Davis v. Deen

Willie G. Davis, Jr., an inmate serving a life sentence in the custody of the Arkansas Department of Correction ("ADC"), filed a petition for writ of mandamus in the Desha County Circuit Court. The circuit court never obtained jurisdiction over James DePriest, who was not a named party and had not been served, and therefore it could not compel his action. As the circuit court had no jurisdiction below, it correctly denied Davis's petition. We affirm.

Davis's writ of mandamus was an attempt to compel production of forensic test results related to his murder conviction. The named respondent on…