Bess Burkitt Crane v. Honorable Bert H. Tunks, District Judge

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court granted the writ of mandamus, holding that the trial judge abused his discretion by ordering the entire 1950 income tax return to be produced without first examining its relevance, while affirming the earlier November 5 discovery order; the Court also clarified that relevancy and materiality must be shown in the written application for a bill of discovery. Justice Smith dissented, arguing mandamus should not be used to control discretionary judicial acts, and Justice Calvert concurred in part, agreeing the November 12 order was an abuse of discretion but critiquing the majority’s contradictory holdings.