Court Opinion

ID: 9465912
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 00:59:36.283439+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:39:26.477833
License: Public Domain

ON PETITION FOR REHEARING
This case comes before us on a petition for rehearing filed by The Honorable Edward J. McManus, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. We adhere in general to the views expressed in our opinion of February 7, 1979, Iowa Beef Processors, Inc. v. Bagley, 601 F.2d 949 (8th Cir.), but find that important additional considerations raised by Judge McManus impel us to modify that opinion to the following extent.
It is axiomatic that a writ of mandamus, as an extraordinary remedy, ordinarily should not issue where it probably will have no appreciable effect on the rights of the parties before the court. See, e.g., Jackson v. Choate, 404 F.2d 910, 912 (5th Cir. 1968); Phillips v. McCauley, 92 F.2d 790, 791 (9th Cir. 1937). In the instant case, issuing the writ compelling the reinstatement of the protective order does not alter the status quo in any way. As we noted in our earlier opinion, there is no basis for requiring the Subcommittee to return the documents acquired from Bagley. Moreover, the order partially lifting the protective order pertained only to Bagley’s compliance with the Subcommittee subpoena. Any further disclosure would be in violation of the protective order, which, as we understand it, otherwise remains in full force and effect. We are confident that any future attempt by Bagley to seek permission to disclose any further information regarding these documents will be dealt with by the district court in accordance with the considerations discussed in our earlier opinion.
Given these circumstances, we agree that the formal issuance of a writ of mandamus was improvident, cf. Ex parte Republic of Peru, 318 U.S. 578, 590, 63 S.Ct. 793, 87 L.Ed. 1014 (1943), and we modify our earlier opinion to deny formal issuance of the writ.