Opinion ID: 743597
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Characterization of the writ of mandamus

Text: 11 The plain language of the statute does not expressly encompass a writ of mandamus. The Fifth Circuit has referred to mandamus as a remedy, In re First South Sav. Ass'n, 820 F.2d 700, 706 (5th Cir.1987), that is available upon proof of certain elements, United States v. O'Neil, 767 F.2d 1111, 1112 (5th Cir.1985). Although such terms suggest that mandamus is a separate action, this circuit has also described the writ as a method of supervisory control of the district courts. United States v. Comeaux, 954 F.2d 255, 261 (5th Cir.1992). In further support of the notion of mandamus as a form of appeal, a panel of the Fifth Circuit held that a court of appeals must have an independent basis of jurisdiction over the matter because the writ [of mandamus] must issue 'in aid of' that jurisdiction. Hamilton v. Morial, 644 F.2d 351, 354 (5th Cir.1981). 12 There is no uniform notion of the writ among the other circuits, but most consider it to be a form of appeal. The Third Circuit classified mandamus as a procedural mechanism, Madden v. Myers, 102 F.3d 74, 77, (3d Cir.1996), available to courts of appeal only 'to confine an inferior court to a lawful exercise of its prescribed jurisdiction.'  Id. at n. 3 (quoting Will v. United States, 389 U.S. 90, 95, 88 S.Ct. 269, 272, 19 L.Ed.2d 305 (1967)). When the writ is brought against the trial judge in a petitioner's case, the Seventh Circuit considered mandamus to be an interlocutory appeal. Martin v. United States, 96 F.3d 853, 854 (7th Cir.1996); accord In re Tyler, 110 F.3d 528, 529 (8th Cir.1997). The Tenth Circuit similarly characterized it as an aid of appellate jurisdiction, and part of the litigation of a case. Green v. Nottingham, 90 F.3d 415, 417 (10th Cir.1996); accord Tyler, 110 F.3d at 529. 13 This circuit's approach in Comeaux and Hamilton, as well as the majority of other circuits, convince us that the mandamus petition in this case is not an independent civil action, but may be considered a type of appeal. This does not end our inquiry, however, as the PLRA only applies to civil actions. In a mandamus proceeding, therefore, the nature of the underlying action will determine the applicability of the PLRA. 2