Allen L. Lamar, Petitioner-appellant, v. 118th Judicial District Court of Texas, Respondent-appellee, 440 F.2d 383 (5th Cir. 1971)

Annotate this Case
US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - 440 F.2d 383 (5th Cir. 1971) April 1, 1971

Allen L. Lamar, pro se.

Crawford C. Martin, Atty. Gen. of Texas, Larry J. Craddock, Asst. Atty. Gen., Nola White, First Asst. Atty. Gen., Alfred Walker, Executive Asst. Atty. Gen., Robert C. Flowers, Asst. Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for appellee.

Before BELL, AINSWORTH and GODBOLD, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:


Appellant filed a petition in the district court for a writ of mandamus directing the 118th Judicial District Court of Texas to grant him "access to state pleadings and testimony" and to act upon his petition for the writ of habeas corpus pending in that court. The district court dismissed the petition and we affirm.

The district court, 318 F. Supp. 285, found appellant's allegations to be vague and conclusory. Rule 12, Fed. R. Civ. P. We agree. Appellant failed to allege facts on which to base relief, and failed to state exactly what relief he desired.

Further, federal courts have no general power to issue writs of mandamus to direct state courts and their judicial officers in the performance of their duties where mandamus is the only relief sought. Haggard v. Tennessee, 6th Cir. 1970, 421 F.2d 1384; Clark v. Washington, 9th Cir. 1966, 366 F.2d 678; Rines v. Pennsylvania, E.D. Pa. 1968, 285 F. Supp. 391. The judgment below is affirmed.

Affirmed.

 *

[1] Rule 18, 5th Cir.; see Isbell Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizens Casualty Co. of New York et al., 5th Cir. 1970, 431 F.2d 409, Part I

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.