Legal Definitions - de rescussu

De rescussu is a historical legal term that refers to a type of formal written order issued by a court. This writ was used in situations where property that had been lawfully seized, or a person who had been lawfully arrested, was subsequently taken back or freed by force, trickery, or other unlawful means. Essentially, it addressed the unlawful "rescue" of something or someone from legal custody.

Here are some examples illustrating how this term would have applied:

• Example 1: Unlawful Retrieval of Seized Property

  Imagine a scenario where a sheriff, acting under a court order, lawfully seizes a merchant's valuable inventory (such as a shipment of fine silks) because the merchant has failed to pay a significant court-ordered debt. While the sheriff's deputies are transporting the silks to a secure warehouse, the merchant's employees ambush the deputies, overpower them, and forcibly reclaim the entire shipment of silks.

  This illustrates de rescussu because the silks were lawfully taken into official custody due to a legal obligation. Their subsequent forcible retrieval by the merchant's employees constitutes an unlawful "rescue" from that legal possession, which the writ of de rescussu was historically designed to address.

• Example 2: Escape of an Arrested Person

  Consider a situation where a town constable has lawfully arrested an individual suspected of committing a serious crime and is escorting them on foot to the local jail for detention. Before they reach the jail, a group of the suspect's friends intervenes, physically assaulting the constable and creating an opportunity for the arrested person to escape custody.

  This demonstrates de rescussu because the individual was lawfully arrested and held in official custody. The intervention by their friends to free them from the constable's control is an act of "rescue," which would have historically triggered the use of a de rescussu writ to address the unlawful interference and the resulting escape.