Appeals
Mandate
The mandate is the appellate court's formal order transferring control of the case back to the district court once the appeal is finished.
The decision itself does not take effect for the trial court until the mandate issues, which is normally seven days after the time to seek rehearing expires. Until then the appellate court retains jurisdiction.
A party seeking Supreme Court review can ask to stay the mandate. Once it issues, the district court must follow the appellate decision, and its instructions define what may still be litigated on remand.
Recalling a mandate is possible but extraordinary. Once it has issued and the district court has begun applying the decision, courts reopen the appeal only in rare circumstances, so the mandate is a practical point of no return.
How it appears on a docket
MANDATE of the United States Court of Appeals issued as to 201 Judgment: affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings.
Governing rule
Fed. R. App. P. 41
Related terms
- Remand — Remand is sending a case back to the court it came from, either from federal court to state court or from an appellate court to the trial court.
- Appellate Brief — An appellate brief is the written argument filed in a court of appeals explaining why the decision below should be affirmed or reversed.
More on appeals
See this term in a real case
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