Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Habeas corpus \Ha"be*as corpus\ [L. you may have the body.]
   (Law)
   A writ having for its object to bring a party before a court
   or judge; especially, one to inquire into the cause of a
   person's imprisonment or detention by another, with the view
   to protect the right to personal liberty; also, one to bring
   a prisoner into court to testify in a pending trial.
   --Bouvier.

Source : WordNet®

habeas corpus
     n 1: a writ ordering a prisoner to be brought before a judge
          [syn: {writ of habeas corpus}]
     2: the civil right to obtain a writ of habeas corpus as
        protection against illegal imprisonment