Series 25939
Territorial Supreme Court Record of opinions books, 1877-1894.
3.00 cubic feet and 3 microfilm reels
These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.
Historical Note
See history of the records' creator.
Summary of Records
Scope and Content
These record books contain handwritten abstracts of the opinions rendered by Utah's Territorial Supreme Court for the period between 1877 and 1894. Cases heard by the Territorial Supreme Court were appealed from lower Territorial District Courts throughout the state. Every case heard before the Supreme Court contains a respondent and appellant, while every opinion in the entry book ends with a notice of filing by the court clerk. Cases are both civil and criminal. There are a number of high profile cases throughout including US versus the LDS Church, the People versus Lorenzo Snow, and the People versus John D. Lee.
Research Note
There is a gap in the record books covering the year 1882.
Arrangement
Sequential by book number.
Additional Forms
This series is available on microfilm.
Access Restrictions
This series is classified as Public.
Use Restrictions
These records are available for reproduction and use.
Preferred Citation
Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.
Acquisition Information
These records were acquired from the creating agency through established retention schedules.
Processing Information
This series was archivally processed by Jim Kichas in August 2005. The record books have been kept because of their intrinsic value, determined based on their status as a portion of the relatively few surviving historic records from the Utah Supreme Court.
Other Finding Aids
Indexes: Record books A, B, and F have indexes appearing in the front of each volume which index the contents of those particular volumes. There are no known indexes for record books C, D, or E.
Related Material
Record of opinions index from the Supreme Court, Series 1461, can be used to locate specific opinions issued by the Supreme Court.
Utah Reporter from the Supreme Court, Series 1481, contains the official, published version opinions issued by the Supreme Court.
Opinions from the Supreme Court, Series 1487, contains the written opinions of Supreme Court justices.
Indexing Terms
Container List
| Reel | Volume | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Record Book A; 1877-1881 |
| 1 | 2 | Record Book B; 1883-1887 |
| 2 | 3 | Record Book C; 1887-1888 |
| 2 | 4 | Record Book D; 1888-1891 |
| 3 | 5 | Record Book E; 1891-1893 |
| 3 | 6 | Record Book F; 1893-1894 |