habeas corpus
noun
Did you know?
The literal meaning of habeas corpus is "you should have the body"—that is, the judge or court should (and must) have any person who is being detained brought forward so that the legality of that person's detention can be assessed. In United States law, habeas corpus ad subjiciendum (the full name of what habeas corpus typically refers to) is also called "the Great Writ," and it is not about a person's guilt or innocence, but about whether custody of that person is lawful under the U.S. Constitution. Common grounds for relief under habeas corpus—"relief" in this case being a release from custody—include a conviction based on illegally obtained evidence; a denial of effective assistance of counsel; or a conviction by a jury that was improperly selected and impaneled.
Did you know?
The literal meaning of habeas corpus is "You shall have the body"—that is, the judge must have the person charged with a crime brought into the courtroom to hear what he's been charged with. Through much of human history, and in many countries still today, a person may be imprisoned on the orders of someone in the government and kept behind bars for years without ever getting a chance to defend himself, or even knowing what he's done wrong. In England, the right to be brought before a judge to hear the charges and answer them was written into law over 300 years ago, and the U.S. adopted the British practice in its Constitution.
Example Sentences
Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2022 Hill filed a habeas corpus lawsuit in South Carolina. Walter Pavlo, Forbes, 4 June 2022 The Lincoln example appears to be a reference to Lincoln’s decision to suspend habeas corpus during the Civil War without congressional approval, on which Congress later retroactively signed off. Matt Ford, The New Republic, 3 Mar. 2022 In 1997, Dunn filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court. Chris Pomorski, The New Republic, 23 June 2022 His lawyers say in a habeas corpus petition filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington that the government has taken no apparent steps toward his release. Ben Fox, BostonGlobe.com, 8 June 2022 The NhRP’s legal argument revolves around the idea of habeas corpus, which protects against unlawful imprisonment. Zoe Sottile, CNN, 22 May 2022 The case also builds on the legal history of habeas corpus. Zoe Sottile, CNN, 22 May 2022 Genuine national security measures, such as the location of secret command centers, can be protected without the suspension of habeas corpus or freedom of the press. William S. Cohen And Gary Hart, CNN, 4 May 2022 See More Word History
Middle English, from Medieval Latin, literally, you should have the body (the opening words of the writ)
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Legal Definition
habeas corpus
noun
U.S. Constitution art. I 
\\ New Latin, literally, you should have the body for submitting called also the Great Writ
Note: Habeas corpus ad subjiciendum is an extraordinary remedy, and is by far the most frequently used writ of habeas corpus. It is an independent civil action and a form of collateral attack to determine not the guilt or innocence of the person held in custody, but whether the custody is unlawful under the U.S. Constitution. Common grounds for relief under the writ include a conviction based on illegally obtained evidence, a denial of effective assistance of counsel, or a conviction by a jury that was improperly selected and impaneled. The degree of restraint on a person's liberty that is necessary to constitute custody entitling a person to habeas corpus relief is not viewed uniformly by the courts. Use of the writ is not limited to criminal matters. It is also available in civil matters, as, for example, to challenge a person's custody of a child or the institutionalization of a person declared incompetent.
called also habeas corpus ad faciendum et recipiendum
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