Supreme Court Addresses Standard for Discretionary Stays of Mandate

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Saipan, CNMI – —On October 16th, the Supreme Court denied Appellant John Sablan Pangelinan’s motion to stay the mandate in Pangelinan v. Pangelinan. 2024 MP 5 for the purpose of reconsidering a denial of a petition for rehearing. The Supreme Court took the opportunity to clarify the standards for when invoking a discretionary motion for stay of mandate under NMI Supreme Court Rule 41(d)(1). Emphasizing that non-certiorari reasons for granting a stay of mandate are disfavored, the Supreme Court held that such stays may be granted in cases where reconsideration would be appropriate such as a change in controlling law, the availability of new evidence or the need to correct a clear error or to prevent manifest injustice.

Here, the Court found the motion merely reasserted arguments previously rejected, and did not allege a change in controlling law or new evidence and did not provide any clear error in the petition for rehearing. Therefore, the Supreme Court denied his request to stay the mandate.

The full opinion can be read on the Law Revision Commission website: https://cnmilaw.org/pdf/supreme/2025-MP-09.pdf

2025-PR-018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 16, 2025

This press release has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the public. For further information, contact the Supreme Court at Supreme.Court@NMIJudiciary.gov