Davis v. Deen

The Supreme Court denied Petitioner’s petition for writ of mandamus filed in the Desha County Circuit Court, holding that the circuit court had no jurisdiction below.Petitioner was an inmate serving a life sentence in the custody of the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC). Appellant filed a petition for writ of mandamus seeking to compel production of forensic test results related to his murder conviction. The crime lab mailed Petitioner his file. Upon receipt of the file, however, ADC Chief Legal Counsel James B. DePriest determined that the file contained material prohibited by ADC’s contraband policies and confiscated the package. Petitioner then brought this action requesting that DePriest be compelled to release the file. The circuit court denied the petition because DePriest was not a named party and had not been served. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court was correct to deny Petitioner’s petition due to this procedural and jurisdictional defect. View "Davis v. Deen" on Justia Law