List of writs

A

• Acquietandis Plegiis, a writ that lies for a surety against a creditor who refuses to acquit him after a debt is paid.
• Writ of assistance issues out of the exchequer to authorise any person to take a constable to seize goods prohibited or uncustomed.
• Arrestandis bonis ne dissipentur, a writ which lies for a man whose goods etc. are taken by another, who during the contest does or is like to make them away.
• Arrestando ipsum qui pecuniam recepit, a writ that lies for apprehending a person who hath taken the King's prest money to serve in the wars, and hides himself when he should go.
• Arresto facto super bonis mercatorum alienigenorum, a writ which lies for a denizen against the goods of an alien in recompense of goods taken from him in a foreign country after denial of restitution.
• Attachment
• Attaint
• '''Audita querela'''

  B

• Bahio amovendo, a writ to remove a bailiff from his office for want of sufficient land in his bailiwick.
• Beaupleader
• Besayle is a writ directed to the sheriff, in case of an abatement or disseisin, to summon a jury to view the land in question, and to recognise whether the great grandfather died seised of the premises, and whether the demandant be his next heir.
• Brief, any writ in writing issued out of any of the King's courts of record at Westminster, whereby anything is commanded to be done in order to justice.

  C

• Cape is a writ judicial touching pleas of lands etc. It is divided into cape magnum and cape parvum, both which take hold of things immovable. The former lies before appearance and the latter after.
• Capias is of several kinds:
• *Ad respondendum, to have the body in court to answer the plaintiff.
• *Ad satisfaciendum, to take the body in satisfaction of the debt.
• *Utligatum, to apprehend an outlawed person.
• *In withernam, where a distress is carried out of the county and an equal amount of the distrainor's goods are to be taken instead.
• Casu consimili, a writ of entry granted by the curtesy or for life aliens in fee or in tail, or for another's life.
• Casu proviso, is a writ of entry given by the Statute of Gloucester c 7, where a tenant in dowry transfers property to another in fee, or for term of life, or in tail; the writ lies for him in reversion against the transfer..
• Catallis captis nomine districtionis is a writ that lies within a borough or house for rent going out of the same, and warrants a man to take the doors, windows or gates by distress for rent.
• Catallis reddendis, a writ which lies where goods are delivered to a man to keep a certain day, and are not upon demand delivered at the day.
• Certiorari
• Cessavit
• Computo
• Contra formam feoffamenti
• Contributione facienda
• Coram nobis
• Cui ante divortium is a writ that a woman divorced has to recover lands, etc., from him to whom her husband had alienated during marriage.
• Cui in vita is a writ of entry which a widow has against him to whom her husband alienated her lands, which must contain in it that during his life she could not withstand it.

  D

• Day writ. The king may grant a writ of warrantia diei to any person which shall save his default for one day, be it in plea of land or other action, and be the cause true or not; and this is by his prerogative.
• Deceptione, a writ that lies properly against him who deceitfully does anything in the name of another.
• Decies tantum, a writ that lay against a juror who has taken money for giving his verdict, called so because it is to recover ten times as much as he took. 38 Edw 3 cc 12 and 13, or 34 Edw 3 c 8. It lay also against sheriffs taking rewards for arraying a panel. 11 Hen 6 c 14; Vin Abr 378.
• Dedimus potestatem
• De effendo quietum de tolonio, a writ which lies for those who are by privilege freed from the payment of poll.
• De expensis militum, a writ commanding the sheriff to levy so much a day for the expenses of a Knight of the Shire. 4 Inst 46.
• De exoneranda pro rata portionis is a writ that lies where one is distrained for rent that ought to be paid by others proportionably with him.
• De lunatico inquirendo is a writ issued to commence a court proceeding to determine whether a person is a lunatic.
• De quibus sur disseisin, a writ of entry.
• Detinue is a writ which lies where any man comes to goods by delivery or finding and refuses to deliver them. 1 Inst 286.
• Diem clausit extremum, a writ out of chancery to the escheator of the county upon the death of any of the king's tenants in capita, to inquire by a jury of what lands he died seised, their value and who was next heir to him.
• Distringas, a writ to the sheriff to distrain one of his goods to enforce compliance with what is required of him.
• Distringas juratores, a writ to the sheriff to distrain upon a jury to appear.
• Domo reparanda, a writ for one against his neighbour, by the fall of whose house he apprehends injury to his own.
• Dote assignanda, a writ that lay for a widow where it was office found that the king's tenant was seised in fee or tail at the day of his death, and that he held of the king. In which case she came into chancery and there made oath she would not marry without the king's leave, and thereupon she had this writ to the escheator. 15 Edw 3 c 4.
• Dote unde nihil habet, a writ of dower against one who bought land of her husband, who was seised in such sort that their issue might have inherited. FNB 147.
• Dum non fuit compos, a writ that lies against the alienee for him that, not being of sound mind, aliened his lands.
• Dum fuit infra aetatem, a writ that lies for him that, before he came of age, made a feoffment of his land.

  E

• Ejectione custodiae, a writ which lies against him who casts out a guardian from any land during the minority of the heir.
• Elegit, a writ of execution against the lands of a debtor. 1 Inst 289; 13 Edw 1 c 18.
• Entry, writ of, directed to the sheriff, commanding the tenant to render to the demandant possession of lands, or appear in court and show why he has not done it. It is of four kinds. Writ of entry sur disseisin; a writ of entry sur disseisin in the per; a writ of entry sur disseisin in the per and cui, and a writ of entry sur disseisin in the post. 1 Inst 238.
• Error, writ of, a commission to judges of the superior court to examine the record upon which a judgment was given in an inferior court. Jenk Rep 25.
• Estrepement
• Excommunicato deliberando, a writ to the sheriff for the delivery of an excommunicate person out of prison upon certificate of his conformity to the jurisdiction ecclesiastical. FNB 63.
• Excommununicato capiendo, a writ to the sheriff for the apprehending him who stands obstinately excommunicated for forty days, and imprisoning him without bail or mainprize. 5 Eliz 1 c 23.
• Excommunicato recipiendo, a writ whereby persons excommunicate being for their obstinancy committed to prison and unlawfully delivered thence, before they have given caution to obey the authority of the church, are commanded to be sought for and imprisoned again.
• Ex gravi querda, a writ that lies for him to whom lands in a city or borough are devised, and which the heir of the devisor has taken possession of.
• Exigent, a writ that lies were neither the defendant nor any property can be found, and commands the sheriff to proclaim him five times, in order that he may be outlawed.
• Exoneratione sectae, a writ that lies for the king's ward to be disturned of all suits during his minority.
• Expensis militum levandis, a writ commanding the sheriff to levy the allowance for knights in parliament.
• Expensis militum non levandis, a writ prohibiting the sheriff from levying such allowance upon those that held in ancient demesne.
• Extent, a writ to the sheriff for the valuing of lands and tenements.

  F

• False judgment, writ of, lies where a false judgment is given in a court not of record.
• Fieri facias, a judicial writ that lay within a year and a day to levy the judgment of defendant's goods.

  G

• Grand distress, a writ which lies in two cases: either where defendant has been attached and does not appear, or where he has once appeared and after makes default.

  H

• Habeas corpus. "This is the most celebrated writ in the English law", and is of several kinds, viz.:
• *Ad subjiciendum, to relieve from wrong imprisonment.
• *Ad faciendum, to remove a cause into a superior court.
• *Ad respondendum, to remove a defendant who is in custody in a lower court to answer to a cause of action in a higher court.
• *Ad deliberandum, to remove a prisoner into the county where he is to be tried.
• *Ad satisfaciendum lies after judgment.
• *Ad testificandum, to bring a prisoner into court to testify.
• Habere facias visum, a writ commanding a view of the lands in question.
• Habere facias seisinam, a writ of execution commanding the sheriff to give the plaintiff possession of a freehold. Where the interest is less than the freehold the writ is known as habere facias possessionem.
• Homine replegiando, a writ to bail a man out of prison.

  I

• Identitate nominis, a writ that lies for him who is committed to prison for another man in the same name.
• Ingressu, a writ of entry, "whereby a man seeks entry into lands or tenements; it lies in many cases and hath many several forms".
• Inhibition, a writ to forbid a judge from further proceeding in a cause before him.
• Injunction, a prohibitory writ restraing a person from doing a thing which appears to be against equity and good conscience. 3 Bac Abr 172.
• Writ of inquiry, a judicial writ to the sheriff upon a judgment by default, commanding him to summon a jury to inquire what damages plaintiff has sustained.
• Intrusion de gard, a writ that lies where the infant within age entered into his lands and held his lord out.