habeas corpus

noun ha·be·as cor·pus \ ˈhā-bē-əs-ˈkȯr-pəs \

|Updated on: 17 Jul 2018

Examples: habeas corpus in a Sentence

Definition of habeas corpus

1 : any of several common-law writs issued to bring a party before a court or judge; especially : habeas corpus ad subjiciendum

2 : the right of a citizen to obtain a writ of habeas corpus as a protection against illegal imprisonment

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Examples of habeas corpus in a Sentence

apply for a writ of habeas corpus

Recent Examples of habeas corpus from the Web

That’s because in a habeas corpus case the issue is whether a trial judge did something that was within the range authorized by law — not whether the law required the death penalty.

— mark tushnet, Vox, "Is it anti-Catholic to ask a Supreme Court nominee how her religion affects her decisions?," 5 July 2018
That move would render moot John Doe's habeas corpus petition challenging the right of the U.S. to continue holding him without charges.

— NBC News, "U.S. plans to release detained American 'enemy combatant' in Syria," 7 June 2018
In 2010 a federal judge ordered Slahi's release through a petition of habeas corpus, declaring the Mauritanian unlawfully detained.

— carol rosenberg, miamiherald, "A freed Guantánamo prisoner and his ex-guard meet again in remarkable Ramadan reunion," 11 June 2018
The plan was the latest twist in a habeas corpus case that has raised novel legal issues about the rights of individual Americans and the government’s wartime powers.

— charlie savage, New York Times, "American ISIS Suspect Fights Plan to Release Him in Syria," 7 June 2018
Efforts to reform the state’s habeas corpus process are not new.

— david owens, courant.com, "Connecticut Courts Overwhelmed With Inmates' Petitions For Release," 11 May 2018
His freedom would then depend on the Supreme Federal Tribunal, which is scheduled to rule on his habeas corpus petition on April 4.

— Washington Post, "Brazil’s Lula rallies support, draws protest as prison looms," 25 Mar. 2018
At this point, da Silva's last and best hope of staying out of jail — and keeping his re-election hopes alive — is the Supreme Federal Tribunal, which scheduled a Wednesday hearing on his habeas corpus petition.

— peter prengaman and mauricio savarese, Fox News, "Prison for Lula? Brazil's top court decides fate of ex-prez," 4 Apr. 2018
After Chutkan ordered the government to allow the ACLU to speak with him by Pentagon videoconference, the man authorized the group to file a habeas corpus petition on his behalf challenging his detention.

— Washington Post, "U.S. says it will send American ISIS suspect held 7 months in Iraq to another country," 17 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'habeas corpus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.

Origin and Etymology of habeas corpus

Middle English, from Medieval Latin, literally, you should have the body (the opening words of the writ)

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

HABEAS CORPUS Defined for English Language Learners

habeas corpus

noun

Definition of habeas corpus for English Language Learners

law : an order to bring a jailed person before a judge or court to find out if that person should really be in jail

Law Dictionary

habeas corpus

noun habeas cor·pus \ -ˈkȯr-pəs, -ˌpu̇s \

legal Definition of habeas corpus

: any of several writs originating at common law that are issued to bring a party before the court; especially : 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
—U.S. Constitution art. I

— habeas corpus ad faciendum et recipiendum \-ˌad-ˌfa-sē-ˈen-dəm-et-ri-ˌsi-pē-ˈen-dəm, -ˌfa-shē-ˈen-; -ˌäd-ˌfä-kē-ˈen-du̇m-et-rā-ˌkē-pē-ˈen-du̇m\

New Latin, literally, you should have the body for doing and receiving

: habeas corpus cum causa in this entry

— habeas corpus ad prosequendum \-ˌad-ˌprä-si-ˈkwen-dəm, -ˌäd-ˌprō-sā-ˈkwen-du̇m\

New Latin, literally, you should have the body for prosecuting

: a writ for removing a prisoner for trial in the jurisdiction of the issuing court where the prisoner committed a crime

— habeas corpus ad subjiciendum play \-ˌad-səb-ˌji-sē-ˈen-dəm, -ˌji-shē-; -ˌäd-su̇b-ˌyi-kē-ˈen-du̇m\

New Latin, literally, you should have the body for submitting

: an extraordinary writ issued upon a petition challenging the lawfulness of restraining a person who is imprisoned or otherwise in another's custody — 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.

— habeas corpus ad testificandum \-ˌad-ˌtes-ti-fi-ˈkan-dəm, -ˌäd-ˌtes-tē-fē-ˈkän-du̇m\

New Latin, literally, you should have the body for testifying

: a writ for bringing a person into a court as a witness

— habeas corpus cum causa \-ˌkəm-ˈkȯ-zə, -ˌku̇m-ˈkau̇-sä\

New Latin, literally, you should have the body with the cause

: a writ issued from a superior court to an inferior court requiring that a defendant be produced along with the cause for which the defendant has been taken and held — called also habeas corpus ad faciendum et recipiendum