Ex Parte State of California and Millender

The petitioners seek a writ of mandamus directing Judge John M. Steensland, Jr., to deny a jury trial of a case pending in the Houston Circuit Court. However, the dispositive issue here is one of proper jurisdiction.

In 1993, the State of California, on the relation of Freddie Millender, the mother (referred to hereinafter as "Millender"), sued Richard Lee Sheffield under the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act ("URESA"), asking the court to order Sheffield to pay support for a child Millender alleged had been fathered by Sheffield. Additionally, Millender asked that paternity be…