Preview

Writ of Habeas Corpus

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1900 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Writ of Habeas Corpus
Writ of Habeas Corpus
POL 201
September 24, 2012

Writ of Habeas Corpus
Habeas Corpus demands a court to a jailer to produce the prisoner and announce the charges (Levin-Waldman, 2012). Habeas Corpus is an ancient common law that applies to all Americans and anybody in the United States at the time of their arrest. It is a legal procedure that requires a person to be brought in front after the have been arrested/ taken into custody. This is done so that the government to show cause to why the liberty of that person is being taken away and to let the person know what they are being charged with. Habeas Corpus is fundamental to American and all other English common law derivative systems of jurisprudence. It is the ultimate lawful and peaceable remedy for adjudicating the providence of liberty’s restraint (http://www.slate.com).
History of Habeas Corpus
The history of Habeas Corpus is an ancient law that has been used since the middle ages. It appears to be predominately of Anglo-Saxon common law origin but the exact origins are not really known. Even though the origin of Habeas Corpus is unknown it has been used in Europe for centuries. Its principle that has been used since the middle ages by various writs (http://www.slate.com). Habeas Corpus has evolved and changed a bit over the years, but it has basically remained the same. Habeas Corpus states that a person who has been arrested or in custody be brought before a court. Habeas Corpus has been used in the United States since the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. The Writ of Habeas Corpus was established by the British and was generally regarded as part of the fundamental protections guaranteed by law to each citizen (http://www.slate.com).
Article I, Section 9 of the US Constitution guarantees the availability of the writ of habeas corpus (http://search.proquest.com). Habeas corpus serves as a tool or legal defense by people that are detained by the government. Habeas Corpus



References: Staab, J. B. (2008). The war on terror 's impact on habeas corpus: The constitutionality of the military commissions act of 2006 Redish, M. H., & McNamara, C. (2010). Habeas corpus, due process and the suspension clause: A study in the foundations of american constitutionalism Levin-Waldman, O. M. (2012). American government. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Greenberg, D. (2001). Lincoln 's Crackdown Suspects jailed. No charges filed. Sound familiar? Slate. Retrieved September 22, 2012, from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/2001/11/lincolns_crackdown.html Azmy, B. (2009). Boumediene v. bush and the new common law of habeas. Rochester, Rochester: Retrieved September 22, 2012, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/189874026?accountid=32521

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Terry V. Ohio Case Study

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Due Process clause states that the United States Federal Government must uphold the legal rights and liberties of its citizens when they are arrested or taken into custody.…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution states, “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.” Under this provision, persons detained by the government are entitled to a judicial hearing to determine if…

    • 36699 Words
    • 107 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States has adopted many of England’s traditions. One of which are habeas corpus rights derived from the Magna Carta signed in 1215. However, when the case…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    POL 201 Final Paper

    • 1580 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The term habeas corpus which is Latin for you have the body have reference to the writ of inquiring into the lawfulness of a person who is detained the guardian of an inmate to transport that inmate in front the court and justify the details for his or her incarceration. A court order of habeas corpus is a test to the lawfulness of an inmate custody and does not require an investigation into the inmate’s guiltiness or their innocence. Once the court has finished the details for imprisonment the court the inmate or return the inmate into confinement. The use of the habeas corpus has origins in English communal law dating back to the 14th century and became a part England’s legislative law in 1679. The American colonial courts distributed the writ at common law, and state governments remain to understand the rights of habeas corpus following liberty. In 1807 the Supreme Court acclaimed that the municipal courts could not give habeas corpus to inmates that were being held by the state and or local government because Congress could not grant that kind of power.…

    • 1580 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Habeas corpus is located in the United States Constitution in Article One, Section Nine, under congress limits. It says, “The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it”. (Columbia electronic encyclopedia, 2011) Habeas corpus is Latin for “you should have the body”. (Columbia electronic encyclopedia, 2011) It means that the accused most appear in front of a judge and know the charges haled against him or her.…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Habeas Corpus is the right to go to court before an individual is imprisoned. This word is Latin for, “You may have the body”. It is what gives us a judicial process whenever we are declared prisoners. This protects citizens from being accused from the government and just taking the punishment given to them. They are able to go to court and the court will decide if the individual is guilty or not.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    haebus corpus

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A writ of '''' is a writ that requires a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court. The principle of habeas corpus ensures that a prisoner can be released from unlawful detentionthat is, detention lacking sufficient cause or evidence. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to the prisoner's aid. This right originated in the English legal system, and is now available in many nations. It has historically been an important legal instrument safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary state action.…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unlawful Arrest

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This order which is relatively used as a means to facilitate the United States in times of difficulties and to safeguard the lives of civilians has conflicted with the traditional notion of policing under its regime. Many ordinances go into effect at the time of its implementation. For one of which is the suspension of habeas corpus. Which gives the police the authority to hold a person even if they do not have…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Habeus Corpus

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The general meaning of the right of habeas corpus in the U.S. Constitution and its relationship to the protection of other civil liberties is that habeas corpus protects a prisoner and it also allows a prisoner to indicate that his/her constitution guarantees rights to a fair trial. Habeas corpus is a writ that was formed as a Habeas corpus Act in 1679 and is used to keep an individual from being unlawfully imprisoned. Habeas corpus is very important when it comes to the prisoners questioning why they are being held or imprisoned. There are five writs; the first writ is the petition for habeas corpus which is when a prisoner raises doubt about the legality of his/her imprisonment. Next is writ of habeas corpus, which is the order to be brought to court. Then there is Mandamus, which in Latin, means, “We Command”. This is an order from the Supreme Court or High court to lower court or tribunal or public authority to perform a public or statutory duty. Certiorari means to be certified. This can be issued by the Supreme Court or any high court for quashing the order already passed by an inferior court, tribunal or quasi-judicial authority. Last but not least, Quo-Warranto which means, “By what warrants?” or what is your authority? This writ is issued with a view to restrain in a person from holding a public office to which he is entitled.…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Habeas Corpus is an ancient common law prerogative writ - a legal procedure to which you have an undeniable right.” (Robertson, 2002). It comes from the Anglo-Saxon common law origin. The Precise of the origin is still unknown, but it still has been used. “Although practice surrounding the writ has evolved over time, Habeas Corpus has since the earliest times been employed to compel the appearance of a person who is in custody to be brought before a court.” (Robertson, 2002). The British colony brought habeas corpus from England and has been used in the United States since the American Revolutionary War. Habeas corpus is found in the United States Constitution in Article One, Section Nine, under congress limits. It states that “the Habeas Corpus should not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”(Neuman,…

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Habeas corpus, a Latin term meaning "you have the body," an important right granted to individuals in America and refers to the right of every prisoner to challenge the terms of his or her incarceration in court before a judge. Basically it means that a judicial mandate require that a prisoner be brought before the court to determine whether the government has the right to continue detaining them. The individual being held or a person representing them can petition the court for such a writ.…

    • 1859 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Right of Habeas Corpus

    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Right of Habeas Corpus is derived from the Latin meaning “you have the body. The meaning according to the U.S. Constitution is the right of any person to question their incarceration before a judge. The violating of this right has not been the most severe of the civil liberties granted to not only Americans but many other countries. The biggest violation of this right was when the Busch administration held hundreds of suspected terrorist from the Afghan and Iraqi terror attacks of 9/11. The first real act of Habeas Corpus comes from the passage of the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867 through 1915. At that time the court denied Leo Frank this right during a murder trial. Some other interesting evolutions of this act throughout history are Lincoln 's Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus this was a historical moment for this right of the constitution. “Lincoln 's power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus was extensively explored during the Civil War, but since then his suspensions have escaped detailed scrutiny despite the controversy they provoked, their widespread and effective use to combat malignant opposition to the war, and their uncertain grounding in the Constitution.” Under the Constitution the federal government can unquestionably suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus if the public safety requires it during times of rebellion or invasion. The issue is whether Congress or the president holds this power. I think this is why during the 9/11 attacks President Bush felt he could detain all those people because of this right.…

    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Habeas Corpus

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Habeas corpus was made to help protect our civil liberties, especially when we felt we were missed treated in the court of law. If you were unable to afford a lawyer and were force to represent yourself in the court room. You could be easily convicted of the crime you may have or may not have convicted. You then can file habeas corpus for you were treated unfairly and were not given a lawyer to represent you in the court room. When even if you cannot afford a lawyer one must be presented for you to use, it is one of our rights we have. It protects those that are being detained, that they must be presented to a court room and given a fair trial. Then it is judge if they will continue to be held or set free.…

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Habeas Corpus

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The term habeas corpus was first used in England in the 14th century, but didn’t become official until the 1679 Habeas Corpus Act was passed in Great Britain. Prior to the Revolutionary War, British soldiers were holding colonist without allowing them to exercise their right of habeas corpus. This was one reason that sparked the Revolutionary War. As a result, the founding fathers of America added habeas corpus to The Constitution of the United States, saying that "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" (Article 1, Section 9) (The Columbia Encyclopedia. 2011, p.1). To this day, citizens that have been charged with a crime enjoy the right of habeas corpus, usually in federal appeals. Habeas Corpus protects the civil liberty of citizens, as it assures them a chance to be heard by the highest court in the land. In contemporary America, as it relates to the war on terror, habeas corpus has been suspended in some cases, especially…

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Habeas Corpus

    • 1670 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Habeas corpus is a term that “represents an important right granted to individuals in America. Basically, a writ of habeas corpus is a judicial mandate requiring that a prisoner be brought before the court to determine whether the government has the right to continue detaining them. The individual being held or their representative can petition the court for such a writ” (Kelly, 2012). Article one of the U.S. Constitution states that the right habeas corpus can only be suspended in cases of invasion because the public safety may require it or a rebellion. Habeas corpus precedes Magna Carta in 1215 and is predominately of Anglo-Saxon common law origin. In fact, the Magna Carta indirectly mentions Habeas Corpus as the unwritten common law of the land and is specifically recognized by Magna Carta. From Magna Carta the exact quote is: “...no free man shall be taken or imprisoned or exiled or in any way destroyed except by the lawful judgment of their peers or by the law of the land. At the time of Magna Carta, the right of a prisoner to file a habeas corpus petition with the court was settled practice and the law of the land. Originally Habeas corpus “was the prerogative writ of the King and his courts, the passage of hundreds of years time has permitted it to evolve…

    • 1670 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays