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]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

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

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.