782.08 Writ, when sufficient. Such writ shall not be disobeyed for any defect in form. It shall be sufficient: (1) If the person having the custody of the prisoner is designated, either by name of office, if any, or by the person’s name, or if both names are unknown or uncertain the person may be described by an assumed name or title. Anyone who is served with the writ is considered the person to whom it is directed, although it is directed to the person by a wrong name or description or to any other person. (2) If the person who is directed to be produced be designated by name, or if the person’s name be uncertain or unknown, he or she may be described in any other way so as to designate the person intended. History: 1979 c. 32 s. 59; 1979 c. 176; Stats. 1979 s. 782.08; 1993 a. 486; 1997 a. 254.
Updated 23-24 Wis. Stats.
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782.09 Refusal of writ. Any judge who refuses to grant a writ of habeas corpus, when legally applied for, is liable to the prisoner in the sum of $1,000. History: 1979 c. 32 s. 59; 1979 c. 176, 355; Stats. 1979 s. 782.09. Comity between circuit courts was not a sufficient reason to refuse to issue a writ but, under the facts of the case, the penalty under this section was inappropriate. J.V. v. Barron, 112 Wis. 2d 256, 332 N.W.2d 796 (1983). The filing of a petition for a writ with the clerk of courts is a prerequisite to an action against a judge under this section. Maier v. Byrnes, 121 Wis. 2d 258, 358 N.W.2d 833 (Ct. App. 1984).