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Article: Habeas corpus and "enemy combatants".(Cover story)
- Article from:
- Social Education
- Article date:
- September 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 National Council for the Social Studies. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Habeas corpus--"you have the body" in Latin--is an ancient privilege of English law that predates the Magna Carta and was an early power of English courts. The writ, or written order of the court, gave judges the power to command the presence of a person before the court. This power worked two ways: (1) the writ was an order for the government and the accused to appear before the court; and (2) it required the government to explain why a person was being detained. If the court was not satisfied by the government's explanations for holding a person, the judges had the power to free the prisoner. People in England believed that habeas corpus was an important protection ...