Taylor v. Peters

An Oregon inmate who is incarcerated in Colorado under the Western Interstate Corrections Compact (WICC) properly names the Oregon Department of Corrections as a defendant in a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

Petitioner appealed the trial court’s dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner brought a writ of habeas corpus based on unsanitary conditions in the Colorado prison in which he is incarcerated. Trial court dismissed the petition because Petitioner was incarcerated in Colorado under the Western Interstate Corrections Compact (WICC), and the named Defendant, Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC), did not have actual custody over Plaintiff. The Court held that the Plaintiff properly named ODOC as defendant, and Plaintiff is entitled to seek habeas corpus relief in Oregon, despite incarceration in Colorado. Notwithstanding incarceration in another state under the WICC, Oregon has the responsibility to ensure that conditions in the other state meet the constitutional standards by which Oregon is bound. Furthermore, Plaintiff remains within the legal custody of ODOC, despite being housed out of state under the WICC. Reversed and remanded.