Federal habeas corpus is a procedure under which a federal court may review the legality of an individual's incarceration. The writ of habeas corpus is a legal order requiring a person holding another person to produce that individual before a court or judge.Translated from Latin it means "show me the body. Habeas corpus requires a jailer to produce a prisoner in a court of law so the basis for detention can be reviewed. The advisory focuses on the process for filing such habeas petitions, not the substance of the arguments underlying them. 1).