| |
These series contain writs of execution obtained by prevailing parties to enforce Supreme Court judgments. The overwhelming majority of writs of execution are of two types: fieri facias and capias ad satisfaciendum. The writ of fieri facias (fi. fa.) is a writ commanding a sheriff to levy the amount of the judgment award from the personal or real property of a judgment debtor. The writ states the names of the debtor and the winning party, the amount and date of the judgment, the date for return of the writ, and the names of the justice, clerk, and plaintiff's attorney. On the dorso of the writ are found the names of the parties and the plaintiffs attorney, amount of judgment, a summary of the command to the sheriff, date of receipt of writ by sheriff, and his statement as to how he carried out the order. The latter statement may be a receipt for payment, or a list of property sold to satisfy the judgment, or (frequently) a statement that "no goods" (nulla bona) were found for sale. Writs of fieri facias were sometimes reissued to the same sheriff a second time (alias fi. fa.) or even a third time (pluries fi. fa.) when a previous writ had not resulted in a judgment levy. When the sheriff of the county where the judgment debtor resided returned the writ saying that the defendant was "not found," a writ of testatum fieri facias might be issued to the sheriff of another county where the debtor was believed to be located.
The writ of capias ad satisfaciendum (ca. sa.) commands a sheriff to take custody of a judgment debtor and imprison him until the judgment was satisfied. This writ could be issued only after a writ of fieri facias was returned unsatisfied. The information in the writ of ca. sa. is similar to that found in the writ of fi. fa. The sheriffs action is stated on the dorso. It might be arrest of the judgment debtor ("I seized the body," cepi corpus), failure to find him (non est inventus or non est, "he is not found"), or receipt of payment. If the initial writ did not succeed in its object, the subsequent writ of testatum capias ad satisfaciendum could be issued to the sheriff of another county where the defendant was thought to be. After routine imprisonment for debt was finally abolished in 1831, the writ of capias ad satisfaciendum was still available in cases where a judgment debtor absconded.
These series also contain other types of writs. The writ of scire facias is an order to the losing party in an action (or his heirs) to show cause why he should not satisfy the
|
|
 |
Writ of Fieri Facias, 1842. This writ orders the Essex County sheriff to sell sufficient property of the defendant, Russell Bly, to satisfy a Supreme Court judgment for $1726.27 in favor of the plaintiff, the Bank of Whitehall. The deputy sheriff states on the reverse that he discovered no real or personal property belonging to Bly on which to levy a judgment. (Series J0024 Writs of Execution [Albany].) |
|
|
judgment; it was often employed when one or the other of the parties to the original action was dead. The writ of possession (habere facias possessionem, hab. fa.) is a writ of execution used in ejectment cases. It ordered a sheriff to put the rightful owner in possession of real property awarded to him by a court judgment. The writ of replevin is a writ of execution ordering a sheriff to deliver movable goods, taken unlawfully, to their rightful owner See J0030 Writs of Replevin. in each of these writs the type of common-law action is usually stated on the dorso, along with the sheriff's statement of how the writ was executed.
|
|
| J0024 |
Writs of Arrest and Execution (Albany), 1797-1847. 79.1 cu. ft.
This series contains many writs of arrest (capias) as well as writs of execution. The writs are arranged chronologically by year of filing, then alphabetically by name of plaintiff's attorney. Prior to 1809 the writs are bundled by court term for each year. The series as it was arranged on receipt by the State Archives contained many writs of execution filed at Utica. Those which could be readily identified have been refiled in J0013 Writs of Execution (Utica), but some may remain in the present series. Return of writs of execution for 1797 through 1799 are minuted in J3130 Minutes of Return of Writs by Sheriffs. Returns of writs for the years 1818 through 1825 and 1837 through 1854 are entered in J0l53 and J1153 Registers of Returns of Writs. Additional access to the present series may be had through J0226 Registers of Returns of Writs (by County).
|
|
| J0013 |
Writs of Arrest and Execution (Utica), 1807-47. 64.5 cu. ft.
Besides writs of execution, this series contains, starting in 1819, many writs of arrest (capias). Between 1819 and 1837 the writs of capias are filed separately from the writs of execution. Starting in 1838 all the writs are interfiled. The writs are arranged chronologically by year of filing, then alphabetically by name of plaintiff's attorney. As organized by the Court of Appeals, this series was interfiled with bundled declarations and motion papers spanning the years 1838 through 1847. These have been removed to J0009 Declarations (Utica). The only access to the present series is through J0226 Registers of Returns of Writs (by County).
|
|
| J0025 |
Writs of Execution (Geneva), 1829-47. 29.7 cu.ft.
The Geneva writs are arranged by first letter of attorney's last name, then by year. Some writs are missing. The only access to the Geneva writs is through J0226 Registers of Returns of Writs (by County).
|
|
| J4026 |
Writs of Possession (Geneva), 1840-43. .4 cu. ft.
This series consists of writs of possession (habere facias possessionem) commanding a sheriff to give possession of real property to the person who was entitled to it by a judgment of the Supreme Court in an action of ejectment. The location and boundaries of the property are described in the writ. The sheriffs certificate of execution of the writ is found on the dorso of the writ. Some of the writs include a clause of fieri facias, directing the sheriff to levy costs of the action from the personal property of the person wrongfully in possession of the parcel; or a clause of capias ad satisfaciendum, directing him to arrest and imprison that person until costs were paid. The documents are unarranged and unindexed.
|
|
| J7026 |
Precepts and Precipes (Geneva), 1829-47. .4 cu. ft.
This small series consists of precepts and precipes. The precept is a writ commanding a sheriff to arrest and imprison a judgment debtor for refusal to pay court costs. Each precept bears instructions to the sheriff as to the amount to be collected. The sheriff's return sometimes states whether the defendant was found and whether the judgment was satisfied. The series also includes a few precipes, or instructions to a court clerk to make out a writ. The documents in this series are separated by type (precept or precipe) but are otherwise unarranged and unindexed.
|
|
|
|
