N.Y. Civil Practice Law & Rules § 7006: Obedience to the writ

§ 7006. Obedience to the writ. (a) Generally; defects in form. A

person upon whom the writ or a copy thereof is served, whether it is

directed to him or not, shall make a return to it and, if required by

it, produce the body of the person detained at the time and place

specified, unless the person detained is too sick or infirm to make the

required trip. A writ of habeas corpus shall not be disobeyed for defect

of form so long as the identity of the person detained may be derived

from its contents.

(b) Compelling obedience. If the person upon whom the writ or a copy

thereof is served refuses or neglects fully to obey it, without showing

sufficient cause, the court before whom the writ is returnable, upon

proof of its service, shall forthwith issue a warrant of attachment

against him directed to the sheriff in any county in which such person

may be found requiring him to be brought before the court issuing the

warrant; he may be ordered committed in close custody to the county jail

until he complies with the order of the court. Where such person is a

sheriff, the warrant shall be directed to a person specifically

designated to execute it. Such person shall have power to call to his

aid the same assistance as the sheriff in executing the warrant; a

sheriff shall be committed to a jail in a county other than his own.

(c) Precept to bring up person detained. A court issuing a warrant of

attachment as prescribed in subdivision (b) may at the same time, or

thereafter, issue a precept to the person to whom the warrant is

directed ordering him immediately to bring before the court the person

detained.