Here's What Habeas Corpus Means And Why It's So Important

In the United States, we take for granted that we won't be arrested and held without explanation. Even if we aren't legal scholars, we've all seen enough crime-related TV and movies to know we have rights, or maybe we've been through the legal system ourselves. We understand that if charged with a crime, we will be provided an attorney if we can't get our own, and they will defend us in court if needed. Even if it's a minor charge, a judge will look over the accusations, hear from us, and make a determination about what to do next. All of that has to do with protecting the rights of the accused. 

Imagine a world where you're accused of a crime, arrested, and held indefinitely without the arresting agency having to justify your detainment. Habeas corpus is a legal procedure that works as a protective measure against such detention. In literal terms, habeas corpus means "you have the body" in Latin, but legally, it refers to the requirement of proving that a person is being detained legally. 

The law of habeas corpus precedes the existence of the U.S. Per Cornell Law School, it goes back to at least 1215, when the Magna Carta was drafted in the U.K.. "No man shall be arrested or imprisoned ... except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by the law of the land," it read. The Magna Carta was written to protect commoners against radical leadership, ensuring that legal provisions were in place should their property or rights be unjustly seized, held, or denied. 

The United States' forefathers pulled a lot from the Magna Carta when drafting the Constitution, as they understood the damage that tyrannical leaders could do. The Fifth Amendment was inspired by the 13th-century document that says, "No person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." While there is not much specifically written about habeas corpus in the Constitution outside of the Fifth Amendment reference, there's a clause in Article I, Section 9 that says, "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." 

In other words, habeas corpus is always in effect unless things go sideways. What's more, the only branch of the government that can suspend the right is Congress. Habeas corpus has been halted four times in American history, and each instance met the specifications of the Suspension Clause: In 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor; during a 1905 rebellion against U.S. military in the Philippines; in 1871 during the Reconstruction era when Ku Klux Klan members were engaging in mass violence against Blacks in South Carolina; and during the Civil War. 

The subject of suspending habeas corpus made headlines in May 2025 as President Donald Trump was reported to be considering doing so on the grounds of invasion. The invaders, according to his administration, are people who are in the U.S. illegally, and the idea is part of a crackdown on illegal immigration. While "invasion" can be interpreted in different ways, as of this writing, four different federal district courts have rejected the idea that the U.S. is under invasion. Not to mention, it's up to Congress to decide whether suspending habeas corpus is appropriate.

Meanwhile, some are wary of the idea because of its potential to erode the rights America is founded on. Senator Chris Murphy expressed this sentiment while speaking at a Democratic rally in Sarasota, Florida. "The one power you cannot give the executive is the power to arbitrarily imprison people who oppose the regime," he said (via NBC News). "Today it may be an El Salvadorian immigrant or a foreign student, but tomorrow it is you or me. The slope to despotism can be slippery and quick."