Ordinance, 14 November 1842

Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of , that if any Person or Persons shall be or stand committed, or detained for any criminal or supposed criminal matter, it shall & may be lawful for him, her, or them, to apply to the Municipal Court, when in Session, or to the Clerk thereof, in vacation, for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, which application shall be in writing, & signed by the Prisoner, or some Person on his, her, or their behalf, setting forth the facts concerning his, her, or their imprisonment, & in whose Custody he, she, or they are detained, & shall be accompanied by a Copy of the Warrant or Warrants of commitment, or an affidavit that the said Copy had been demanded of the Person or Persons in whose custody the Prisoner or Prisoners are detained, and by him or them refused or neglected to be given; the said Court or Clerk to whom the application shall be made, shall forthwith award the said Writ of Habeas Corpus, unless it shall appear from the Petition itself, or from the documents annexed that the party can neither be discharged nor admitted to Bail, nor in any other manner relieved. Which said Writ shall be issued under the hand of the Clerk, & the Seal of the Court; which seal may be a Written one, until another shall be obtained, & shall be in the following Words, to wit: ‘Seal of the Municipal Court of the City of ,’ & said Writ shall be in substance as follows, to wit: