What is Writ?
[[File:Eo-scale2.png|thumb|right|200px]] In English [[common law]], a '''writ''' is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial [[jurisdiction]]. In modern use this generally is a [[court]]. Writs are issued by courts directing the person to whom they are addressed to do something or to not do something.<ref name=writsUSLegal>{{cite web |url=http://definitions.uslegal.com/w/writs/ |title=Writs Law & Legal Definition |publisher=USLegal, Inc |access-date=2 March 2016}}</ref> Writs may also be used to direct other courts or public authorities. The authority for a court to issue a writ is given by the [[All Writs Act]] which is a [[Act of Congress|United States federal statute]] originally a part of the [[Judiciary Act of 1789]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://constitution.findlaw.com/article3/annotation06.html |title=Annotation 6 - Article III |publisher=FindLaw |access-date=2 March 2016}}</ref> == History == In its earliest form a writ was simply a written order made by the [[List of English monarchs|English king]] to a specified person to undertake a specified action. For [[example]] in the [[Feudalism in England|feudal era]] a military [[summons]] by the king to one of his [[tenant-in-chief|tenants-in-chief]] to appear dressed for [[battle]] with his [[knight]]s at a certain place and time.<ref>Francis Palgrave, ''Parliamentary Writs and Writs of Military Summons'' (2 volumes, 1827 and 1834)</ref> An early usage survives in the [[United Kingdom]]. Also in [[Canada]] in a [[writ of election]]. This was is a written order issued on behalf of the monarch (in Canada, the [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]]) to local officials ([[High Sheriff]]s of every county in historical UK) to hold a [[general election]]. Writs were used by the medieval English kings to summon persons to [[Parliament]]. == Types of writs == There have been a great many kinds of writs. Some of the more common types still in use are: * Writ of [[Habeas corpus]]: A legal [[document]] ordering a person who has b