Scope and Content Note
This series consists mostly of writs of capias ad respondendum ordering a sheriff to arrest a defendant for appearance in court.
There are also a few writs of capias ad satisfaciendum, ordering a sheriff to arrest and detain a judgment debtor; writs of venire, ordering him to empanel a jury; fieri facias, ordering him to levy a judgment award; one writ of inquiry, ordering him to empanel a jury to determine the amount of a judgment award; one writ of habere facias possessionem, ordering him to restore real property to a plaintiff; and one example each of a writ of error and writ of certiorari, directing a lower court to transmit the record of a case to the Supreme Court for review or trial. Other documents include common bail pieces, one recognizance roll, and one indictment (dated 1763). Also found are two parts of a fine, the record of conveyance of real property made in court; and one original writ, giving an award of writ of capias in an action involving a debt owed by London merchants (1798). Almost all the writs, bail pieces, and other documents are on parchment. Most bear filing dates.
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