A. A person confined in any prison in this state may by order of any court of record, be required to be produced for oral examination as a witness by the court in the county where he is imprisoned, but in all other cases his examination must be by deposition.
§ 397.Prisoner As Witness Or Complaining Or Defending Party - Release For Examination - Notice - Attorney Fee Award Prohibited - Writ of Habeas Corpus
Chapter 9: Witnesses · Last amended May 10, 2005 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 397 lets a court order a prisoner produced for oral testimony within the county of confinement, and lets a prisoner who is a party to a civil action seek a writ of habeas corpus to appear and testify, subject to notice, transportation-cost, and attorney-fee rules.
Full Text of § 397
B. Any person or a prisoner confined in any prison or jail in this state who is the complaining party or defending party in any form of a civil action may apply for a Writ of Habeas Corpus for the purpose of having the prisoner appear before the court for an evidentiary hearing in which the court shall take testimony from the prisoner. The custodian of the prisoner shall be given prior notice of the application and fifteen (15) days to respond prior to the decision of the court. If the court issues such writ, it shall be issued and delivered to the custodian of the prisoner at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date the prisoner is to appear, shall order the custodian to be paid for all costs of transportation and shall order the prisoner to be delivered to the court named in the writ. The court shall not consider a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum except for a hearing on the merits of the civil action. The court shall not award attorney fees and costs to the prevailing party in this matter. All pretrial hearings for the civil action that involve a prisoner shall be conducted by telephone, deposition or video conference.
C. If upon application, the court issues a Writ of Habeas Corpus as provided in subsection B of this section, it shall order the person applying for such writ or other appropriate party to pay to the custodian executing the writ all costs of transporting the prisoner to and from the court. No court shall waive the requirement to pay the costs of transportation to the custodian. The writ shall also serve as a judgment against the prisoner, if the prisoner is the party ordered to pay transportation costs or was the party seeking the writ, and may be enforced by the detaining governmental unit without further order of any court for a period of five (5) years after the date of the writ. The custodian executing the release shall notify the prisoner and the court, at the time of delivery, of the costs of transportation.
D. Any writ that fails to comply with all of the requirements of this section shall be void and unenforceable and no officer or employee of the custodian shall be liable for failing to execute said writ.
Amendment History
R.L. 1910, § 5062; Amended by Laws 1993, SB 561, c. 174, §1, emerg. eff. 5/10/1993; Amended by Laws 2002, HB 2416, c. 402, §2, emerg. eff. 7/1/2002; Amended by Laws 2004, SB 1397, c. 168, §2, eff. 11/1/2004 (eff. date changed to 4/27/2004, by Laws 2004, HB 2205 (2d), c. 382, § 4, eff. 6/3/2004); Amended by Laws 2005, HB 1623, c. 159, §2, emerg. eff. 5/10/2005.
Note
Laws 2004, c. 168, § 18, providing for an effective date of Nov. 1, 2004, was repealed by Laws 2004, c. 382, § 4, emerg. eff. June 3, 2004.
Plain-English Summary
Subsection A sets the baseline: a court of record may order a prisoner produced for oral examination as a witness, but only in the county where the prisoner is confined; outside that county, the prisoner's testimony must come by deposition instead.
Subsections B through D address a different situation: a prisoner who is the complaining or defending party in a civil action. That prisoner, or anyone on their behalf, can apply for a writ of habeas corpus to bring the prisoner before the court for an evidentiary hearing. The custodian gets 15 days of notice and a chance to respond before the court decides, and if the writ issues, it must go to the custodian at least 15 days before the prisoner is to appear. The writ can only be used for a hearing on the merits of the civil action, and courts can't award attorney fees and costs to the prevailing party in the matter; all pretrial hearings involving the prisoner must proceed by telephone, deposition, or video conference instead. The party who applied for the writ, or whoever the court orders, must pay the custodian's transportation costs, a cost the court can't waive, and the writ itself doubles as a judgment enforceable against the prisoner for five years if the prisoner owes those costs. A writ that doesn't meet all these requirements is void, and no custodian's officer or employee is liable for failing to execute it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a prisoner be brought to court to testify in person in Oklahoma?
Only within the county where the prisoner is confined; outside that county, the prisoner's testimony must be taken by deposition instead.
How does a prisoner who is a party to a civil lawsuit get to appear and testify in court?
By applying for a writ of habeas corpus, after the custodian gets 15 days of notice and a chance to respond, and after the writ is delivered to the custodian at least 15 days before the appearance date.
Who pays to transport a prisoner to court under a writ of habeas corpus?
The person who applied for the writ, or another party the court orders to pay; the court cannot waive this requirement, and the writ can be enforced as a judgment against the prisoner for five years if the prisoner owes the costs.
Can a party recover attorney fees in connection with this writ?
No. The statute says the court shall not award attorney fees and costs to the prevailing party in this matter.
What if the writ doesn't follow all the requirements in Section 397?
It's void and unenforceable, and no officer or employee of the custodian is liable for failing to carry it out.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: prisoner witness testify in civil case oklahomawrit of habeas corpus ad testificandum oklahomainmate party to lawsuit appear in courtprisoner transportation costs court hearing