Writ(ten) Before Us: Writ of Error Coram Nobis

Writs. We’ve all heard of them. There’s the writ of certiorari, the writ of habeas corpus, and the writ of mandamus, just to name a few. But what exactly is a writ and what does it do? Simply put, a writ is “an order issued by a legal authority with administrative or judicial powers, typically a court.” Historically, in the common law, writs were used to convey real property, grant privileges or rights, and to convey information. They were also written executive directives from the king, instruments by which the king could intervene into matters that were not resolved by feudal courts. Later, writs evolved, adopting a more judicial nature, acting as summonses or the initial documents in legal matters or as an order commanding a person to do something or refrain from doing something.

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Civ Pro: Is my case contested or uncontested?

Many pro se litigants have questions about the legal terms “uncontested” and “contested.” The most common case where these legal terms are used are in divorces – for example, a “contested divorce” or “uncontested divorce.”

Uncontested or non-contested cases are cases that can be finished by agreement because both parties agree about all the issues. An uncontested divorce is “when the parties are not fighting each other about the divorce itself or the terms of their separation.”

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