A court authorized to issue a writ of habeas corpus, upon satisfactory proof that a person is wrongfully detained and will be removed from the state or suffer irreparable injury before he can be relieved by habeas corpus, shall issue a warrant of attachment directed to an appropriate officer requiring him immediately to bring the person detained before the court. A writ of habeas corpus directed to the person having custody of the person detained shall also be issued. Where it appears that the detention constitutes a criminal offense, the warrant may order the apprehension of the person responsible for the detention, who shall then be brought before the court issuing the warrant and examined as in a criminal case.
§ 7007.Warrant preceding or accompanying writ.
Article 70. Habeas Corpus · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 7007 lets a court skip straight to a warrant of attachment, bringing the detaining party before it immediately, when satisfactory proof shows the detained person is being held wrongfully and will be removed from the state or suffer irreparable injury before habeas relief could otherwise arrive.
Full Text of CPLR 7007
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 7007 is the emergency valve in Article 70. Ordinary habeas practice serves the writ on the custodian and waits for a return, but that timeline does not work if the detained person is about to be removed from the state or is at risk of irreparable injury before the writ can run its course. On satisfactory proof of that danger, the court issues a warrant of attachment directed to an officer, ordering that officer to bring the detained person before the court right away, alongside -- not instead of -- a writ of habeas corpus directed to whoever has custody.
If the facts suggest the detention itself amounts to a crime, section 7007 goes a step further: the warrant can also order the arrest of whoever is responsible for detaining the person, who is then brought before the court and examined the way a defendant would be in a criminal case.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can a court issue a warrant of attachment instead of just a habeas corpus writ?
When satisfactory proof shows the person is wrongfully detained and will be removed from the state or suffer irreparable injury before habeas corpus relief could otherwise be obtained.
Does the warrant of attachment replace the writ of habeas corpus?
No, the writ of habeas corpus directed to the custodian is still issued alongside the warrant of attachment.
Can the person responsible for an unlawful detention be arrested under section 7007?
Yes, if the detention appears to be a criminal offense, the warrant may order the apprehension of the person responsible, who is brought before the court and examined as in a criminal case.
Who does the warrant of attachment get directed to?
An appropriate officer, who is ordered to immediately bring the detained person before the court.
What kind of proof does a petitioner need for a section 7007 warrant?
Satisfactory proof that the detention is wrongful and that the person will be removed from the state or suffer irreparable injury before ordinary habeas relief would be available.
Advisory Committee Notes
This section is derived from CPA §§ 1271 through 1273. It seeks to assure an effective remedy for a prisoner in emergency situations. Normally, the warrant would be issued upon a petition made in behalf of the person detained. See 21 Carmody-Wait, Cyclopedia of New York Practice 12–13 (1956). The broad language of the civil practice act provisions has been retained, however, to permit a court or judge to issue the warrant on his own initiative where, in a proceeding before him, its necessity becomes apparent. The warrant is usually used in cases involving the custody of a child; it may also be used where a prisoner is to be extradited to another state. See 21 Carmody-Wait, op cit supra at 12–13.
The section changes the civil practice act provisions in only one respect. It requires a writ of habeas corpus to be issued, directed to the person detaining the prisoner. This may be done concurrently with or subsequent to the time of issuance of the warrant. Under the civil practice act, apparently a return was required of the person detaining the prisoner, whether or not the warrant ordered him brought before the court with the prisoner. It was specified that proceedings should then be had as if a writ of habeas corpus had been issued in the first instance; but there was no specification of the manner in which the person detaining the prisoner was to be apprised of the need for a return. The new requirement is designed to fill this gap.
The examination of the person detaining the prisoner is to be made as specified in §§ 188 to 221-b of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
CPA § 1270, which made it a misdemeanor to conceal a person entitled to the writ, is deleted, since such a provision is already contained in § 1789 of the Penal Law. The language of the latter provision, however, has been amended to delete reference to the writ of certiorari, as follows (brackets indicate deletions, italics indicate insertions):
§ 1789. Concealing persons entitled to writ of [deliverance] habeas corpus. A person having in his custody or power or under his restraint[,] one who would be entitled to a writ of habeas corpus [or certiorari] or for whose relief such writ [of habeas corpus or certiorari] has been issued who, with intent to elude the service of such writ, or to avoid the effect thereof, transfers the part to the custody, or places him under the power or control of another, or conceals or changes the place of his confinement, or who without lawful excuse refuses to produce him, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable as prescribed in the last section.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, eff Sept 1, 1963.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: CPLR 7007 warrant of attachment habeas corpusemergency habeas corpus warrant New Yorkwrongful detention warrant NY