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Analy Township Justice Court and Analy Judicial District Court records, 1916-1959
SCG.00010  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Court History
  • Scope and Contents
  • Indexing Terms
  • Important Information for Users of the Collection

  • Descriptive Summary

    Collection Title: Analy Township Justice Court and Analy Judicial District Court records,
    Date (inclusive): 1916-1959
    Collection number: SCG.00010
    Creator: Analy (Calif. : Township). Justice Court)
    Creator: California. Municipal Court (Analy Judicial District)
    Physical Description: 11 volumes (1.6 linear feer)
    Location: See Detailed Description for shelf locations.
    Language of Materials: English
    Repository: Sonoma County Library Archives
    c/o Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library, Sonoma County Library
    725 Third Street
    Santa Rosa, CA,
    Abstract: Collection contains records of cases tried at the Analy Township Justice Court between 1916 and 1951 and at its successor, the Analy Judicial District Court, between 1952 and 1959.

    Court History

    Biography/Organization History

    Prior to June 1998, California's trial courts consisted of Superior and Municipal courts, each with its own jurisdiction and with its number of judges fixed by the Legislature; prior to 1951, the Analy Township Justice Court was one of twelve such inferior courts in the County. The Justice Court (also known as the Analy Township Justice's Court; more formally designated as the State of California's Justice Court for Analy Township), had jurisdiction over Analy Township in western Sonoma County, California, which included the City of Sebastopol.
    The Analy court, like other justice courts, was an inferior local tribunal for the adjudication of minor causes and the preservation of the peace. By the Act of March 16, 1850, which divided up the state into judicial districts, "the term of office of a justice of the peace was fixed at one year. Two justices were allowed to each township, also two constables, the officers who serve the processes of the court. The jurisdiction of a justice extended to the limits of the township for which he was elected. He had cognizance of actions on contract, for damages, and to recover specific property, when the amount or value did not exceed $200. In 1851, his powers were considerably increased. He had jurisdiction of actions to recover money, for damages to personal property, for fines, penalties and forfeitures, actions on bonds, enforcement of lien on personal property, actions to recover personal property and judgment by confession, where the amount in all these cases did not exceed $8,500, and on a bond taken by him if the amount did exceed that sum, cases of forcible entry and detainer, and the trial of the right of mining claims. The criminal jurisdiction embraced vagrancy, disorder, petty larceny, assault and battery, breaches of the peace, and all misdemeanors punishable by a fine of not more than $500 and not more than one year's imprisonment. In 1863, forcible entry and detainer cases were transferred to the county court, and the civil jurisdiction was reduced to amounts not exceeding $300. In 1870, the jurisdiction of cases of misdemeanor was extended to fines of $1,000 and imprisonment for one year: but in 1874 it was reduced to fines of $500 and six months' imprisonment. In 1863, the term of office of justices and constables was increased to two years. The new constitution preserved the justice courts as before." (source: Wells, Harry Laurenz, 1854-1940. History of Butte County. San Francisco : H. L. Wells, 1882.)
    The Analy Township Justice Court was reorganized in 1952 as part of the State of California's inferior court reorganization program authorized by the voters as California Proposition 3 in 1950, which combined the offices of the township justices of the peace and city police court judges; the Analy Township Justice Court and Sebastopol City Police Court were combined as the Analy Judicial District Court or more formally, the State of California' Municipal Court for the Analy Judicial District) on Jan. 1, 1952. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance on April 14, 1959 that authorized annexation of Analy Judicial District by the Santa Rosa Municipal District, pending authorization by the State Legislature to provide a second judge for the Santa Rosa Municipal District. (source: Board moves ahead on Analy court plan. Petaluma Argus-Courier, Apr. 15, 1959, page 1)
    A number of other and reorganizations and consolidations of the County's District Courts took place over the next four decades until the District Courts and other inferior courts were aborbed into the Superior Court following another voter-authorized reorganization in 1998, California Proposition 220.

    Scope and Contents

    Official records of the Analy Township Justice Court and its successor, the Analy Judicial District Court.

    Arrangement of the collection

    Organized into two series:
    1. Criminal justice docket for the Analy Township Justice Court and its successor, the Analy Judicial District Court, 1916 and 1958
    2. Juvenile court criminal justice docket for the Analy Township Justice Court and its successor, the Analy Judicial District Court, 1946 and 1959
    The titles of volumes in the Justice Docket vary.

    Includes 1994 inventory accession numbers:

    • 2207
    • 2221
    • 2222
    • 2223
    • 2224
    • 2218
    • 2225
    • 2226
    • 2227
    • 2228
    • 2230
    • 2231

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection.

    Corporate Names

    California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
    California. Municipal Court (Analy Judicial District)

    Topical Terms

    Criminal justice, Adminstration of--California--Sonoma County
    Sonoma County (Calif.)--Trials, litigation, etc.
    Courts--California--Sonoma County
    Analy (Township : Calif.)
    California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)--History--Sources
    California. Municipal Court (Analy Judicial District)--History--Sources

    Genre and Format Terms

    Civil court records
    Criminal court records
    Dockets
    Records and briefs
    Law materials
    Registers (lists)
    Minutes (administrative records)
    Judicial records
    County government records
    Archival materials

    Important Information for Users of the Collection

    Conditions Governing Access:

    Materials stored offsite, but collection is open to research. In many cases, further details on individual volumes can be found by calling staff at the Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library. To view these materials, please call staff at 707 308-3212 to request they be brought from the Archives to the Library

    Conditions of Use

    Collection does not circulate and may be photocopied or photographed by arrangement only.

    Publication Rights

    Property rights reside with the Sonoma County Library. The Sonoma County Library has made this collection available and believes that the collection is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Collection may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Preferred credit line is: Courtesy, the Sonoma County Library. Please see additional reproduction and reuse information at https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/sonoma-county-history-and-genealogy-library/order-photo

    Preferred Citation

    Analy Township Justice Court and Analy Judicial District Court records, 1916-1959. SCG.00010. Sonoma County Archives, Sonoma County Library, Rohnert Park, California.

    Acquisition Information

    Gift : County of Sonoma; acquired before 1994

    Processing History

    Processed by Sonoma County Library staff before 1994.