New York State Supreme Court of Judicature (Geneva) Writs of Capias ad Respondendum

Pre-1837 records: chronological by court term, then by defendant's county of residence.

1837-1847 records: roughly alphabetical by name of plaintiff's attorney.

A writ of capias ad respondendum (cap. ad resp.) was an order to the sheriff to arrest and take into custody a defendant for appearance in court to answer the plaintiff's declaration.

The writ states the name of defendant, the court term when he was required to appear, the name of the plaintiff, the type of action, and the names of the justice, clerk, and plaintiff's attorney. On the dorso of the writ is the sheriff's certificate of service (cepi corpus, "I seized the body") or non-service (non est inventus, "he is not found"), and the amount of bail, if any. When bail was not required, there is an endorsement by the defendant agreeing to appear in court. A few scattered writs of execution (fieri facias or capias ad satisfaciendum) are found in the early years of this series. Similar writs filed at the other offices of the Supreme Court are lost.

J0025Series J0025, New York State Supreme Court of Judicature (Geneva) Writs of Execution, contains most Geneva writs of execution.

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