Administrative History
The clerks of the Supreme Court of Judicature were directed to keep common rule books by order of the Court made in April term, 1796. Common Rulebooks contain a record of common rules or orders of the court, entered by the clerk on motion made by an attorney for one of parties to a cause. Motions for common rules were granted as a matter of course during a court term or in vacation between terms. Common rules relating to a defendant's appearance are as follows: order to defendant to pleas within twenty days after service of a copy of the plaintiff's declaration and notice of rule to plead; order to enter appearance of defendant, upon filing of affidavit of service of declaration; order to plaintiff having appeared; order to discontinue the cause, the plaintiff having failed to declare.
Rules relating to judgments include the following: order to enter defendant's default on failure to plead or to put in special bail; order for interlocutory judgment in favor of plaintiff on the defendant's default; order that a writ of inquiry issue to a sheriff to summon jurors to make an inquisition into the amount of damages due to a plaintiff who has obtained a judgment by default; order for interlocutory judgment in favor of plaintiff, with order to a court clerk or to referees to assess and report the amount of damages due; order for final judgment on return of report of damages by clerk or referees, or on return of inquisition by the sheriff; order for final judgment on filing of the circuit roll returned from a Circuit Court, to which an issue had been set for trial and verdict.
Rules relating to execution and return of writs are as follows: order to sheriff to put in special bail for defendant whom he has arrested on a writ of capias ad respondendum, the defendant having failed to do so; order to sheriff to return a writ of fieri facias or capias as satis-faciendum, or have an attachment issue against him; order to enter default of sheriff for not returning these srits. Other rules were entered to amend a declaration or other plea; to discontinue an action; or to enter a nolle prosequi upon the plaintiff's declaration.