praecipe

Praecipe is a legal term derived from the Latin praecipere, meaning to command or order. In its broad sense, a praecipe is a short instruction or precept directed to a court, clerk, or officer to perform a specified administrative or procedural act. It is not a pleading addressing the merits of a case, but rather a directive that initiates or advances a procedural step.

Historically in English law, a praecipe played a practical role in the process of issuing writs and other legal processes. A plaintiff’s attorney would file a praecipe requesting the court to issue a writ or to take a particular course of action, such as commanding the sheriff to perform an act or delivering a writ directed to a defendant. Over time, the formal usage of praecipe in England and Wales declined as procedures modernized, though the term persists in some historical descriptions and in certain jurisdictional forms.

In modern practice, praecipe remains common in various jurisdictions, especially in the United States, where it generally denotes a concise instruction filed with the court or clerk. Examples include praecipes for the issuance of a summons, praecipes to enter judgment, or praecipes to docket a filing. These documents are administrative in nature and accompany filings rather than constitute legal arguments or evidence.

Overall, praecipe denotes a command or instruction to perform a procedural act within the court system, with usage that varies by jurisdiction and historical tradition.