Collection Guide
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Supreme Court of California Bound Records
MSS.1101
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
CJCL Special Collections and Archives
Title: Supreme Court of California Bound Records
Creator:
California. Supreme Court.
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.1101
Physical Description:
160.8 Cubic feet
(298 flat boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1850-1991
Abstract: 356 volumes of records generated by the California Supreme Court between the years 1850 and 1991, including Bar misc. registers,
a fee book, judgment books, minutes, registers of actions, and rolls of attorneys.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English.
Collection is open for research upon approval of written request. Requests should be submitted to: California Judicial Center
Library, Special Collections and Archives, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Room 4617, San Francisco, CA, 94102-7013, or by e-mail
to archives@jud.ca.gov. All researchers must sign the California Judicial Center Library Special Collections Access Agreement
form. This agreement can be sent electronically by request. Records in the collection may contain confidential information,
as defined in the Access Agreement. Publication or disclosure of such information is strictly prohibited.
The collection is arranged into six series: 1) Bar misc. registers; 2) Fee books; 3) Judgment books; 4) Minutes; 5) Registers
of actions; and 6) Rolls of attorneys. Four series are further arranged by subseries to reflect the provenance of the materials.
Within series and subseries, volumes are arranged in chronological order. Intellectual arrangement does not necessarily reflect
the physical arrangement of materials.
Article VI of California's first Constitution, drafted in 1849, provided for a Supreme Court consisting of a Chief Justice
and two associate justices. In December 1849, the Legislature elected Serranus Clinton Hastings as California's first Chief
Justice. Henry A. Lyons and Nathaniel Bennett were elected to serve as associate justices and on March 4, 1850, the court's
first session was held in San Francisco. Throughout the court's history, decisions issued by the court have been prepared
for publication in the Official Reports by the Reporter of Decisions. During the early years of statehood, opinions issued
by the court could be contained in a single volume, or fewer, each year. By 1862, however, the state's growth had prompted
a reorganization of the judiciary. Article VI of the California Constitution was amended in that year to expand the categories
of cases the court could hear, increase the number of Supreme Court justices from three to five, and extend terms of office
for justices from six to ten years.
During its first quarter-century, the court was housed in San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Jose. In 1874 the Legislature
directed the court to hear oral arguments two months each year in San Francisco and two months each year in Sacramento. In
1878, Los Angeles was added to the rotation and the court began hearing arguments twice each year in each of these three cities.
With the adoption of the 1879 Constitution, the Supreme Court was expanded again. The number of associate justices was increased
from five to six and terms of office were increased from ten to twelve years. The categories of cases the court was authorized
to hear also increased, and California's new Constitution specified that all opinions were required to be in writing. The
1879 Constitution provided that the court should have two departments of three justices each. The departments had the power
to render final judgments, subject to review by the entire court (In Bank review). The court ceased sitting in departments
in the late 1920s.
In 1885, the Legislature directed the court to appoint three commissioners to ease the court's workload and reduce backlogs.
Two additional commissioners were added in 1889. Article VI of California's Constitution was amended in 1904 to provide for
a Court of Appeal consisting of First, Second, and Third Appellate Districts. This change eliminated the role of the commissioners
and gave the California Supreme Court the power to transfer cases to, between, and among the appellate courts and to itself,
and to selectively rule on the most important legal questions.
The power to regulate the practice of law is among the inherent powers of the courts, and the Supreme Court certifies all
applicants for admission to the bar. Legislation enacted in 1927 created the State Bar, which administers the examination
of candidates for admission to practice law in California. Those who meet admission requirements are then certified by the
Supreme Court.
In 2011, the California Judicial Center Library received bound records (predominantly registers of actions) from the California
Supreme Court's Los Angeles Office. The library transferred some of these volumes to the California State Archives. The remaining
volumes were merged with the library's preexisting holdings of bound records to form this collection. Bound records held by
the library prior to the 2011 transfer may have been generated by the San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Sacramento offices.
Formerly titled California Supreme Court registers of actions, judgment books, and other materials.
[Identification of item], Supreme Court of California Bound Records, MSS 1101, California Judicial Center Library.
The California State Archives is the permanent repository for the public records of the Supreme Court of California. The state
archives holds related registers of actions, minutes, judgment books, and rolls of attorneys as part of its Supreme Court
of California Records.
The Supreme Court of California Bound Records comprise 356 volumes of records generated by the state Supreme Court between
the years 1850 and 1991, including thirteen Bar misc. registers (1953-1991), one fee book (1906-1914), sixty-nine judgment
books (1906-1977), twenty-four volumes of minutes (1878-1928), 240 volumes of registers of actions and indexes (1875-1988),
and nine rolls of attorneys (1850-1923). Additional description for each type of record is supplied at the subseries level.
In 2011, thirty-seven volumes of registers of actions were separated from the collection and transferred to the California
State Archives to supplement the state archives' holdings. These volumes are: Civil, Los Angeles, Vols. 28-30 (1894-1903),
72-73 (1951-1953) and 87-92 (1967-1987); Civil and Criminal, Los Angeles, Vol. 6 (1882); Criminal Vols. 1 (1886-1889), 12-15
(1940-1958), 19-28 (1964-1968), and 41-50 (1975-1984).
Materials in this collection are in the public domain in the United States. Permission to publish or reproduce is not required.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
California. Supreme Court--History.
Justice, Administration of--California.
Law--California.
California. Supreme Court.