(CNMI Judiciary) — On Oct. 16, 2025, the CNMI 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 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 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 CNMI 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