§ 975.Judgment On Appeal - Mandate to Issue to Lower Court

Chapter 15: Appeal and Error · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026

In one sentenceSection 975 directs a reversing appellate court to render the judgment the lower court should have entered, or remand for that judgment, and to send a special mandate rather than issue execution itself, with a distinct mandate rule for cases decided on agreed or undisputed facts.

Full Text of § 975

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When a judgment or final order shall be reversed on appeal, either in whole or in part, the court reversing the same shall proceed to render such judgment as the court below should have rendered, or remand the cause to the court below for such judgment. The court reversing such judgment or final order shall not issue execution in causes that are removed before them on error, on which they pronounce judgment as aforesaid, but shall send a special mandate to the court below as the case may require, to award execution thereupon; and such court, to which such special mandate is sent, shall proceed in such cases in the same manner as if such judgment or final order had been rendered therein. In cases decided by the Supreme Court, when the facts are agreed to by the parties or found by the court below, or a referee, and when it does not appear, by exception or otherwise, that such findings are against the weight of the evidence in the case, the Supreme Court shall send a mandate to the court below directing it to render such judgment in the premises as it should have rendered on the facts agreed to or found in the case.

End

Amendment History

R.L. 1910, § 5258.

Plain-English Summary

When an appeal reverses a judgment or final order, in whole or in part, the reversing court doesn't just cancel it — it either enters the judgment the lower court should have entered, or sends the case back down for that judgment. Either way, the reversing court doesn't issue execution itself; it sends a special mandate telling the lower court to award execution, and that court then proceeds as if it had rendered the judgment or order itself.

A separate rule covers cases where the facts were agreed to by the parties or found by the court below or a referee, and nothing shows those findings run against the weight of the evidence: there, the Supreme Court sends a mandate directing the lower court to enter the judgment the agreed or found facts call for.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens after the Supreme Court reverses a judgment?

The court either renders the judgment the lower court should have entered or remands the case for that judgment, and sends a special mandate directing the lower court to award execution.

Does the appellate court issue execution itself after reversing a judgment?

No — it sends a special mandate to the lower court, which then proceeds to award execution as if it had rendered the judgment itself.

What's different about cases decided on agreed or found facts?

If the facts were agreed to by the parties or found by the court below or a referee, and nothing shows those findings go against the weight of the evidence, the Supreme Court's mandate directs the lower court to render judgment on those facts.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature. Last verified August 3, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: mandate after reversal Oklahoma appeal12 O.S. § 975special mandate lower court Oklahomawhat happens after Oklahoma Supreme Court reverses a judgment