Wis. Stat. » CHAPTER 301 — CORRECTIONS
Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 301.04 (2026)

Legal actions

✓ current as of July 2026
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301.04301.04 Legal actions. The department may sue and be sued.
301.04 HistoryHistory: 1989 a. 31.
301.04 AnnotationThe Department of Corrections (DOC) is entitled to sovereign immunity. DOC lacks sufficient attributes to render it an independent going concern. Despite the breadth of its statutory powers, the character of those powers reveals that the legislature did not intend DOC to be anything other than an arm of the state. The legislature has not expressly waived DOC’s sovereign immunity. This section is not an express waiver of DOC’s tort immunity but rather addresses DOC’s capacity to be sued. Mayhugh v. State, 2015 WI 77, 364 Wis. 2d 208, 867 N.W.2d 754, 13-1023.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1996–2026 · leading case: Adam R. Mayhugh v. State of Wisconsin, 2015 WI 77 (Wis. 2015).
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Adam R. Mayhugh v. State of Wisconsin, 2015 WI 77 (Wis. 2015). · cites it 48× “Given that holding, it concluded that the language in Wis. Stat. § 301.04 was not a waiver of sovereign immunity.”
Arndt v. Wisconsin Dep't of Corr., 972 F. Supp. 475 (W.D. Wis. 1996). · cites it 2× “” Wis. Stat. § 301.04 . However, Wisconsin courts have held that the “sue and be sued” language is not the equivalent of a legislative waiver of immunity.”
Kilaab al Ghashiyah (Khan) v. Kartman (E.D. Wis. 2023). · cites it 5× “Here, Plaintiff’s vague allegation that Defendants “failed to perform his (or her) mandatory duties, pursuant to Wis. Stat. §§ 301.04 , 302.04, 302.08” are wholly insufficient to state a claim.”
Mitchell v. Dep't of Corr. of Wisconsin (E.D. Wis. 2023). · cites it 4× “GBCI, a state facility within the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, is not itself a suable entity and therefore must be dismissed as a defendant.”
Shaw v. Kemper (E.D. Wis. 2023). · cites it 2× “§ 794 ; Wis. Stat. § 301.04 (providing that the Department of Corrections may sue and be sued).”
Shaw v. Dep't of Corr. (E.D. Wis. 2023). · cites it 2× “§ 794 ; Wis. Stat. § 301.04 (providing that DOC may sue and be sued).”
Mitchell v. Dep't of Corr. of Wisconsin (E.D. Wis. 2023). · cites it 2× “As for GBCI, the court ruled that a state correctional institution was not a suable entity, and citing Wis. Stat. § 301.04 , noted that under Wisconsin law the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) may sue or be sued.”
Freer v. Lincoln (E.D. Wis. 2024). · cites it 2× “§ 794 ; Wis. Stat. § 301.04 (providing that DOC may sue and be sued).”
Suggs v. Kramer (E.D. Wis. 2025). · cites it 2× “§ 794 ; Wis. Stat. § 301.04 (providing that DOC may sue and be sued).”
Gales v. Zanon (E.D. Wis. 2025). · cites it 2× “§ 794 ; Wis. Stat. § 301.04 (providing that DOC may sue and be sued).”
Sheridan (E.D. Wis. 2026). · cites it 2× “§ 794 ; Wis. Stat. § 301.04 (providing that DOC may sue and be sued).”
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