Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Writ

An order issued by a court requiring that something be done or giving authority to do a specified act.

The development of English COMMON LAW relied on the courts to issue writs that allowed persons to proceed with a legal action. Over time the courts also used writs to direct other courts, sheriffs, and attorneys to perform certain actions. In modern law, courts primarily use writs to grant extraordinary relief, to grant the right of appeal, or to grant the sheriff authority to seize property. Most other common-law writs were discarded in U.S. law, as the courts moved to simpler and more general methods of starting civil actions.

U.S. courts commonly use several extraordinary writs, which are issued only when the courts believe that usual remedies have failed. The writ of HABEAS...