In 1215, Barons in England came to an agreement on a document with King John I. That document was the Magna Carta (CITATION 1) and among its text was the declaration that "No freeman is to be taken or imprisoned . save by lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. To no-one will we sell or deny of delay right or justice." (CITATION 2) That became the basis for laws in England, and the rest of the world, for the following era and established what would become the central piece of criminal justice - habeas corpus - that translates directly "that you have a body" (CITATION 3) In more recent times, this idea has come under fire in the ongoing "War on Terror," where government officials have tried to deny opposing militants' habeas corpus rights by slapping the label "enemy combatant on them" (CITATION 4). That process is unjust and wrong and flies in the face of nearly a millennia of western laws.
Over the next few centuries after the Magna Carta's adoption, habeas corpus became a keystone of the British legal system. When the colonies that would later form the United States entered into open revolt, they stated in the Declaration of Independence that men had "certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" (CITATION 5). When the Constitution was drafted, these rights were re-affirmed when the framers wrote, "The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States" (CITATION 6). And it was further solidified when the Bill of Rights was passed that 5 of the 10 amendments dealt directly with civilian trials.
It wasn't without its caveats though. Article 1, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution - though expressly addressing habeas corpus - provides a roadmap for its suspension. "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it" (CITATION 6) Over the course of U.
