habeas corpus
Sign in to savecourt action challenging unlawful detention
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Habeas corpus is a legal action that allows someone to challenge whether their detention by authorities is lawful. It matters because it provides a fundamental check on government power by giving courts the ability to review and potentially release people who are being held without legal justification.
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Article
Habeas corpus (/ˈheɪbiəs ˈkɔːrpəs/ ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to bring the prisoner to court, to determine whether their detention is lawful. The right to petition for a writ of habeas corpus has long been celebrated as a fundamental safeguard of individual liberty.
Habeas corpus is generally enforced via writ, and accordingly referred to as a writ of habeas corpus. The writ of habeas corpus is one of what are called the "extraordinary", "common law", or "prerogative writs", which were historically issued by the English courts in the name of the monarch to control inferior courts and public authorities within the kingdom. The writ was a legal mechanism that allowed a court to exercise jurisdiction and guarantee the rights of all the Crown's subjects against arbitrary arrest and detention. At common law the burden was usually on the official to prove that a detention was authorized.