A writ of habeas corpus is used to bring a convicted party into court. The writ of habeas corpus is a court order which means, literally, "produce the body.Except in matters of emergency, the following procedures are followed in proceedings for a writ of habeas corpus: (a) Petitioner with funds. Habeas corpus is a legal recourse that asks for a court appearance to address unlawful detention or imprisonment. What is a Writ of Habeas Corpus? This video explains habeas corpus and provides examples of pre-trial and post-conviction writs. During just about any conversation with a civil liberties advocate or constitutional lawyer, the concept of habeas corpus will likely come up. Latin for "that you have the body. Brian M. Attorney experienced in numerous areas of law.