Mandamus Law Reference — Educational Legal ReferenceFor informational purposes only · Not legal advice
Mandamus Law Reference Writ of Mandamus · United States Law
Related sitesMandamus.comMandamus.netWritOfMandamus.comMandamus.liveMandamus.esWritOfHabeasCorpus.comand 16 more, listed in every article

An independent editorial reference · United States law

MandamusLaw Reference

The extraordinary writ that compels a public official to do what the law already requires — and that a court may still decline to issue.

The three requirements for mandamusA petitioner must clear three gates in sequence: a clear and indisputable right to relief, a duty that is ministerial rather than discretionary, and no other adequate remedy available. Failing any gate leads to a petition denied exit shown in red. Even a petitioner who clears all three gates reaches a fourth, dashed box: the court may still deny relief in its discretion. Footnote: Kerr v. U.S. District Court, 426 U.S. 394 (1976); Cheney v. U.S. District Court, 542 U.S. 367 (2004).REQUIREMENT 1 OF 3A clear and indisputable right to reliefPetition deniedREQUIREMENT 2 OF 3A duty that is ministerial, not discretionaryPetition deniedREQUIREMENT 3 OF 3No other adequate remedy availablePetition deniedIF ALL THREE ARE METEven then, the court may denyrelief in its discretion.Kerr v. U.S. District Court, 426 U.S. 394 (1976);Cheney v. U.S. District Court, 542 U.S. 367 (2004).
The three requirements for mandamus
120articles
12sections
433links in prose
0sponsored posts

In brief

Immigration DelaysAdministrative Processing and 221(g) Refusals The Federal Docket28 U.S.C. § 1361: Federal Mandamus Jurisdiction Agencies & Administrative LawExhausting Administrative Remedies Before Mandamus Criminal & Trial CourtsBail Orders and Why 18 U.S.C. § 3145 Comes First Discovery, Privilege & TransferPatent Transfer Mandamus in the Federal Circuit State PracticeCalifornia's Writ of Mandate Under CCP § 1085 The Practice DeskAppealing the Denial of a Writ of Mandamus Case FilesAllied Chemical Corp. v. Daiflon ComparisonsWhen Courts Recharacterize a Mandamus Petition

The sections

Twelve subjects, each read on its own terms

Foundations

What the writ is, what it requires, and the four things a court weighs before granting it.

All 10 →

Immigration Delays

Stalled applications, the delay claim that accompanies them, and the limits nobody mentions in a consultation.

All 10 →

Criminal & Trial Courts

Victims' rights, disqualification, sealed records and the narrow supervisory role of the writ in criminal cases.

All 10 →

Discovery, Privilege & Transfer

Privilege, transfer of venue and consolidated litigation: where the writ is used most in federal practice today.

All 10 →

The Federal DocketSection 1361 in the district courts, Rule 21 in the courts of appeals, and the procedure each one demands.10 Agencies & Administrative LawEach agency has its own route out. The value is knowing when that route displaces the writ.10 State PracticeFifty systems with their own names, their own deadlines and their own standards.10 The Practice DeskService, venue, respondents and deadlines, in the order a filer meets them.10 Case FilesThe decisions that fixed the standard, from 1803 to the transfer petitions of the last decade.10 ComparisonsProhibition, certiorari, habeas, injunction, declaratory relief: what each one does that mandamus cannot.10 Family, Probate & LocalState courts, ministerial clerks, and the boundary between compelling a ruling and dictating one.10 Questions & AnswersCost, timing and odds, answered without inventing figures that no published source supports.10

How to use this reference

Read the limits before the procedure

Mandamus compels an official to decide. It does not decide for them, it does not substitute for an appeal, and a court may withhold it even where every requirement is met. Every article states those limits alongside the procedure, because a reference that omits them is not useful to the person reading it.

This publication is an editorial reference. It does not offer legal services, does not represent anyone, and creates no attorney-client relationship. Anyone with an active matter should consult a licensed attorney in the relevant jurisdiction.

Browse the full index of 120 articles →