Legal Definitions - languidus

Definition: Languidus is a term used in history to describe a situation where a sheriff has taken a defendant into custody, but the defendant is too sick to be moved. In this case, the sheriff would make a return of process called languidus.

• If a person was arrested for a crime but became very ill, the sheriff would have to make a languidus return to the court to explain why the defendant could not be brought to trial.
• During the Middle Ages, it was common for people to get sick from diseases like the plague. If a defendant was too sick to be moved, the sheriff would make a languidus return to the court.

These examples show how languidus was used in the past to describe a situation where a defendant was too sick to be brought to trial. It was important for the sheriff to make a return of process to the court to explain why the defendant could not be present.