Habeas Corpus, in the Federal Court, is a petition that claims that you are being detained against your US constitutional rights. A Writ of Habeas Corpus is a civil proceeding that is available in both State and Federal Court to challenge the legality of imprisonment.A writ of habeas corpus stands as a vital legal tool, essential for safeguarding individual rights and averting arbitrary detention. Translated from Latin it means "show me the body. Habeas corpus is most often used when a person is being detained against their will and is suffering a deprivation of liberty. Put simply, habeas corpus is a writ (petition) that can be used in a narrow set of circumstances to bring the case of a state prisoner. A writ of habeas corpus is a powerful legal tool that allows individuals to challenge a criminal conviction or sentence. Habeas corpus is the right to go before a court or judge and challenge whether the state has lawful grounds to detain the petitioning person. The law in the area is an intricate weave of statute and case law. Gutierrez, and Montgomery. CLAIMS.