venire facias

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

venire facias
    n 1: a judicial writ ordering a sheriff to summon people for
         jury duty

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Venire facias \Ve*ni"re fa"ci*as\ [L., make, or cause, to come.]
   (Law)
   (a) A judicial writ or precept directed to the sheriff,
       requiring him to cause a certain number of qualified
       persons to appear in court at a specified time, to serve
       as jurors in said court.
   (b) A writ in the nature of a summons to cause the party
       indicted on a penal statute to appear. Called also
       {venire}.
       [1913 Webster]

from Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

VENIRE FACIAS, practice, crim. law. According to the English law, the proper 
process to be issued on an indictment for any petit misdemeanor, on a penal 
statute, is a writ called venire facias. 2. It is in the nature of a summons 
to cause the party to appear. 4 Bl. Com. 18 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 351.

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