M.J.F. v. J.W.

L. CHARLES WRIGHT, Retired Appellate Judge.

In November 1995, while incarcerated in a Tennessee prison, M.J.F. (father) filed a pro se petition to hold J.W. (maternal uncle) in contempt. A hearing was set for December 14,1995. The father was not present for the hearing, nor did he have an attorney to represent his interests. The trial court dismissed the action for want of prosecution. The father appeals pro se.

The record reflects that the father was incarcerated for killing his wife. At the time of the murder, he and his wife had a two-year-old daughter. In 1988 a Tennessee court granted…