When a federal court of appeals rules in your favor, your first instinct may be to open a bottle of champagne. But you might want to keep it on ice a little longer. Until the mandate issues, the appellate court’s decision is non-final and you rely on it at your own risk.
The mandate is an often ignored step in appellate procedure, but one of potentially great significance. Understanding the mandate can be critical for determining when an appellate court has jurisdiction and whether an appellate decision supplies the law of the case.
