Legal Definitions - stay of mandate

A stay of mandate is a legal term that refers to the suspension of a lower court's order of execution by a higher court. It can also refer to an appellate court's suspension of its own judgment for reconsideration.

For example, if a lower court orders a person to be executed, but the person appeals the decision to a higher court, the higher court may issue a stay of mandate to temporarily suspend the execution until the appeal is heard.

Another example is when an appellate court issues a judgment, but then decides to reconsider the case. The court may issue a stay of mandate to suspend the judgment until the reconsideration is complete.

These examples illustrate how a stay of mandate can be used to temporarily suspend legal actions until a higher court or appellate court can review the case and make a final decision.