Habeas Corpus -- Known as the "great writ" and means literally, "you have the body." The writ of habeas corpus has a varied use in criminal and civil contexts. It is basically a procedure for obtaining a judicial determination of the legality of an individual's custody. In the criminal context it is used to bring the petitoner before the court to inquire into the legality of his confinement. The writ of federal habeas corpus is used to test the constitutionality of a state criminal conviction. It pierces through the formalities of a state conviction to determine whether the conviction is consonant with due process of law ... The writ is used in the civil context to challenge the validity of child custody and deportations.
Source: Law Dictionary, by Steven H. Gifis, Barron's Educational Series, 1975.
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