Legal Definitions - writ of latitat

A writ of latitat is a legal term that refers to a writ issued in a personal action after the sheriff returned a bill of Middlesex with the notation that the defendant could not be found. This writ was used in England and Wales before 1832.

The writ was called latitat because of its fictitious recital that the defendant lurks about in the county. It was used to call all men in personal actions to answer in the king's bench. The writ was directed to the sheriff of the county where the defendant was supposed to be lurking.

For example, if a person was being sued in a personal action and the sheriff could not find them in the county of Middlesex, the plaintiff could use a writ of latitat to call the defendant to answer in the king's bench. The writ would be directed to the sheriff of the county where the defendant was supposed to be hiding.

The writ of latitat was abolished by the Process in Courts of Law at Westminster Act of 1832 (St. 2, Will. 4, ch. 39).