LATIN LESSONS: Habeas Corpus

A Latin legal term that pops up in headlines fairly frequently is “habeas corpus”.

Habeas corpus is a legal procedure to keep the government from indefinitely detaining someone
without showing cause. The literal Latin translation for habeas corpus is you shall have the
body.

Any person can petition the court to issue a writ of habeas corpus ordering the detainer to present
the detainee in court along with proof justifying why the detainee should continue to be detained.
The procedure has been around for hundreds of years as a tool to prevent unlawful
imprisonments and was clearly of significant importance to the Founding Fathers of the United
Stated as they opted to make it part of the first article in the Constitution.

© 5/1/2018 Heather M. Carr of Hunt & Associates, P.C. All rights reserved.