Capias Ad Respondendum Law and Legal Definition
Capias ad respondendum is a Latin phrase which means “that you take to answer.” It is a writ issued by a court commanding the sheriff or other appropriate officer to to take the defendant into custody to ensure that the defendant will appear in court.
Under the U.S. legal system, capias ad respondendum was replaced by the practice of serving process directly to the defendant in order to compel him/her to appear before the court. In the United Kingdom, capias ad respondendum was abolished by the Crown Proceedings Act 1947.
