State ex rel. Joshua D. Hawley v. Midkiff

Summary

The Missouri Supreme Court made permanent a preliminary writ of prohibition concerning the venue and proper respondent for Ricky Kidd's habeas corpus petition. The Court held that a habeas petition must name an individual capable of effectuating a change in the petitioner's custody and must be filed in the county where the petitioner is held in the custody of the Department of Corrections. Because Kidd was confined at Crossroads Correctional Center in DeKalb County, the Jackson County circuit court was ordered to transfer the case and name the warden as respondent.

Holdings

1. A petition for a writ of habeas corpus must name or describe the person restraining the petitioner's liberty, and the respondent must be an individual capable of effectuating a change in the petitioner's imprisonment or detention as directed by the court.
2. A prisoner in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections must file a habeas corpus petition in the county where the prisoner is held in custody by the Department, even if the prisoner is temporarily outside the physical custody of the Department in another county.
3. Prohibition was appropriate, and the preliminary writ was properly made permanent, because the Jackson County circuit court exceeded its authority by refusing to transfer the habeas proceeding to DeKalb County and by failing to require a proper named respondent.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a habeas corpus petition must identify a named respondent who can effectuate a change in the petitioner's imprisonment or detention.
2. Whether venue for a habeas corpus petition filed by a prisoner in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections lies in the county where the prisoner is confined to serve the sentence, rather than in a county where the prisoner is only temporarily detained under a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum.
3. Whether prohibition was appropriate to remedy the Jackson County circuit court's refusal to transfer the habeas proceeding and name the proper respondent.

Disposition

writ_granted