State Department of Public Welfare v. Lipe ex rel. Atracner

George Rose Smith, Justice.

This is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by the appellee, Lula Mae Stracner Lipe, as the mother and next friend of Michael Stracner, a minor born January 26, 1956. The defendants are the State Department of Public Welfare and the Arkansas Children’s Colony Board, the latter now designated as the Arkansas Board of Mental Retardation. Ark. Stat. Ann. § 59-1003 (Repl. 1971). The petition alleges that Michael is unlawfully detained in custody at the Children’s Colony, in Conway.

The petition was filed in the Pulaski Circuit Court and was presented to Judge…