Skip to main content

Search from vocabulary

Content language

Concept information

Preferred term

writs of assistance  

Definition

  • Writs of assistance were general search warrants used by British officials during the colonial period to discover smuggled goods. Unlike modern warrants, they did not require an evidentiary showing for issuance, and they were not limited to a particular case or place. [Source: Encyclopedia of the Fourth Amendment; Writs of Assistance]

Broader concept

Belongs to group

URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/writs_of_assistance

Download this concept: