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Definition: Habeas Corpus from The SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences

A Latin expression meaning “you have the body.” A writ of habeas corpus is an order from the court requiring that the custodian produce the prisoner so that the court can determine the legality of the prisoner's detention. Habeas corpus protects individual citizens against unlawful government detention.


habeas corpus

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(hā'bēӘs kôr'pӘs) [Lat.,=you should have the body], writ directed by a judge to some person who is detaining another, commanding him to bring the body of the person in his custody at a specified time to a specified place for a specified purpose. The writ's sole function is to release an individual from unlawful imprisonment; through this use it has come to be regarded as the great writ of liberty. The writ tests only whether a prisoner has been accorded due process, not whether he is guilty. The most common present-day usage of the writ is to appeal state criminal convictions to the federal courts when the petitioner believes his constitutional rights were violated by state procedure. An individual incarcerated in a state prison is expected to exhaust all possible routes available before applying to a federal judge for habeas corpus. The term is mentioned as early as the 14th cent. in England, and was formalized in the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679. The privilege of the use of this writ as…
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Full text Article Habeas Corpus

From World of Criminal Justice, Gale
Habeas corpus, which in Latin means, “you have the body,” is a court order that has its roots in old English law. The writ of habeas corpus commands a government official to produce a prisoner or a person who has been confined by the government and justify the person’s detention . Prisoners commonly…
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Habeas corpus means literally ‘you should have the body’. They are the first words of a Latin writ, apparently in use in England since the 13th century, requiring a person to be brought before a court of law. It begins Habeas corpus ad subjiciendum ‘You should have the body to undergo’, that is, …
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Full text Article habeas corpus

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(hā'bēӘs kôr'pӘs) [Lat.,=you should have the body], writ directed by a judge to some person who is detaining another, commanding him to bring the body of the person in his custody at a specified time to a specified place for a specified purpose. The writ's sole function is to release an individual…
| 352 words
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Full text Article Habeas Corpus

From American Governance
Known as the “Great Writ of Liberty,” habeas corpus is a formal written order or legal mechanism used to determine whether the detention of one held in custody is in accord with the law. But the power of habeas corpus was only ever as large and far-reaching as contemporary notions of due process…
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Full text Article Habeas Corpus

From The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice
The writ of habeas corpus is a mechanism used by state or federal prisoners to challenge the legality of their confinement in federal court. While reference to habeas corpus appears in the Constitution, the procedures governing the writ are found in numerous federal statutes and Supreme Court…
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Full text Article Habeas Corpus

From Encyclopedia of Adolescence
Freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention is a central part of the personal freedoms recognized as fundamental. The writ of habeas corpus facilitates the guarantee of these freedoms by allowing courts to determine whether legal authorities are wrongfully detaining individuals. Habeas corpus , a…
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Full text Article habeas corpus

From Encyclopedia of American Government and Civics
Habeas corpus , the Latin phrase for “you shall have the body,” has been historically celebrated as the principal safeguard of freedom in Anglo-American jurisprudence. The “Great Writ of Liberty” plumbs the depths of English history. It is older than Magna Carta , and it has been on the frontlines…
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Full text Article habeas corpus

From Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law
:any of several writs originating at common law that are issued to bring a party before the court; esp : habeas corpus ad subjiciendum in this entry [the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it — …
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Full text Article habeas corpus.

From The Oxford Companion to British History
Before Magna Carta, the writ of habeas corpus constituted a command in the king's name to have a defendant brought physically before the court. It had then no libertarian function. In the 15th and 16th cents. it was used to remove a case from an inferior court to the central courts. By the mid-15th…
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Full text Article Habeas Corpus

From Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment in the United States
The term "habeas corpus" is Latin and means "you have the body." Habeas corpus is a writ or legal device designed to permit a person incarcerated to challenge his or her detention. Habeas corpus cannot be sought by a person who is not under confinement. The origin of habeas corpus is traceable to…
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