The writ of habeas corpus, also known as the Great Writ, is a U.S. legal process that determines whether an offender's imprisonment is valid. Habeas corpus is a Latin phrase meaning "produce the body.Federal habeas corpus is a procedure under which a federal court may review the legality of an individual's incarceration. What we are talking about, of course, is habeas corpus, a Latin phrase meaning "you should have the body. In fact, "habeas corpus" is Latin for "you have the body. Filing a petition for habeas corpus means that you are arguing that your incarceration is unjust. Habeas corpus means demand of body. Habeas corpus prevents the King from simply locking up subjects in secret dungeons and throwing away the key. The U.S. Supreme Court interprets the Constitution, which means it defines constitutional rights and violations in the cases it decides. In a petition for habeas corpus, a prisoner (or another interested party) raises doubts about the legality of his or her imprisonment.