Does the law of case doctrine or the rule of mandate apply in social security cases when there is a federal court remand?

The law of case doctrine and the rule of mandate are federal court rules and apply in the context of social security cases when there is a federal court remand. See Stacy v. Colvin, 825 F.3d 563, 567 (9th Cir. 2016). "The law of the case doctrine generally prohibits a court from considering an issue that has already been decided by that same court or a higher court in the same case." Hall v. City of Los Angeles, 697 F.3d 1059,1067 (9th Cir. 2012). The rule of mandate provides that "any district court that has received the mandate of an appellate court cannot vary or examine that mandate for any purpose other than executing it." (Id. at 1067.) As further explained below, neither applies in this case because there has never been a federal court remand in the entirety of these proceedings.