Analy Township Justice Court and Analy Judicial District Court records, 1916-1959

Processed by Sonoma County Library staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Geoffrey Skinner.
Published by the Sonoma County Library
Published May 29, 2019
Sonoma County Library
6135 State Farm Drive
Rohnert Park, CA 94928

Analy Township Justice Court and Analy Judicial District Court records, 1916-1959

Sonoma County Library

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.

 

SCL Special Collections Control Number: SCG.00010.01
Series 1. Criminal Justice Docket 1916-1958

Physical Description: 10 volumes : each approximately 29 cm x 4 cm by 42 cm (1.4 linear feet).

Scope and Contents

Series 1 consists of ten handwritten ledgers listing the criminal justice docket for the Analy Township Justice Court and its successor, the Analy Judicial District Court, in Sonoma County, California between 1916 and 1958. The titles of volumes in the Justice Docket vary. Includes index.

Note

All volumes listed as being in good condition in the 1994 inventory.
volume 1916/1924

Justice docket, Apr. 29, 1916-May. 9, 1924 (cases 1-140)

Item number: SCG.00010.01.0001
1994 inventory accession number: 2207

Creator: California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
Location: Cabinet 27
volume 1924/1927

Criminal justice docket, May. 27, 1924-Jul. 16, 1927 (cases 1-300)

Item number: SCG.00010.01.0002
1994 inventory accession number: 2221

Creator: California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
Location: Cabinet 27
volume 1927/1929

Criminal justice docket, Aug. 18, 1927-Nov. 9, 1929 (cases 1-300)

Item number: SCG.00010.01.0003
1994 inventory accession number: 2222

Creator: California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
Location: Cabinet 27
volume 1929/1931

Criminal justice docket, Nov. 2, 1929-Sep. 19, 1931 (cases 1-300)

Item number: SCG.00010.01.0004
1994 inventory accession number: 2223

Creator: California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
Location: Cabinet 27
volume 1931/1933

Criminal justice docket, Sep. 14, 1931-Jul. 15, 1933 (cases 1-304)

Item number: SCG.00010.01.0005
1994 inventory accession number: 2224

Creator: California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
Location: Cabinet 27
volume 1933/1935

Criminal justice docket, Jul. 19, 1933-Nov. 21, 1935 (cases 1-300)

Item number: SCG.00010.01.0006
1994 inventory accession number: 2218

Creator: California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
Location: Cabinet 27
volume 1935/1938

Criminal justice docket, Oct. 21, 1935-Jun. 23, 1938 (cases 1-300)

Item number: SCG.00010.01.0007
1994 inventory accession number: 2225

Creator: California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
Location: Cabinet 27
volume 1938/1940

Criminal justice docket, Jun. 13, 1938-Dec. 16, 1940 (cases 301-601)

Item number: SCG.00010.01.0008
1994 inventory accession number: 2226

Creator: California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
Location: Cabinet 27
volume 1940/1943

Criminal justice docket, Dec. 21, 1940-Aug. 9, 1943

Item number: SCG.00010.01.0009
1994 inventory accession number: 2227

Creator: California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
Location: Cabinet 27
volume 1943/1952

Criminal docket, Aug. 4, 1943-Jul. 16, 1952

Item number: SCG.00010.01.0010
1994 inventory accession number: 2228

Creator: California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
Creator: California. Municipal Court (Analy Judicial District)
Location: Cabinet 27

Notes

Entries between Jan. 1, 1952 and July 16, 1952 under the jurisdiction of the Analy District Court. Many loose documents included.
volume 1952/1958

Sonoma docket, Jun. 27, 1952-Sep. 2, 1958

Item number: SCG.00010.01.0011
1994 inventory accession number: 2230

Creator: California. Municipal Court (Analy Judicial District)
Location: Cabinet 27
 

SCL Special Collections Control Number: SCG.00010.02
Series 2. Juvenile Criminal Justice Docket 1946-1959

Physical Description: 1 volume : approximately 29 cm x 4 cm by 42 cm (0.2 linear feet).

Scope and Contents

Series 2 consists of the Juvenile Court criminal justice docket for the Analy Township Justice Court and its successor, the Analy District Court, in Sonoma County, California, between 1946 and 1959. Includes index.

Note

All volumes listed as being in good condition in the 1994 inventory.
volume 1946/1959

Juvenile criminal docket, Jul. 5, 1946-Sep. 15, 1959

Item number: SCG.00010.Ser.02.0001
1994 inventory accession number: 2231

Creator: California. Justice Court (Analy, Calif. : Township)
Creator: California. Municipal Court (Analy Judicial District)
Location: Cabinet 27

Notes

Entries between Jan. 1, 1952 and Sept. 5, 1959 under the jurisdiction of the Analy Judicial District Court.