Frequently, a decision on appeal will not end the case; instead, the court of appeals may remand the case to the district court to conduct additional proceedings, perhaps leading to a trial. Often, and even in the same case, a disappointed party may seek further review from the Supreme Court. The possibility of simultaneous district court and U.S. Supreme Court proceedings can be sorted out through a variety of procedures, such as a stay of the appellate court’s mandate, stays from the court of appeals of proceedings or remand, or even a stay from the Supreme Court.
In a per curiam opinion issued on Sept. 10, the Seventh Circuit held it was improper for a district court to stay proceedings pending the filing of a petition for a writ of certiorari. At least in a case in which a request to stay the mandate had been made to the court of appeals and denied, the district court’s stay violated the mandate rule. As a result, the Seventh Circuit granted the extraordinary remedy of a writ of mandamus.
