Andrea Seielstad in The Conversation:
The legal doctrine of “habeas corpus,” a Latin phrase that has its American roots in English law as early as the 12th century, stands as a barrier to unlawful arrest.
In its essence, habeas corpus protects any person, whether citizen or not, from being illegally confined. Habeas corpus is Latin for “you shall have the body” and requires a judge literally to have the body of any incarcerated person brought physically forward so that the legality of their detention may be assessed.
That is why habeas, sometimes also called the “Great Writ,” is front and center right now in many of the lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s arrest and deportation of noncitizen students, scholars, humanitarian refugees and others.
More here.
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