Process

In Practice. The means of compelling a defendant to appear in court, after suing out the original writ, in civil, and after indictment, in criminal, cases. The method taken by law to compel a compliance with the original writ or commands of the court. A writ, warrant, subpoena, or other formal writing issued by authority of law; also the means of accomplishing an end, including judicial proceedings; Gollobitsch v. Rainbow, 84 la. 567, 51 N. W. 48; the means or method pointed out by a statute, or used to acquire jurisdiction of the defendants, whether by writ or notice.

Wilson v. R. Co., 108 Mo. 588, 18 S. W. 28G, 32 Am. St. Rep. 624.

In civil causes, in all real ’actions and for injuries not committed against the peace, the first step was a summons, which was served in personal actions by two persons called summoners, in real actions by erecting a white stick or wand on the defendant’s grounds. If this summons was disregarded, the next step was an attachment of the goods of the defendant, and in case of trespasses the attachment issued at once without a summons. If the attachment failed, a distringas issued, which was continued till he appeared. Here process ended in injuries not committed with force. In case of such injuries, an arrest of the person was provided for. See Arrest. In modern pracvarious to admit of tracing here the differences which have resulted from retaining different steps of the process. In the English law, process in civil causes is called original process, when it is founded upon the original writ; and also to distinguish it from mesne or intermediate process, which issues ponding the suit, upon some collateral interlocutory matter, as, to summon juries, witnesses, and the like; mesne process is also sometimes put in contradistinction to final process, or process of execution; and then it signifies all process which intervenes between the beginning and end of a suit.

3 Bla. Com. 279.

See Regular Process; Obstructing Process; Sheriff; Service. No court can, at common law, exercise jurisdiction over a party unless he is served with the process within the territorial jurisdiction of the court, or voluntarily appears; Mexican C. R. Co. v. Pinkney, 149 U. S. 194, 13 Sup. Ct 859, 37 L. Ed. 699. See Jurisdiction. As to the grant of letters patent for a process, see Patent.