How to file a Mandamus in Federal Court

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

1 hour ago, lincclay said:

 

Please also provide references for the statement, without reference it adds to the confusion of the readers since the references provided so far seems to suggest otherwise. Generally family members or friends are not party to the case and they can server like this: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/are-family-members-or-friends-considered-party-to--5758888.html I have not seen anything suggesting something else for Mandamus cases.

 

Also copy pasting from here: https://publiccounsel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Guide-Serving-the-United-States.pdf

Serving the United States (Mandamus is in this category): If you are a plaintiff and you have filed a Complaint, you must arrange for delivery of a copy of the Summons and Complaint to each defendant in your case. This is called “service of process.” However, a plaintiff cannot serve the Summons and Complaint. The person who serves the Summons and Complaint (the “server”) must be at least 18 years old and not a party to the lawsuit. To serve the United States when it is the defendant in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, your server must do each of the following:

you are posting information from third party websites that are dime in a dozen. Go to any local court website and read through the instructions of how to serve the defendant. if you need legal clarity, contact a law firm or lawyer for advise

[lincclay 16]

1 hour ago, igoyougoduke said:

you are posting information from third party websites that are dime in a dozen. Go to any local court website and read through the instructions of how to serve the defendant. if you need legal clarity, contact a law firm or lawyer for advise

Public Counsel is not a random website, they help pro se folks like us and it is a non-profit consisted of volunteers. I linked it because it is easy to read, otherwise everyone is welcome to read Federal Civil Procedure Rule 4 (FCRP) (https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_4) Section (c) gives the conditions of the server (above 18 years of age and not party to the case.) and section (i) explains how to serve US and its agencies. This is the default law, meaning we have to assume this unless there is Local Rule overriding this. I have read Local Rules and Standing Orders of all judges and magistrates for the Northern District of California and have not seen such a thing that overrides FCRP. It is quite possible that your district might had something like this but this is the exception not the general rule.

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

1 hour ago, lincclay said:

Public Counsel is not a random website, they help pro se folks like us and it is a non-profit consisted of volunteers. I linked it because it is easy to read, otherwise everyone is welcome to read Federal Civil Procedure Rule 4 (FCRP) (https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_4) Section (c) gives the conditions of the server (above 18 years of age and not party to the case.) and section (i) explains how to serve US and its agencies. This is the default law, meaning we have to assume this unless there is Local Rule overriding this. I have read Local Rules and Standing Orders of all judges and magistrates for the Northern District of California and have not seen such a thing that overrides FCRP. It is quite possible that your district might had something like this but this is the exception not the general rule.

Pro se is not for everyone.  i have read your posts and your do not clearly understand the process. Find a good mandamus lawyer and let them file it for you. 

[lincclay 16]

21 minutes ago, igoyougoduke said:

Pro se is not for everyone.  i have read your posts and your do not clearly understand the process. Find a good mandamus lawyer and let them file it for you. 

 

I completely agree with your sentence, not so much with the rest as I have already decided to do it pro se. Also it would be great to provide evidence and links for contentious topics here and not just be dismissive and use sentences implying "go read this and that ...". I think this forum has the potential to be one of the best resources for the folks who want to do pro se mandamus, being dismissive without providing evidence is not helpful and it just adds to the confusion of the readers.

[TBoneTX 45,591]

4 hours ago, lincclay said:

it would be great to provide evidence and links for contentious topics here and not just be dismissive and use sentences implying "go read this and that ...".

This is a self-help forum.  People contribute as they can.   

[Willie_Overall 26]

10 hours ago, lincclay said:

 

I completely agree with your sentence, not so much with the rest as I have already decided to do it pro se. Also it would be great to provide evidence and links for contentious topics here and not just be dismissive and use sentences implying "go read this and that ...". I think this forum has the potential to be one of the best resources for the folks who want to do pro se mandamus, being dismissive without providing evidence is not helpful and it just adds to the confusion of the readers.

 

This is exactly the issue. The person who created this thread is blatantly wrong with their advice, despite creating a guide (and this was backed up by not only my local federal court, but by the US attorney's office). You can't have the defendants served on your own and you can have family and friends serve them. For anyone that has questions about this, feel free to go to your US attorney's office and ask them yourself. Don't rely on random people on internet forums.

 

Good on you, lincclay, for pushing back against that misinformation and best of luck with your pro se mandamus!

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

2 hours ago, Willie_Overall said:

 

This is exactly the issue. The person who created this thread is blatantly wrong with their advice, despite creating a guide (and this was backed up by not only my local federal court, but by the US attorney's office). You can't have the defendants served on your own and you can have family and friends serve them. For anyone that has questions about this, feel free to go to your US attorney's office and ask them yourself. Don't rely on random people on internet forums.

 

Good on you, lincclay, for pushing back against that misinformation and best of luck with your pro se mandamus!

 Good luck trying to serve USCIS via a friend or family.  and no i did not say serve the defendant on your own. Please read 

 

"Take stamped complaint , civil cover sheet , summon, court instructions and send them via usps certified mail to the above 3 officers "

Edited November 7 by igoyougoduke

[Willie_Overall 26]

16 hours ago, igoyougoduke said:

 Good luck trying to serve USCIS via a friend or family.  and no i did not say serve the defendant on your own. Please read 

 

"Take stamped complaint , civil cover sheet , summon, court instructions and send them via usps certified mail to the above 3 officers "

 

You're asserting that you can mail them on your own, which you can't. And, yes, you can have family and friends serve them. To anyone reading this, I urge you to talk to your US attorney or federal court clerk about this. Do not rely on people in these groups. 

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

8 hours ago, Willie_Overall said:

 

You're asserting that you can mail them on your own, which you can't. And, yes, you can have family and friends serve them. To anyone reading this, I urge you to talk to your US attorney or federal court clerk about this. Do not rely on people in these groups. 

yes you can mail them by taking to the post office. USPS is the carrier. i have done it and several others here can vouch for it. You are confused by the process. Your friends/family are not going to get access to Attorney General, US attorney, USCIS to be able to serve them. You are confusing civil case filing process vs immigration cases 

 

This is why if you dont understand the legal process , go to a law firm and let them file the process 

[Willie_Overall 26]

On 11/8/2024 at 4:52 AM, igoyougoduke said:

yes you can mail them by taking to the post office. USPS is the carrier. i have done it and several others here can vouch for it. You are confused by the process. Your friends/family are not going to get access to Attorney General, US attorney, USCIS to be able to serve them. You are confusing civil case filing process vs immigration cases 

 

This is why if you dont understand the legal process , go to a law firm and let them file the process 

 

I already did that. Your friends and family can mail it to them via first class mail. You cannot. As an involved party, you are not able to have them served. If it worked for you, you were very lucky. Because you did it incorrectly.

 

As I said, I got this information directly from my federal clerk AND the Federal US attorney's office in my area. Who is more likely to be right? You or them?

 

Plus, like that poster said, every online source proves you wrong. Please stop spreading misinformation. People might be taking your incorrect information and it will hurt them. This will be especially detrimental with the new administration, which will look for every reason to deny applications.

[lincclay 16]

I went and filed the case, and the clerk herself told me (without me asking) that you can't serve yourself and someone else needs to send them. Also there might be some confusion for the people reading this, when you send the document by USPS, USPS is NOT the server. The server is whomever that is sending the documents. USPS is just means to fulfill this service.

Edited November 9 by lincclay

[Willie_Overall 26]

39 minutes ago, lincclay said:

I went and filed the case, and the clerk herself told me (without me asking) that you can't serve yourself and someone else needs to send them. Also there might be some confusion for the people reading this, when you send the document by USPS, USPS is NOT the server. The server is whomever that is sending the documents. USPS is just means to fulfill this service.

 

Exactly. This is the same thing I was told. USPS is just the method that one can use to serve. It's not the server. Anyone can serve through this method except one of the parties in the case. I just read over the cover sheet that I received directly from the court and it specifically says this. 

[lincclay 16]

I also am including this link, the latest answer was recently provided and completely removes any form of doubts:
https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/authorized/can-plaintiff-serve-summons-and-complaint-themselv-6123474.html

[Boiler 45,731]

I recollect Hacking has mentioned how they do it on his show

[lincclay 16]

Another point worth mentioning is the perception that filing a mandamus case pro se is often successful. A quick online search will reveal numerous self-filed mandamus cases that ended favorably for the filer. However, this does not necessarily mean they were handled correctly or with full adherence to legal standards. USCIS is known to be highly risk-averse, preferring to avoid litigation whenever possible to minimize the potential for court rulings that could impose operational pressures—such as prioritizing certain types of cases. As a result, in roughly 90% of mandamus cases, USCIS proceeds with adjudication rather than allowing the case to go to court. This can create the impression that the plaintiff filed a flawless case, but often, procedural errors may have gone unnoticed simply because USCIS did not contest the case. For instance, if a plaintiff improperly serves the initial documents, USCIS might ignore the error unless they choose to challenge the case. In such a scenario, USCIS could move to have the case dismissed after 90 days if proper service wasn’t completed within the legal timeframe, potentially resulting in dismissal on procedural grounds.