Background
Kathryn Dressler sought emergency, ex parte temporary custody of her daughter in McIntosh County Superior Court in May 2025. That court dismissed her petition because a custody action was already pending in Florida.
Days later, the child’s father obtained an emergency order in the same court enforcing a Florida judgment awarding him custody. Dressler did not appear to appeal either superior-court order. She instead filed an original mandamus petition, initially in the Supreme Court of Georgia, seeking extraordinary relief against the superior-court judges and challenging the child’s removal to Florida.
The Court’s Holding
The Court of Appeals dismissed the mandamus petition. Although Georgia’s Constitution authorizes superior and appellate courts to issue writ-like process, an appellate court cannot issue such relief as an original matter unrelated to its appellate jurisdiction.
A writ of mandamus from the Court of Appeals is available only in matters connected to an appeal or impending appeal, when necessary to aid appellate jurisdiction or protect or effectuate an appellate judgment. Dressler made no such showing.
Key Takeaways
- An original mandamus petition cannot be used in the Court of Appeals to obtain review of trial-court orders absent a connection to appellate jurisdiction.
- The petitioner did not show that an appeal or impending appeal supplied the required jurisdictional connection.
- The court dismissed the petition without reaching the merits of the custody-enforcement dispute.
Why It Matters
The order underscores the narrow scope of an appellate court’s extraordinary-writ power in Georgia. Parties seeking to challenge custody-related superior-court orders generally must use the ordinary appellate process rather than file an original mandamus petition unconnected to an appeal.