Overview of the Collection
Court History
Scope and Contents
Access Terms
Important Information for Users of the Collection
Arrangement of Materials:
Scope and Contents
Overview of the Collection
Collection Title: Santa Rosa Justice Court and Santa Rosa Judicial District Court records,
Dates: 1906-1955
Identification: SCG.00027
Creator:
California. Justice Court (Santa Rosa)
California. Municipal Court (Santa Rosa Judicial District)
Physical Description:
55 volumes
Language of Materials:
English
Repository:
Sonoma County Library Archives
Sonoma County Library
6135 State Farm Drive
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
Abstract: This collection contains records that provide details on the operations of the Santa Rosa Justice Court and its successor,
the Santa Rosa Judicial District Court. Includes the justice docket (i.e., criminal justice docket) for the court between
1906-1955 (titles of volumes in the justice docket vary).
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 Petaluma Justice Court was one of twelve such inferior
courts in the County. The Justice Court (also known as the Santa Rosa Justice's Court; more formally designated as the State
of California's Justice Court for Santa Rosa), had jurisdiction over the City of Santa Rosa and surrounding area of central
Sonoma County, California.
The Santa Rosa 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 Santa Rosa 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 Santa Rosa Justice Court and other, local municipal courts were combined as the Santa Rosa
Judicial District Court, or more formally, the State of California's Municipal Court for the Santa Rosa Judicial District
on Jan. 1, 1952.
A number of other 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 absorbed into the Superior Court following another voter-authorized
reorganization in 1998, California Proposition 220.
Scope and Contents
Official documents.
Access Terms
This Collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Topical Term:
Criminal justice, Administration of -- California -- Santa Rosa
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
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:
Santa Rosa Justice Court and Santa Rosa Judicial District Court records, 1906-1955. SCG.00027, Sonoma County Archives, Sonoma
County Library, Rohnert Park, California.
Arrangement of Materials:
Arranged chronologically in a single series.
Scope and Contents
Official records.