conviction

b. a petition by the losing side in a lower court for the Supreme Court to hear an appeal