In some parts of the world, a person may be secreted away or imprisoned by the government without any advanced notification of wrongdoing or chance to make a defense. This has not been lawful in the United States from its very inception, or in many other countries where the rule of law and respect for individual civil rights are paramount.
The legal doctrine of “habeas corpus,” a Latin phrase that has its American roots in English law as early as the 12th century, stands as a barrier to unlawful arrest.
