Legal Dictionary

praecipe

Legal Definition of praecipe

Etymology

    Latin Origin

Noun

  1. Used to refer to the actual writ that would be presented to a court clerk to be officially issued on behalf of the [[court] but now mostly refers to the covering letter from the lawyer (or plaintiff) which accompanies and formally asks for the writ to be issued by the court officer. The praecipe is kept on the court file, but does not accompany the writ when the latter is served on the defendant.

Etymology

    Latin origin

Alternative forms


Definition of praecipe

Noun

praecipe

  1. A writ demanding action, or requiring a reason for neglecting it.

Further reading

In law in the United States, a praecipe is document that either (A) commands a defendant to appear and show cause why an act or thing should not be done; or (B) requests the clerk of court to issue a writ and to specify its contents. In Canada it is used in place of a notice of motion as an application for a desk order that is granted in the court registry without a hearing before a judge.

History

The word praecipe is base Latin. The word survived long after the Roman Empire and found its way into England, where it survived in the English law. The writ was often issued to amend or change a subsequent order or to correct an error that may have been missed earlier. Its appearance in American law is not surprising, as many of the English customs and traditions were passed on. Today its function has barely changed since those days of Roman times.

References:

  1. Wiktionary. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.



SHARE THIS PAGE

TOP LEGAL TERMS THIS WEEK
1.     lex causae
2.     lex fori
3.     landed property
4.     lex situs
5.     ownership
6.     conclusive presumption
7.     sabotage
8.     AORO
9.     lex loci delicti commissi
10.     Miranda warning