Writ vs. Subpoena
Writnoun
(legal) A written order, issued by a court, ordering someone to do (or stop doing) something.
Subpoenanoun
A writ requiring a defendant to appear in court to answer a plaintiff's claim.
Writnoun
Authority, power to enforce compliance.
Subpoenanoun
(legal) A writ requiring someone to appear in court to give testimony.
Writnoun
(archaic) That which is written; writing.
Subpoenaverb
(transitive) To summon with a subpoena.
Writverb
past tense of write
Subpoenanoun
A writ commanding the attendance in court, as a witness, of the person on whom it is served, under a penalty; the process by which a defendant in equity is commanded to appear and answer the plaintiff's bill.
Writverb
past participle of write
Subpoenaverb
To serve with a writ of subpœna; to command attendance in court by a legal writ, under a penalty in case of disobedience.
Writ
3d pers. sing. pres. of Write, for writeth.
Subpoenanoun
a writ issued by court authority to compel the attendance of a witness at a judicial proceeding; disobedience may be punishable as a contempt of court
Writ
imp. & p. p. of Write.
Subpoenaverb
serve or summon with a subpoena;
âThe witness and her records were subpoenaedâ;
Writnoun
That which is written; writing; scripture; - applied especially to the Scriptures, or the books of the Old and New testaments; as, sacred writ.
âThen to his hands that writ he did betake,Which he disclosing read, thus as the paper spake.â; âBabylon, so much spoken of in Holy Writ.â;
Subpoena
A subpoena (; also subpĆna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoenas: subpoena ad testificandum orders a person to testify before the ordering authority or face punishment.
Writnoun
An instrument in writing, under seal, in an epistolary form, issued from the proper authority, commanding the performance or nonperformance of some act by the person to whom it is directed; as, a writ of entry, of error, of execution, of injunction, of mandamus, of return, of summons, and the like.
Writnoun
(law) a legal document issued by a court or judicial officer
Writnoun
a form of written command in the name of a court or other legal authority to act, or abstain from acting, in a particular way
âthe two reinstated officers issued a writ for libel against the applicantsâ; âan action begun by writ or summonsâ;
Writnoun
a Crown document summoning a peer to Parliament or ordering the election of a member or members of Parliament.
Writnoun
one's power to enforce compliance or submission; one's authority
âyou have business here which is out of my writ and competenceâ;
Writnoun
a piece or body of writing.
Writverb
archaic past participle of write
Writ
In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon gewrit, Latin breve) is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, and subpoenas are common types of writ, but many forms exist and have existed.
