Ex Parte Carstens

Robert Dale Carstens petitions for a writ of mandamus directing the Madison Circuit Court to dismiss an action pending in that court. The petition presents the question whether the Madison Circuit Court has jurisdiction to act on a petition for modification of the child support provisions of a judgment issued by that court in 1985, where neither the parents nor the child still lives in this State. For the reasons discussed below, we hold that it does have jurisdiction, and we therefore deny the petition.

Facts and Procedural History

Robert Dale Carstens and Marianne Davidson are the parents of…