PROCESS

process,n.1. The proceedings in any action or prosecution <due process of law>.2. A summons or writ, esp. to appear or respond in court <service of process>. — Also termed judicial process; legal process. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 401; Process 1, 3. C.J.S. Process §§ 2–3.]

“Process is so denominated because it proceeds or issues forth in order to bring the defendant into court, to answer the charge preferred against him, and signifies the writs or judicial means by which he is brought to answer.” 1 Joseph Chitty, A Practical Treatise on the Criminal Law 338 (2d ed. 1826).

“The term ‘process’ is not limited to ‘summons.’ In its broadest sense it is equivalent to, or synonymous with, ‘procedure,’ or ‘proceeding.’ Sometimes the term is also broadly defined as the means whereby a court compels a compliance with its demands.“ ‘Process’ and ‘writ’ or ‘writs’ are synonymous, in the sense that every writ is a process, and in a narrow sense of the term ‘process’ is limited to judicial writs in an action, or at least to writs or writings issued from or out of a court, under the seal thereof and returnable thereto; but it is not always necessary to construe the term so strictly as to limit it to a writ issued by a court in the exercise of its ordinary jurisdiction.” 72 CJS
Process § 2, at 589 (1987).

alias process.A process issued after an earlier process has failed for
some reason. • Among the types of alias process are alias execution, alias subpoena, alias summons, and alias writ.

bailable process.A process instructing an officer to take bail after arresting a defendant. • The defendant’s discharge is required by law after the tender of suitable security.

civil process.A process that issues in a civil lawsuit. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 401; Process 1. C.J.S. Process § 2.]

compulsory process.A process, with a warrant to arrest or attach included, that compels a person to appear in court as a witness. [Cases: Witnesses 2. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 469–485.]

criminal process.A process (such as an arrest warrant) that issues to compel a person to answer for a crime. [Cases: Criminal Law 216. C.J.S. Criminal Law § 334.]

defective process.Void or voidable process. See void process; voidable process.

final process.A process issued at the conclusion of a judicial proceeding; esp., a writ of execution. [Cases: Execution 1. C.J.S. Executions §§ 2, 15.]

irregular process.A process not issued in accordance with prescribed practice. • Whether the process is void or merely voidable depends on the type of irregularity. Cf. regular process.

legal process.Process validly issued. — Also termed lawful process.

mesne process (meen).1. A process issued between the commencement of a lawsuit and the final judgment or determination. 2. The procedure by which a contumacious defendant is compelled to plead. — Also termed writ of mesne process; writ of mesne.

original process.A process issued at the beginning of a judicial proceeding. [Cases: Process 1. C.J.S. Process § 2.]

“Original process is any writ or notice by which a defendant is called upon to appear and answer the plaintiff’s declaration. The commencement of the suit at common law was formerly by original writ. Judicial process was by summons, attachment, arrest and outlawry.” Benjamin J. Shipman, Handbook of Common-Law Pleading § 3, at 17 (Henry Winthrop Ballantine ed., 3d ed.
1923).

regular process.A process that issues lawfully according to prescribed practice. Cf. irregular process.

summary process. 1. An immediate process, issuing and taking effect without intermediate applications or delays. 2. A legal procedure used to resolve a controversy more efficiently and expeditiously than ordinary methods. 3. The legal documents achieving such a result. 4. A procedure for repossessing real property from a tenant upon default. See summary eviction under
EVICTION. [Cases: Landlord and Tenant 293.] 5.SHOW-CAUSE PROCEEDING.

trust process.In some states (particularly in New England), garnishment or foreign attachment. [Cases: Garnishment 1.]

voidable process.A defective process with a curable defect.

void process.Legal process that, in some material way, does not comply with the required form.

3.Patents. A method, operation, or series of actions intended to achieve some new and useful end or result by changing a material’s chemical or physical characteristics. • Process is a statutory category of patentable invention. Cf. MACHINE; MANUFACTURE. [Cases: Patents 7. C.J.S.
Patents §§ 17–19.]

“A process is a way of doing something. If it is a patentable process, it must be a new, useful, and nonobvious way of doing something. If the process is patentable, the result of that process — the something getting done — need not of itself be new, useful, or nonobvious. In other words, the result of an inventive process need not be an invention itself.” Arthur R. Miller &
Michael H. Davis, Intellectual Property in a Nutshell 24 (2d ed. 1990).

[Blacks Law 8th]