Editing Writ (section)

==United States law==
[[File:Writ 1702.jpg|right|thumb|1702 Writ of Attachment signed by Chief Justice [[John Guest (judge)|John Guest]] of the [[Province of Pennsylvania]] in the name of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]]]]
[[File:Return of 1702 writ of attachment signed by Chief Justice John Guest of Pennsylvania.jpg|right|thumb|Return of the Writ shown above, endorsed by the [[Sheriff]] of [[Philadelphia]], stating that he is still in possession of the attached property for want of a buyer]]
Early [[law of the United States]] adopted the traditional English writ system, in the sense of a rigid set of forms of relief that the law [[court]]s were authorized to grant. The [[All Writs Act]]<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|28|1651}}</ref> authorizes [[United States federal courts]] to "issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law." However, the [[Federal Rules of Civil Procedure]], adopted in 1938 to govern [[civil procedure]] in the [[United States district court]]s, provide that there is only one form of action in civil cases, and explicitly abolish certain writs by name. Relief formerly available by a writ is now commonly available by a [[lawsuit]] (civil action) or a [[motion (legal)|motion]] in a pending civil action. Nonetheless, a few writs have escaped abolition and remain in current use in the U.S. federal courts:<ref name="US Federal writs">{{cite web |title=Writ |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/writ |website=[[Legal Information Institute]] |publisher=[[Cornell Law School]] |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref>
* The writ of ''[[habeas corpus]]'', usually used to test the legality of a prisoner's detention, has expressly been preserved. It is explicitly mentioned in Article I, Section 9, Clause 2 of the [[Constitution of the United States]]. In the United States federal courts, the writ is most often used to review the constitutionality of criminal convictions rendered by [[State court (United States)|state courts]]. The writ's application does not stop there: the Supreme Court has held the writ of ''habeas corpus'' open to all individuals held by the federal government, including [[Guantanamo Bay detainees]]. See ''[[Boumediene v. Bush]]''.
* By statute, the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] uses the writ of ''[[certiorari]]'' to review cases from the United States courts of appeals or the state courts.
* In extraordinary circumstances, the [[United States court of appeals]] can use the common law writ of [[prohibition (writ)|prohibition]] under the All Writs Act to control proceedings in the district courts.
* Some courts have held that in rare circumstances in a federal criminal case, a United States district court may use the common law writ of [[Coram nobis#Writ of error coram nobis|error ''coram nobis'']] under the All Writs Act to set aside a conviction when no other remedy is available.
* In modern times, the All Writs Act is most commonly used as authority for federal courts to issue [[injunction]]s to protect their jurisdiction or effectuate their judgments.

The situation in the courts of the various [[U.S. state]]s varies from state to state but is often similar to that in the federal courts. Some states continue to use writ procedures, such as ''[[quo warranto]]'', that have been abolished as a procedural matter in federal courts.

In an attempt to purge Latin from the language of the law, [[California law]] has for many years used the term 'writ of mandate' in place of ''writ of [[mandamus]]'' and ''writ of review'' in place of ''writ of certiorari''.

===Prerogative writs===
{{Main|Prerogative writ}}

The "prerogative" writs are a subset of the class of writs, those that are to be heard ahead of any other cases on a court's docket except other such writs. The most common of the other such prerogative writs are ''habeas corpus'', ''quo warranto'', ''[[prohibito]]'', ''mandamus'', ''[[procedendo]]'', and ''certiorari''.

The due process for 'petitions for' such writs is not simply civil or criminal because they incorporate the presumption of non-authority so that the official who is the respondent has the burden to prove his authority to do or not do something, failing which the court has no discretion but to decide for the petitioner, who may be any person, not just an interested party. In this, they differ from a motion in a civil process in which the burden of proof is on the movant and in which there can be a question of [[standing (law)|standing]].

===Other writs===
* A [[Attachment (law)|''writ of attachment'']] permits the seizure of private property.
* A [[Audita querela|''writ of audita querela'']] inhibits the unconscionable use of a lawful judgment because of matters arising after the judgment.
* A [[Capias|''writ of capias'']] directs an officer to take the person named in the writ or order into custody.<ref>"Glossary of Terms", ''Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk'', s.v. "capias", retrieved on 30 Jun 2009: [http://www.co.shelby.tn.us/court_clerks/criminal_court/glossary.html].</ref>
* A [[coram nobis|''writ of coram nobis'']] corrects a previous error "of the most fundamental character" to "achieve justice" where "no other remedy" is available, e.g., when a judgment was rendered without full knowledge of the facts.
* A [[elegit|''writ of elegit'']] orders the seizure of a portion of a debtor's lands and all his goods (except work animals) towards satisfying a creditor until the debt is paid off.
* A ''writ of error'' is issued by an [[appeal|appellate court]] and directs a lower court of record to submit its record of the case laid for appeal.<ref>"Writ and Petition History System in Texas" [https://books.google.com/books?id=qB7k56Ufw_sC&pg=PA90 page 90] ''In'' Quarles, Brandon D. and Cordon, Matthew C. (2003) ''Legal Research for the Texas Practitioner''&nbsp; W.S. Hein, Buffalo, New York, {{ISBN|978-0-8377-3626-6}}</ref>
* A ''writ of exigent'' (or ''exigend'') commands a sheriff to summon a defendant indicted for a felony who had failed to appear in court to deliver himself upon pain of outlawry or forfeiture of his goods.
* A [[fieri facias|''writ of fieri facias'']] (colloquially "fi fa") commands a sheriff to take and auction off enough property from a losing party to pay the debt (plus interest and costs) owed by a judgment debtor.
* A [[mittimus|''writ of mittimus'']] orders either (1) a court to send its record to another or (2) a jailor to receive the accused in their custody at any point during the investigative or trial process.
* A [[Ne exeat|''writ of ne exeat'']] restrains a defendant from fleeing the country or jurisdiction.
* A [[praemunire|''writ of praemunire'']] instructs a sheriff to order someone to appear in court to answer for several different crimes.
* A [[Scire facias|''writ of scire facias'']] revives a dormant judgment.
* A ''writ of supersedeas'' contains a command to stay the proceedings at law.<ref>"Glossary of Terms", ''Colorado State Courts'', retrieved on 19 June 2009: [http://www.courts.state.co.us/Glossary.cfm].</ref>
* A [[Venire facias de novo|''writ of venire facias'']] summons jurors to appear in court.<ref>"Gloss...Terms", ''Shelby'' (op. cit.), s.v. "Venire facias".</ref>