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26
slimcoat 26 points ago +26 / -0

Lawyer pedes help out, what is "mandamus"?

23
kjj9 23 points ago +23 / -0

A writ of mandamus is an order from a court to a government official of some sort, telling them to do their job. It is mostly obsolete in the US, but is still appropriate when a higher court needs to tell a lower court to stop fucking up.

17
lefty295 17 points ago +17 / -0

Not a lawyer, but it's an order from a higher court (appeals in this case) to a lower court.

11
nmipede 11 points ago +11 / -0

Not a lawyer, but it's basically an order from a superior court that a lower court has to follow.

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deleted 3 points ago +3 / -0
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MSG1000 11 points ago +11 / -0

“A judicial writ issued as a command to an inferior court or ordering a person to perform a public or statutory duty.” Is what I found.

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Long_time_lurker 11 points ago +11 / -0

It's what it was called when Flynn's lawyer asked the higher court to bitchslap Sullivan and order him to follow the law.

But the rest of the replies are also correct.

5
TwoPlusTwoEqualsFour 5 points ago +5 / -0

I like this explanation.