• Coreidan@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Not quite. It means that if you’re arrested and convicted you have no legal means to fight back. Meaning you’re already in prison and you can’t use the legal system to overturn your case.

    If you’re not in prison yet then this doesn’t even apply to you.

    • SaltSong@startrek.website
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      4 days ago

      No, it’s not for after conviction. It’s for when I’m being held before conviction. My lawyer gets to make the government prove that they have a reason to hold me. It’s why a cop can’t throw me in prison for six months for looking at him funny.

      It may have some application after conviction too. I’m not a lawyer. This sort of thing is taught in high school, though, and it’s important enough that it should be remembered.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habeas_corpus