(a) In all cases the reviewing court shall direct the appellate or trial court to proceed in
accordance with the mandate.
Rule 613.Mandate of Reviewing Court
Article VI. Appeals in Criminal Cases, Post-Conviction Cases, and Juvenile Court Proceedings · Last amended 2024 · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceRule 613 directs how a reviewing court’s mandate gets carried out, including prompt release or return of a defendant serving a sentence, and credit for time served when a reversed case goes to a new trial.
Full Text of Ill. S. Ct. R. 613
(b) Reversal When Appellant Is Serving Sentence. If in a case on appeal the appellant is
serving the sentence imposed in the trial court and the judgment is reversed and appellant ordered discharged, the clerk of the reviewing court shall at once mail to the imprisoning officer, certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy of the mandate of the reviewing court. It shall be the duty of the imprisoning officer to release appellant from custody forthwith upon receiving a certified copy of the mandate of the reviewing court. If appellant is serving the sentence and the judgment is reversed and the cause remanded to the trial court for further proceedings, the clerk of the reviewing court shall at once mail to the imprisoning officer, certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy of the mandate of the reviewing court. The imprisoning officer shall forthwith, upon receiving the certified copy of the mandate of the reviewing court, return appellant to the trial court to which the cause was remanded.
(c) Credit for Time Served Pending Appeal. In any case in which, pending appeal, an appellant serves any portion of the sentence imposed in the trial court and the judgment of the trial court is reversed by a reviewing court and a new trial ordered, the appellant shall be given credit in any subsequent sentence for the time served pending appeal.
Plain-English Summary
When a reviewing court reverses a conviction and orders the defendant discharged, the clerk mails a certified copy of the mandate to the imprisoning officer by certified mail, return receipt requested. The officer has to release the defendant the moment that mandate arrives. If the case is instead reversed and remanded, the same mailing triggers the officer’s duty to return the defendant to the trial court the case was sent back to.
A defendant who served part of a sentence while the appeal was pending doesn’t lose that time if a new trial is ordered — it counts as credit toward whatever sentence follows. Paragraph (d) sets a fast clock for pretrial-release appeals under Rule 604(h): the mandate goes to the circuit court five court days after judgment, unless the court orders otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when a reviewing court reverses a conviction and orders discharge?
The clerk mails a certified copy of the mandate to the imprisoning officer, who must release the defendant immediately upon receiving it.
What if the case is reversed and remanded instead of reversed outright?
The imprisoning officer must return the defendant to the trial court the case was remanded to.
Does a defendant lose credit for time served if a new trial is ordered?
No, credit for time served pending the appeal carries over to any later sentence.
How quickly is a mandate sent to the circuit court in a pretrial-release appeal?
Five court days after judgment, unless the court orders otherwise.
Who has to follow a reviewing court’s mandate?
The trial or appellate court that receives it — Rule 613 directs that court to proceed in accordance with the mandate.
Committee Comments
This is section 121-14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, with some language changes for clarification. Although it was not part of former Rule 27, the committee recommended that it be made part of the supreme court rules in keeping with the effort to place all provisions concerning appellate practice in a single body of rules.
Amendment History
Amended June 26, 1987, effective August 1, 1987; amended September 22, 1997, effective immediately; amended Feb. 6, 2013, eff. immediately; amended Mar. 15, 2024, eff. Apr. 15, 2024.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Committee Comments, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Supreme Court Rules,
promulgated by the Supreme Court of Illinois. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: reviewing court mandate Illinoiscredit for time served appealrelease defendant reversed convictionmandate procedure criminal appeal