Summary
This Fifth Circuit published order grants a petition for a writ of mandamus directed at the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. The appellate court reversed the district court's decision to reopen a thirteen-year-old, previously dismissed-as-moot lawsuit challenging Louisiana's lethal injection protocol under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6). The panel held that the district court lacked jurisdiction over the moot case and that plaintiffs should have filed a new suit to challenge the state's newly adopted nitrogen hypoxia execution method. The order includes a concurring opinion emphasizing judicial restraint and a dissent arguing against the immediate issuance of the writ.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the district court’s use of Rule 60(b)(6) to reopen a moot case was proper
- Whether a writ of mandamus is appropriate under the three‑prong Cheney test
Holdings
- The district court erred; a district court may not reopen a case that it properly dismissed as moot, and the writ of mandamus is warranted to vacate the February 21, 2025 order.
Key quotations
““First, the party seeking issuance of the writ must have no other adequate means to attain the relief he desires—a condition designed to ensure that the writ will not be used as a substitute for the regular appeals process.”” (at 2)
““Mandamus is appropriate ‘to confine an inferior court to a lawful exercise of its prescribed jurisdiction.’”” (at 5)
Factual background
Thirteen‑year‑old death‑row litigation challenging Louisiana's lethal‑injection protocol was dismissed as moot when the state could not obtain the drugs. In 2024 Louisiana adopted a nitrogen‑hypoxia protocol; the district court reopened the old case under Rule 60(b)(6) to allow amendment, prompting petitioners to seek mandamus relief.
Procedural history
The district court dismissed the original lethal‑injection suit as moot in 2022. In February 2025 it reopened the case under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6). Petitioners filed an emergency mandamus petition; the Fifth Circuit granted a temporary stay, later granted mandamus and ordered the district court to vacate its order.
Remand instructions
Vacate the district court’s February 21, 2025 order.