misreturn

English

Etymology

From mis- +‎ return.

Noun

misreturn (plural misreturns)

1. (law) The return of a process or other document that was done improperly.
   • 1788, Walker's Hibernian Magazine, page 109:

     The certiorari for bringing the trial into the superior court of criminal jurisprudence, it was contended had not been directed to the person who had the prisoner in custody – it was also argued, that there had been a misreturn, and a discontinuance of the prosecution, which rendered the procedure on it by the Judges illegal.

   • 1807, Matthew Bacon, Sir Henry Gwillim ·, New Abridgment of the Law - Volume 3, page 774:

     If a venire is awarded to the coroners, and returned by two of them only, whereas at the time of the award and return thereof there were two more, this is only a misreturn, and aided.

   • 1881, The American Decisions, Containing All the Cases of General Value and Authority Decided in the Courts of the Several States:

     We can not, therefore, avoid the conclusion that a return was made of the service of the writ, and from this it results that this was an insufficient or misreturn, which is amendable.

   • 1994, Marianne Constable, The Law of the Other, page 139:

     In Goodwin v. Montenaigh (1601), the Court held that where tales were awarded in a case to be tried per medietatem linguae, aliens and denizens should be returned and identified, to maintain the quality of the original panel. Since such identification had not occurred, the judgment was stayed at the defendant's request, and a misreturn declared. Upon presentation of an affidavit that six aliens and six denizens were sworn, however, the plaintiff had judgment without a new trial (for the Court had declared a misreturn and not an arrested judgment).

Verb

misreturn (third-person singular simple present misreturns, present participle misreturning, simple past and past participle misreturned)

1. To return improperly.
   • 1824, Thomas Starkie, A Treatise on Criminal Pleading, page 328:

     So it seems that any other error in the process against jurors, will occasion a mistrial as much as those which are termed discontinuances; ( a ) as where an improper process ( b ) is awarded, where it is directed to a wrong officer, ( c ) has a wrong ( d ) venire, misrecites former ( e ) process, is misreturned or not returned ( f ) at all.

   • 1876, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers - Volume 81, page 108:

     In each case inquiry of the strictest kind was set on foot, and where possible, the individual whose religion had been alleged to have been misreturned was interrogated by the enumerators upon the part of the Commissioners.

   • 1944, Idaho. Secretary of State, Biennial Report of the Secretary of State for the State of Idaho, page 8:

     Thousands of papers had been misfiled or misreturned to the files during the past several years and hundreds are missing.