Writs of Habeas Corpus Is Used to Release a Person Who Has Been Unlawfully Detained

Video Transcribed: What is a writ of habeas corpus? My name is Brian L. Jackson. I’m an Oklahoma fathers’ rights attorney with dads.law, where fathers are not disposable. I want to talk to you about writs of habeas corpus today; what are they, what are they used for, and what do you need to prove in order to get a writ of habeas corpus? The writ of habeas corpus is basically a type of court order that is ordering a party who has physical possession of the body of another person to bring that body before the court.

Now, in the context of family law, writs of habeas corpus are typically used when you have one party who is unlawfully detaining children away from the other party.

And what it basically does for you is it commands that person to bring that child before the court so that the court can make a determination of where the child needs to go.

Now some key things to be aware of: the child, there has to be unlawful detention or the threat of unlawful detention. So, for example, where you might get a writ is, let’s say you get emergency custody of your child, and the other party is non-compliant with that.

Then you can get a writ to enforce it, and either the person will be ordered to appear before the court, or alternatively, you can have law enforcement go take the child and deliver the child before the court to be delivered to you. Writs of habeas corpus are also used in situations where there is statutory custody, such as in a paternity action.

If the child is detained away from the mother, and there’s no custody order, then she can seek out a writ of habeas corpus to recover the child and get custody under the statute. Writs can also be used if you have a parent who has violated the ATI.

I can tell you I’ve successfully prosecuted writs on that situation. If, for example, divorce has been filed and one of the parents takes the children out of state and detains them there, that is an unlawful detention, because they’re violating the automatic temporary injunction, and the court does have the authority to order them to bring the child before the court.

That’s basically what a writ of habeas corpus is. And generally, as I said, you would use it in the context of family law to compel someone to bring a child before the court, because they were unlawfully detaining that child; usually it’s in violation of some kind of a court order or statutory provision.

If you find yourself served with a writ of habeas corpus, or if you find yourself needing a writ of habeas corpus, it’s very important that you get a good lawyer right away because this is a serious situation, needs to be taken seriously. One place you can get a good lawyer is if you go to dads.law.