Definition
A writ directing the continuation of an assize. De continuando assisam was a procedural writ issued to carry forward an assize proceeding that had been interrupted, delayed, or left incomplete — authorizing its resumption rather than requiring it to begin again. The writ belongs to the broader family of original writs governing the conduct of assize proceedings in the common law courts of medieval and early modern England.
Common Confusion
The term should not be confused with a writ of continuance in modern procedural usage, which postpones or adjourns a matter to a future date. De continuando assisam operated within the specific institutional machinery of the assize system — a framework that no longer exists — and its function was not merely to delay but to authorize the ongoing prosecution of a partially completed proceeding. Researchers encountering either term in historical sources should be careful not to read one backward through the other.
Why It Matters in Research
This is a writ of the historical English assize system and has no surviving procedural counterpart in modern practice. Researchers are most likely to encounter de continuando assisam in records from the medieval and early modern periods — in plea rolls, register-of-writs compilations, and treatises on original writs — rather than in reported case law. Its significance for corpus research is primarily documentary and contextual: the writ signals that the record in which it appears involves an interrupted assize proceeding, and its presence may help date or sequence related entries in a court record.
The Registrum Omnium Brevium (Register of Original Writs), cited by both Black's editions, is the primary source for the form of this writ. Researchers working with historical English writ registers should treat the Reg. Orig. citation as the authoritative locus for the writ's formal language. Note that the two Black's editions cite slightly different folio references (217b versus 217d), a discrepancy that likely reflects different editions or printings of the Registrum and is worth verifying against the physical source when precision matters.
Because the writ is indexed under its Latin name, historical sources will not cross-reference it under any English equivalent. Researchers searching for assize procedure more broadly should expect to work through Latin writ nomenclature.
Historical Dictionary Support
Both Black's Law Dictionary (1st edition) and the 2nd edition define the term in identical language: "Writ to continue an assise," with a citation to the Registrum Omnium Brevium. There is no substantive divergence between the two editions. Neither source elaborates on the procedural context, the grounds on which such a writ would issue, or the courts in which it would have been used. This reflects a broader pattern in both editions — short-form entries for historical Latin writs that serve as index pointers to the writ registers rather than analytical definitions.
No additional synthesis is available from the two source dictionaries. Researchers requiring deeper treatment of this writ should consult the Registrum Omnium Brevium directly, as well as secondary scholarship on the English assize system and original writ procedure, such as the works of Sir Frederick Pollock and Frederic William Maitland on medieval English law, or William Holdsworth's History of English Law for procedural context.
Jurisdictional Note
This writ is exclusively a product of the historical English common law system. It has no equivalent in American law, Scottish law, or civil law jurisdictions. American courts and statutes do not use or recognize this writ.