American National Government

Civil Rights and Liberties: An issue of Habeas Corpus



[Name of the Instructor]

[Date of Submission]

Civil Rights and Liberties: An issue of Habeas Corpus

Introduction

Civil liberties are the civil rights that leads to the provision of specific rights to an individual. The scope of this term varies among different nations, however some of the major categories that are included under the umbrella of civil liberties include Freedom of religion, freedom from slavery and forceful labor, right to fair trial, the right to protect and defend oneself. One of the important considerations in the political system of United States has been provided to the issue of Habeas Corpus. The system has been highlighted as a corner stone by many of the American people, considering it as a tool that will aid in keeping a check on the American government powers, allowing an arrested person to challenge the legality of his custody. The topic of Habeas Corpus is covered under the head of civil liberties because it serves both as a tool of politics and law because of being characterized as an individual right. This essay has an aim to highlight the debate that is associated with the topic of Habeas Corpus and the civil rights by taking into account the factual background of the topic, along with the merits of each side of issue. My personal opinion that which side seems to be strong will also be a major part of the essay.

Factual Background

Under the Constitution of United States, the civil liberties are protected specifically on the ground of Bill of Rights. In the context of United States, human rights are often called the civil rights according to which every individual is entitled to the basic human rights (Smith & Levine, 1988)

Habeas corpus has basically got its origin from a Latin word, having a literal meaning of 'have the body'. The requirement of the court that required the custodian to provide proper grounds and evidence when a prisoner is brought to the court provides the basis for the birth of this summon. According to some authorities, the Act has been provided with a slogan of being a Great Writ as it strengthened the basis to the Common Law of a country by aiding them in preventing the Freedom of Liberty, an important part mentioned in the Independence Declaration of United States (Wert, 2011).

The relationship between Habeas Corpus and other civil liberty policies can be ascertained by the fact that all of these rights are contained in the Constitution of United States. The rights of speech, freedom and religion were included in the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution. However, the habeas corpus was included in Article 1 Section 9 of the Constitution by taking into consideration the following features:

The prisoner has the right to get his arrestment justified by the concerned authorities

The rights of not to be prohibited or forbidden without a trial

The freedom rights form all the laws that are passed and got approval after the fact has been ...