Judicial documents are court orders used in common law systems, including the US, Canada, Australia, and India. They were once required to file a lawsuit, but now serve to enforce court rules and compel the movement of trials. Examples include arrest warrants, subpoenas, and writs of habeas corpus. Different types of judicial documents exist in different jurisdictions, but all are final and binding. Sanctions may be imposed for non-compliance.
Judicial documents are written court orders requiring certain actions. Some court documents are directed at individuals, while others target other courts. Judicial documents are aspects of English common law and are commonly used throughout Great Britain and other Commonwealth countries, including Canada, Australia and India. The deeds are also used under United States law.
Originally, obtaining a court writ was the only way to file a lawsuit. In the old English courts, anyone wishing to bring an action had to petition the court for a hearing, the court had to issue a writ, and the writ served as a kind of permission to bring the case. Acts don’t work that way anymore. Today, lawsuits are started simply by filing a motion or complaint. Court permission is not required for filing, provided all court rules are followed.
Nowadays, courts use writs as a way to enforce court rules and compel the rapid movement of trials. Many of the best-known court documents involve orders against people. An arrest warrant is a warrant, for example. Warrants are always granted by the court and essentially require that a certain person be arrested and tried for a named crime. A restitution deed, commonly used as a means of eviction, compels local law enforcement to evict named tenants on court order.
Subpoenas are also judicial documents. Courts will issue subpoenas to critical witnesses in a trial to compel them to appear and testify. A person who ignores a subpoena will usually be held in contempt of court, which can lead to obstruction of justice charges and even jail time in some jurisdictions.
A writ of habeas corpus, Latin for “to have the body,” is a frequently applied procedural remedy in criminal law cases. A court will issue a writ of habeas corpus in order to investigate whether a prisoner has been lawfully tried and whether the conditions of his incarceration are lawful. Most of the time, this involves taking the prisoner to court and having the original trial evaluated. A prosecution is not the same as a retrial, as the issuing court seeks only errors or oversights, not facts and truths.
Judicial documents may also be issued to other, typically lower, courts. Writs of mandamus are used to compel lower courts to remedy a faulty previous ruling. When a court reverses and postpones a decision – that is, when a review court postpones a decision for review – the court issues a mandate of mandamus. Prohibition writs are used to cease litigation in multiple courts simultaneously or to prohibit one court from infringing on the jurisdiction of another. The corresponding error warrants are used to bring errors in published opinions to the attention of the drafting judge.
Perhaps the best known of the judicial documents is the writ of certiorari, which a country’s highest court can use to review otherwise final judgments. When a Supreme or High Court grants a writ of certiorari, it agrees to hear arguments about whether or not a decision was decided correctly. Most of the time, the topics focus on a certain issue or legal interpretation. Unlike a mandamus writ, the lower court in a certiorari situation will not have the ability to review or retry the case itself. The judgment of the final court becomes the applicable law.
There are different types of judicial documents in different jurisdictions and national laws interpret and apply the rules relating to documents in various ways. Some places allow court records and judicial documents. A judicial writ is sometimes the same as a court order, but usually originates from a judge or other bailiff acting in a professional capacity, rather than acting on behalf of the court. In all cases, however, the deeds are final, binding, and must be followed. Sanctions almost always concern acts that are not carried out or are poorly followed.
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