Habeas Corpus: A Very Short Introduction

Legal scholar Amanda L. Tyler discusses the history and future of habeas corpus in America and around the world.

The concept of habeas corpus—literally, to receive and hold the body—empowers courts to protect the right of prisoners to know the basis on which they are being held by the government and grant prisoners their freedom when they are held unlawfully. It is no wonder that habeas corpus has long been considered essential to freedom.

For nearly eight hundred years, the writ of habeas c...