The habeas petition must be in writing and signed and verified either by the petitioner seeking relief or by someone acting on his or her behalf. The petition must name the custodian as the respondent and state the facts concerning the applicant's custody and include the legal basis for the request.
The Supreme Court, ajustice thereof, a circuit judge, or a district court shall enter- tain an application for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court only on the ground that he is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United ...
Habeas corpus is one of the earliest common law writs. In its simplest form a writ of habeas corpus requires that a person who is in custody be brought before a judge or court and that they be able to challenge that custody. The writ of habeas corpus is used to attack an unlawful detention or illegal imprisonment.
The "Great Writ" of habeas corpus is a fundamental right in the Constitution that protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment. Translated from Latin it means "show me the body." Habeas corpus has historically been an important instrument to safeguard individual freedom against arbitrary executive power.
The writ of habeas corpus is the great remedy of the citizen or subject against arbitrary or illegal imprisonment; it is the mode by which the judicial power speedily and effectually protects the personal liberty of every individual, and repels the injustice of unconstitutional laws and despotic governments.
—The writ of habeas data is a remedy available to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity engaged in the gathering, collecting or storing of data or information ...
(b) An application for writ of habeas corpus filed after final conviction in a felony case, other than a case in which the death penalty is imposed, must be filed with the clerk of the court in which the conviction being challenged was obtained, and the clerk shall assign the application to that court.
For example, if an individual was convicted on the basis that their skin color matched that of the perpetrator ing to eyewitnesses, but there is no other evidence against them, then the individual can appeal for habeas corpus in order to be freed from imprisonment.
(b) An application for writ of habeas corpus filed after final conviction in a felony case, other than a case in which the death penalty is imposed, must be filed with the clerk of the court in which the conviction being challenged was obtained, and the clerk shall assign the application to that court.
James Liebman, Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, stated in 1996 that his study found that when habeas corpus petitions in death penalty cases were traced from conviction to completion of the case that there was "a 40 percent success rate in all capital cases from 1978 to 1995." Similarly, a study by Ronald Tabek ...