782.45 Witness fees, inmates of state institutions.

(1) If an inmate of any public institution is brought into court in response to a writ of habeas corpus or subpoena, the institution shall be reimbursed for the time of the officer conducting the inmate and the actual and necessary traveling expenses incurred in taking the inmate into court on the process and returning the inmate to the institution. The superintendent of the institution shall file with the clerk of the court a statement of the expenses. The clerk shall certify the expenses to the county treasurer, who shall pay to the superintendent of the institution the amount so certified, but in a civil action, such expenses shall be paid by the party requesting the presence of the inmate.

(2) In lieu of the procedure under sub. (1) the department of health services and the department of corrections, upon 48 hours' advance notice, shall release to any sheriff having a suitable jail approved by the department of corrections for this purpose any prisoner upon presentation of a writ of habeas corpus to the warden or superintendent of the institution which is detaining the inmate. The sheriff shall be informed in advance where the sheriff may assume custody of the inmate and the sheriff then shall be in charge of the inmate and be responsible for the inmate's custody. During the time that an inmate is absent from the state institution and in the custody of the sheriff the inmate shall be entitled to credit for time served on the existing sentence and such credit under s. 302.11 that he or she was eligible to receive while an inmate of the state institution. The sheriff shall be responsible for segregating the inmate in the jail from other prisoners and the county shall be liable for all expenses attendant to his or her detention including medical care. The inmate while in the custody of the sheriff shall not be permitted to have visitors or to receive mail except as authorized and approved by the warden or superintendent of the state institution which formerly detained the inmate but shall be entitled to confer with counsel during reasonable hours without restriction. After the court has determined that the inmate is no longer needed or required, the sheriff shall promptly return the inmate to the institution to which detained prior to the release to the sheriff for appearance in court.

History: 1979 c. 32 s. 59; 1979 c. 110; Stats. 1979 s. 782.45; 1989 a. 31; 1995 a. 27 s. 9126 (19); 2007 a. 20 s. 9121 (6) (a).

The state must transport prisoners to federal courts on the same basis as to state courts. Matter of Warden of Wisconsin State Prison, 541 F.2d 177 (1976).

The state may not deny an indigent prisoner the right to appear in court to defend a divorce action brought against him unless he pays expenses. Brant v. Powers, 339 F. Supp. 65 (1972).