The writs of prohibition were the main means by which the managing common law courts, the King's Bench and Common Pleas, restricted other courts from overstepping their jurisdictional boundaries. The writs originally functioned like administrative orders, though over time they acquired the power of legal commands. Writs could be issued against another court or an individual defendant, somewhat similar to the way an injunction works in courts today. The writs of Prohibition were primarily used against the ecclesiastical courts. However, they were also used against the equity courts, admiralty courts, and local courts. The highest of the equity courts was the Chancery, but although as a fact of law the Chancery could be prohibited, it rarely, if ever, was.