Opinion ID: 492501
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Institutional Tools, Values and Illustrations.

Text: 7 There are several methods used to ensure order is maintained within the judicial hierarchy. Pursuant to statutory provisions, appellate courts have the authority to issue writs of mandamus. All Writs Statute, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1651 (1982). The historic use of the writ of mandamus issued by an appellate court has been to exert its revisory appellate power over the district court. Roche v. Evaporated Milk Ass'n, 319 U.S. 21, 26, 63 S.Ct. 938, 941, 87 L.Ed. 1185 (1943); Ex parte Peru, 318 U.S. 578, 583, 63 S.Ct. 793, 796, 87 L.Ed. 1014 (1943). The writ affords an effective means of confining the inferior court to a lawful exercise of its prescribed jurisdiction, or of compelling it to exercise its authority when it is its duty to do so. Ex parte Peru, 318 U.S. at 583, 63 S.Ct. at 796. The writ of mandamus, while an extreme remedy, is still used when a district court usurps power or abuses its discretion. Kerr v. United States District Court, 426 U.S. 394, 402, 96 S.Ct. 2119, 2123, 48 L.Ed.2d 725 (1976); United States v. Fernandez-Toledo, 737 F.2d 912, 919 (11th Cir.1984); In re Extradition of Ghandtchi, 697 F.2d 1037, 1038 (11th Cir.1983); see United States v. Cannon, 807 F.2d 1528, 1529 (11th Cir.1986). The writ is a tool used to keep the courts functioning within the constitutional and congressional design. 8 The Supreme Court, by accepting cases through the discretionary writ of certiorari, has kept order within the courts. The notion that the federal district courts and circuit courts of appeal must adhere to controlling Supreme Court decisions is reinforced whenever necessary. In Hutto v. Davis, 454 U.S. 370, 375, 102 S.Ct. 703, 706, 70 L.Ed.2d 556 (1982), the Court emphasized the need to adhere to the hierarcal structure of the federal court system created by the Constitution and Congress. [U]nless we wish anarchy to prevail within the federal judicial system, a precedent of this Court must be followed by the lower federal courts no matter how misguided the judges of those courts may think it to be. Davis, 454 U.S. at 375, 102 S.Ct. at 706. 9 A recent case serves as a compelling illustration. 1 In Jaffree v. Board of School Comm'rs, 554 F.Supp. 1104 (S.D.Ala.1983), the district court held that the fourteenth amendment did not incorporate the establishment clause of the first amendment against the States. The district court ruled that the United States Supreme Court had erred. Id. at 1128. Justice Powell, in his capacity of Circuit Justice for the Eleventh Circuit, entered an interlocutory emergency stay of the judgment of the district court and stated that, [u]nless and until this Court reconsiders the following decisions, they appear to control this case. In my view, the District Court was obligated to follow them. Similarly, my own authority as Circuit Justice is limited by controlling decisions of the full Court. Jaffree v. Board of School Comm'rs, 459 U.S. 1314, 1316, 103 S.Ct. 842, 843, 74 L.Ed.2d 924 (1983). 10 Thereafter, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court's order dismissing the complaint, 705 F.2d 1526 (11th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 926, 104 S.Ct. 1707, 80 L.Ed.2d 181 (1984). The Court emphasized the district court's obligation to adhere to Supreme Court precedent. The Supreme Court had considered the historical implications and concluded that its present interpretation of the first and fourteenth amendments is consistent with the historical evidence. Id. at 1532. Even though the district court concluded that the Supreme Court erred it was required to follow the controlling decision. Id. at 1532; Stell v. Savannah-Chatham County Bd. of Ed., 333 F.2d 55, 61 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 933, 85 S.Ct. 332, 13 L.Ed.2d 344 (1964). The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals. Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38, 105 S.Ct. 2479, 86 L.Ed.2d 29 (1985) (this appeal dealt with the narrow question of whether a period of silence for meditation or voluntary prayer established religion within the meaning of the first amendment). The message sent to the district court from both the Supreme Court and the court of appeals was clear--it had an obligation to follow precedent. 11 Many devices have been created to ensure that authority, jurisdiction and responsibility remain properly allocated among the three levels of courts within the federal judiciary. The discussion above merely serves to illustrate the point. The courts within the system have differing responsibilities and standards and values must be formulated and communicated in order to ensure that the process functions. 12 Institutional tools perpetuate the value of stability and predictability--essential factors in the proper operation of the judiciary. Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir.1981) (en banc). Predictability is essential not only to lawyers who must advise their clients about the law, but also to the notion of judicial review in creating a stable body of law. It is generally thought that appellate courts are in a better position than trial courts to accommodate the need for stability. Reviewing courts are better able to maintain the necessary continuity of doctrine over time. Carrington, Crowded Dockets and the Court of Appeals: The Threat to the Function of Review and the National Law, 82 Harv.L.Rev. 542, 551-52 (1969). The uniformity achieved is not necessarily rigid; the appellate court can change, or can react to advocacy or external reality to alter the direction of its commands. P. Carrington, D. Meador & M. Rosenberg, Justice on Appeal p. 148 (1976). But the primary mission of the courts recognizes this particular feature. 13 Judicial precedence serves as the foundation of our federal judicial system. Adherence to it results in stability and predictability. Jaffree v. Wallace, 705 F.2d 1526, 1533 (11th Cir.1983). In Moragne v. States Marine Lines, 398 U.S. 375, 90 S.Ct. 1772, 26 L.Ed.2d 339 (1970) the Supreme Court discussed the reasons for adhering to precedent: 14 Among these are the desirability that the law furnish a clear guide for the conduct of individuals, to enable them to plan their affairs with assurance against untoward surprise; the importance of furthering fair and expeditious adjudication by eliminating the need to relitigate every relevant proposition in every case; and the necessity of maintaining public faith in the judiciary as a source of impersonal and reasoned judgments. 15 Id. at 403, 90 S.Ct. at 1789. The confidence of people in their ability to predict the legal consequences of their actions is vitally necessary to facilitate the planning of primary activity. Id. The law of the case doctrine rests on the same principles. 16 The law of the case doctrine was created to ensure that authority and responsibility remain properly allocated among the courts. The doctrine is based on the premise that an appellate decision is binding in all subsequent proceedings in the same case unless the presentation of new evidence or an intervening change in the controlling law dictates a different result, or the appellate decision is clearly erroneous and, if implemented, would work a manifest injustice. 2 Piambino v. Bailey, 757 F.2d 1112, 1120 (11th Cir.1985), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 106 S.Ct. 2889, 90 L.Ed.2d 976 (1986); Westbrook v. Zant, 743 F.2d 764, 768-69 (11th Cir.1984); Baumer v. United States, 685 F.2d 1318, 1320 (11th Cir.1982) (quoting White v. Murtha, 377 F.2d 428, 431-32 (5th Cir.1967)). A district court when acting under an appellate court's mandate, cannot vary it, or examine it for any other purpose than execution; or give any other or further relief; or review it, even for apparent error, upon a matter decided on appeal; or intermeddle with it, further than to settle so much as has been remanded. In re Sanford Fork & Tool Co., 160 U.S. 247, 255, 16 S.Ct. 291, 293, 40 L.Ed. 414 (1895); Sibbald v. United States, 37 U.S. (12 Pet.) 488, 492, 9 L.Ed. 1167 (1838). 17 The law of the case doctrine, self-imposed by the courts, operates to create efficiency, finality and obedience within the judicial system. See Wheeler v. City of Pleasant Grove, 746 F.2d 1437, 1440 (11th Cir.1984); United States v. Williams, 728 F.2d 1402, 1406 (11th Cir.1984); Lehrman v. Gulf Oil Corp., 500 F.2d 659, 662 (5th Cir.1974), cert. denied, 420 U.S. 929, 95 S.Ct. 1128, 43 L.Ed.2d 400 (1975); White v. Murtha, 377 F.2d 428, 431 (5th Cir.1967). Judicial dispute resolution must have certain essential elements. Due process, as a constitutional value, may be the cornerstone, but finality and stability, as institutional values, may be of equal importance. While the law of the case doctrine is not an inexorable command, 3 White v. Murtha, 377 F.2d at 431, adherence to it helps to ensure that the essential elements are maintained in the process. Failure to honor its commands can only result in chaos. 18 The mandate rule is simply an application of the law of the case doctrine to a specific set of facts. Piambino, 757 F.2d at 1120 (citations omitted). Each tier in the judicial hierarchy has its responsibility once a mandate is issued. A mandate may be vague or precise resulting from the disposition of those issues presented which vary widely from the rather simple to the most complex. Determining the scope of a mandate can present problems with interpretation. The case law is replete with examples of disputes arising from interpretations of mandates. The disputes focus on the relationship between the appellate courts and district courts and center on the proper allocation of authority and responsibility. 19 The law of our circuit concerning the obligations of a district court to follow our mandates is settled. See Piambino, 757 F.2d 1112 (11th Cir.1985); Wheeler v. City of Pleasant Grove, 746 F.2d 1437 (11th Cir.1984); Westbrook v. Zant, 743 F.2d 764 (11th Cir.1984); Dorsey v. Continental Casualty Co., 730 F.2d 675 (11th Cir.1984); United States v. Williams, 728 F.2d 1402 (11th Cir.1984); Robinson v. Parrish, 720 F.2d 1548 (11th Cir.1983); Baumer v. United States, 685 F.2d 1318 (11th Cir.1982). All circuits are in accord. See e.g., Todd Shipyards Corp. v. Auto Transportation, S.A., 763 F.2d 745 (5th Cir.1985); Bankers Trust Co. v. Bethlehem Steel Corp., 761 F.2d 943 (3d Cir.1985); In re Beverly Hills Bancorp., 752 F.2d 1334 (9th Cir.1984); Devines v. Maier, 728 F.2d 876 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 836, 105 S.Ct. 130, 83 L.Ed.2d 71 (1984); Stamper v. Baskerville, 724 F.2d 1106 (4th Cir.1984); City of Cleveland v. Federal Power Comm'n, 561 F.2d 344 (D.C.Cir.1977); Crane Co. v. American Standard, Inc., 490 F.2d 332 (2d Cir.1973); In re United States Steel Corp., 479 F.2d 489 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 859, 94 S.Ct. 71, 38 L.Ed.2d 110 (1973); Cherokee Nation v. Oklahoma, 461 F.2d 674 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1039, 93 S.Ct. 521, 34 L.Ed.2d 489 (1972); Poletti v. Commissioner, 351 F.2d 345 (8th Cir.1965); United States v. Iriarte, 166 F.2d 800 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 335 U.S. 816, 69 S.Ct. 36, 93 L.Ed. 371 (1948). 20 When an appellate court issues a specific mandate it is not subject to interpretation; the district court has an obligation to carry out the order. A different result would encourage and invite district courts to engage in ad hoc analysis of the propriety of appellate court rulings. Post mandate maneuvering in the district courts would undermine the authority of appellate courts and create a great deal of uncertainty in the judicial process. It would also eliminate any hope of finality. 21 We recognize that there are cases wherein a seemingly specific mandate such as an order for a new trial may wind up with a different result on remand. However, in such cases the opinion, when viewed in its totality, supports the alternative disposition. See e.g., Publishers Resource, Inc. v. Walker-Davis Publications, Inc., 762 F.2d 557 (7th Cir.1985) (remand for a new trial did not necessarily mean that a trial would be necessary when the district court was instructed to look at the contractual provisions governing termination and then make a determination of damages); United States v. Curtis, 683 F.2d 769 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1018, 103 S.Ct. 379, 74 L.Ed.2d 512 (1982) (reversal of conviction and remand for a new trial did not preclude district court from dismissing indictment based on double jeopardy claim as constitutional question was not raised on appeal;) 4 Shelkofsky v. Broughton, 388 F.2d 977 (5th Cir.1968) 5 (reversal for a trial by jury did not preclude district court from disposing of the case summarily if the evidence offered was insufficient to warrant submission to the jury). Such cases do not weaken the mandate rule but give it flexibility. See Arizona v. California, 460 U.S. 605, 618, 103 S.Ct. 1382, 1391, 75 L.Ed.2d 318 (1983). 22