WRIT OF ASSISTANCE

writ of assistance. 1. A writ to enforce a court’s decree transferring real property, the title of which has been previously adjudicated. [Cases: Assistance, Writ of  1. C.J.S. Assistance, Writ of § 2.] 2.Hist. A writ issued by the Court of Exchequer ordering the sheriff to assist in collecting a debt owed the Crown. 3.Hist. In colonial America, a writ issued by a superior colonial court authorizing an officer of the Crown to enter and search any premises suspected of containing contraband. • The attempted use of this writ in Massachusetts — defeated in 1761 — was one of the acts that led to the American Revolution.
[Blacks Law 8th]