Capers
Defined in 4 dictionaries — Cyclopedic (1922), Bouvier (1914), Black's (1910), Black's (1891)
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
Vessels of war owned by private persons, and different from ordinary privateers only in size, being smaller. Beawes, Lex. Merc. 230. CAPIAS (Lat. capere to take; capias, that you take). A writ directing the sheriff to take the person of the defendant into custody. It is a judicial writ, and issued originally only to enforce compliance with the summons of an original writ, or with some judgment or decree of the court. It was originally issuable as a part of the original process in a suit only in case of injuries committed by force or with fraud, but was much extended by statutes. Being the first word of distinctive significance in the writ, when writs were framed in Latin, it came to denote the whole class of writs by which a defendant's person was to be arrested. It was issuable either by the court of common pleas or king's bench, and bore the seal of the court.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary and Concise Encyclopedia
John Bouvier; revised by Francis Rawle · 1914
Vessels of war owned by private- persons, and different from ordinary privateers only in size, being smaller. Beawes, Lex Merc. 230. CAPIAS (Lat. that you take). A writ directing the sheriff to take the person of the defendant into writ or with some judgment or decree of the court. It was originally issuable as a part of the original process in a suit only in case of injuries committed by force or with fraud, but was much extended by statutes. See Arrest; Bail. Being the first word of distinctive significance in the writ, when writs were framed in Latin, it came to denote the whole class of writs by which a defendant's person was to be arrested. It was issuable either by the court of Common Pleas or King's Bench, and bore the seal of the court. See Spence, Eq. Jur.; Bail; Breve; Arrest; and the titles here following.
Black's Law Dictionary
Henry Campbell Black, M.A. · 1910
A Dictionary of Law
Henry Campbell Black · 1891
Vessels of war owned by private persons, and different from ordinary privateers only in size, being smaller. Beawes, Lex Merc. 230.