Only people who have been restrained in their liberty may file a habeas petition. The relief sought must be based on a denial of rights under the Constitution.Habeas Corpus Petitions: Action filed when relief sought would release petitioner from custody or shorten his confinement. A Writ of Habeas Corpus literally means bring the body before the court, and therefor the state needs to prove why the detention is proper. A Writ of Habeas Corpus, which is Latin for "bring a body before the court," is a petition for a court to review the circumstances of your imprisonment. Habeas Corpus is a time-tested legal principle. It is a cornerstone of justice and personal liberty in the U.S. legal system. Habeas corpus is a kind of petition that you can file in federal court to claim that your imprisonment violates federal law. The law in the area is an intricate weave of statute and case law. In many countries, authorities may incarcerate someone for months or years without charging them.
