Writs

court action challenging unlawful detention

A subpoena (; also subpena, subpœna) 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. subpoena duces tecum orders a person or organization to bring physical evidence before the ordering authority or face punishment. This is often used for requests to mail copies of documents to a requesting party or directly to a court.

In law, certiorari is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. Certiorari comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of the lower court be sent to the superior court for review.

court order granted to put in force a judgment of possession obtained by a plaintiff from a court

thumb|A writ of attachment

A writ of (; ) is a judicial remedy in common law jurisdictions consisting of a court order that commands a government official or entity to perform an act it is legally required to perform as part of its official duties, or to refrain from performing an act the law forbids it from doing. Writs of mandamus are usually used in situations where a government official has failed to act as legally required or has taken a legally prohibited action. Decisions that fall within the discretionary power of public officials cannot be controlled by the writ. For example, mandamus cannot force a lower court

legal process

court order used to protect civil rights

official writ calling for an election