writ of assistance

noun

American History.

1. a writ issued by a superior colonial court authorizing officers of the British crown to summon aid and enter and search any premises.

Word History and Origins

Origin of writ of assistance¹

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

If the tenants do not move voluntarily, the city can request a writ of assistance from the Rock County Courts to allow law enforcement to remove them from the property, Klimczyk said.

Read more on Washington Times

Open-ended “writs of assistance” gave authorities licence to search anything they liked, infuriating the colonists and inspiring the Fourth Amendment.

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Here in Davenport, he reached back to the American Revolution, comparing the Obama administration’s bulk data collection to the “writs of assistance” that were issued by the British.

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It prohibits general search warrants such as were commonly used by the British authorities in the colonies prior to the outbreak of the Revolution and which were popularly known as "writs of assistance."

Read more on Project Gutenberg

A writ of assistance was a general search-warrant, empowering the officer armed with it to enter, by force if necessary, any dwelling-house or warehouse where contraband goods were supposed to be stored or hidden.

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