Habeas corpus is one of those Latin phrases that was familiar to me when I was growing up, like bona fide, ad infinitum, or carpe diem. I didn’t give much thought to the Latin roots of common English words, much less to Latin phrases themselves, until much later in life, so it’s worth a closer look today.
Have you tried screaming it in other languages? Sure, Latin might seem the most sensible if you don't want to get those looks, but I bet a made-up language like Klingon would raise a few eyebrows of a different sort.
I mean, obviously you have to don traditional Klingon attire, and you need to hold a severed human head while saying it, per tradition, or else everyone will realize your silly gaffe and just laugh and laugh.
Great explanation of perhaps the most important legal concept! More than anything taking away the power of monarchs or the state to "disappear" someone is a cornerstone of equality under the law.
The War on Terror already took it away....Biden renewed the Emergency Powers granted after 9/11 just this month...23 years after it happened he's still allowed to disappear people to Guantanamo.
I wish more people were aware of this, but right now it appears both parties are in favor of maintaining and expanding the security state rather than curtailing it.
Indeed, very sad to see. I like the idea that two wrongs don't really make a right, and maybe someday the folks in power will realize that... but of course, the entire system has been set up so that they simply remain in power in the first place. That's the real problem, isn't it? But of course, there's no simple solution to any of this.
With all the buzz about this Project 2025 thing I decided to read it…even though Trump disowned it the Democrats are using its recommendations limiting abortion (it does recommend that) to scare people, I think the real reason they’re all trashing it is that the first, highest priority they list is the repeal of the Patriot Act and the dismantling of the Department of Homeland Security.
I agree with that 100%. I only wish they’d also added abolishing the FISA court…
Yes, it seems that Justice throws us back into a dualistic mode where the word has negative connotations. How might we interpret ii in a totally positive sense?
I think it's fair to say that the US borrowed more from the UK than from all other nations combined, and that definitely includes habeas corpus. Much is made of the hearkening back to the good old days of Athens, but that's not at all the model the framers had in mind, nor what they ended up with.
I was introduced to the term by Doc Savage novels. One of the members of his team has a razorback pig named "Habeas Corpus."
Ha! We get our exposure through the weirdest ways.
Little known fact is that ‘Body’ by Megan Thee Stallion is actually about habeas corpus
If so, that is a very deep analogy, and props to her!
Pretty sure ‘Jennifer’s Body’ is also about habeas corpus
Both have Megans. Suspicious.
...yet when I scream "Show me the body" at random people on the street, I'm somehow the bad guy.
Have you tried screaming it in other languages? Sure, Latin might seem the most sensible if you don't want to get those looks, but I bet a made-up language like Klingon would raise a few eyebrows of a different sort.
“Krashzaghar Mazagooo!” - that's the one. Now nobody will look at me like I'm a crazy poison person anymore!
I mean, obviously you have to don traditional Klingon attire, and you need to hold a severed human head while saying it, per tradition, or else everyone will realize your silly gaffe and just laugh and laugh.
Yeah, I wouldn't want to embarrass myself with an imperfect rendition. Boy, that'd be awkward. I'm off to find me some severed heads.
Great explanation of perhaps the most important legal concept! More than anything taking away the power of monarchs or the state to "disappear" someone is a cornerstone of equality under the law.
I really hope we get to keep that one here in the West!
The War on Terror already took it away....Biden renewed the Emergency Powers granted after 9/11 just this month...23 years after it happened he's still allowed to disappear people to Guantanamo.
I wish more people were aware of this, but right now it appears both parties are in favor of maintaining and expanding the security state rather than curtailing it.
Indeed, very sad to see. I like the idea that two wrongs don't really make a right, and maybe someday the folks in power will realize that... but of course, the entire system has been set up so that they simply remain in power in the first place. That's the real problem, isn't it? But of course, there's no simple solution to any of this.
With all the buzz about this Project 2025 thing I decided to read it…even though Trump disowned it the Democrats are using its recommendations limiting abortion (it does recommend that) to scare people, I think the real reason they’re all trashing it is that the first, highest priority they list is the repeal of the Patriot Act and the dismantling of the Department of Homeland Security.
I agree with that 100%. I only wish they’d also added abolishing the FISA court…
I think a more accurate translation of Habeas Corpus is "Bring me the body."
It's used in arrest warrants and Trial Warrants. Only a Magistrate or Judge can sign a warrant.
Yeah, good call. My Latin is improving slowly!
Yes, it seems that Justice throws us back into a dualistic mode where the word has negative connotations. How might we interpret ii in a totally positive sense?
Undoubtedly, it was the influence of English common law that saw habeas corpus become a touchstone of the American legal system.
I think it's fair to say that the US borrowed more from the UK than from all other nations combined, and that definitely includes habeas corpus. Much is made of the hearkening back to the good old days of Athens, but that's not at all the model the framers had in mind, nor what they ended up with.
The main exception to that is the Westminster parliamentary system, which the U.S. replaced with the checks-and-balances one.
Even the parliamentary system itself is reminiscent of the two-chamber house in the US legislative system. So many reflections.
Unfortunately, I am too familiar with another touchstone of the legal system...capias warrant.