IS HABEAS CORPUS OUTMODED FOR OUR TIMES?

Habeas corpus comes from English common law and the first recorded usage was in 1305, in the reign of King Edward I of England. Habeas corpus is Latin for "you [should] have the body". It is the name of a legal action or writ where arrested persons can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. The United States Constitution specifically included the English common law procedure in Article One, Section 9 which states:
“ 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. ”

United States federal law allows individuals the right to petition for a writ of habeas corpus mainly if held by the federal authorities or for violations of the United States Constitution. The issuing of writs of habeas corpus was first codified by the Habeas Corpus Act 1679, following judicial rulings which had restricted the effectiveness of the writ.

The United States Congress grants U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Supreme Court, and all Article III federal judges, acting in their own right, jurisdiction to issue writs of habeas corpus to release prisoners held by any government entity, subject to certain limitations: A person is in custody under or by color of the authority of the United States or is committed for trial before some court thereof; or is in custody for an act done or omitted in pursuance of an Act of Congress, or an order, process, judgment or decree court or judge of the United States; or is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States; or being a citizen of a foreign state and domiciled therein is in custody for an act done or omitted under any alleged right, title, authority, privilege, protection, or exemption claimed under the commission, order or sanction of any foreign state, or under color thereof, the validity and effect of which depend upon the law of nations; or It is necessary to bring said persons into court to testify or for trial.

It has only been suspended a few times: On April 27, 1861, habeas corpus was suspended by President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. And In the early 1870s, President Ulysses S. Grant suspended habeas corpus in nine counties in South Carolina. Finally, The November 13, 2001 Presidential Military Order purported to give President George W. Bush the power to detain non-citizens suspected of connection to terrorists or terrorism as an enemy combatant. As such, that person could be held indefinitely, without charges being filed against him or her, without a court hearing, and without entitlement to a legal consultant. Many legal and constitutional scholars contended that these provisions were in direct opposition to habeas corpus, and the United States Bill of Rights.