District Court (Sixth District : Sanpete County) Criminal case files, 1893-

This series contains the compiled documents filed in each criminal case heard by the court. The files document the various actions taken by the court and provide evidence of the judicial process in each case. Documents in the case files identify the defendant(s) in the case and a case number. Case files include such documents as complaints, indictments, subpoenas, warrants of arrest, warrant returns, affidavits, orders, jury instructions, verdicts, and notices of appeal. For cases that originated in a justice court, the case file may also contain records from the justice court. Several of the earliest cases in this series originated in the Territorial First District Court, but were not resolved prior to dissolution of the territorial district courts, so those cases were taken over by the state district court. The series also includes cases in which the court was asked to determine if the mental condition of a individual warranted committing them to an institution, such as the State Hospital. Most courts treat such cases as probate matters, but the court clerk in Sanpete County chose to file some mental health case in with these criminal cases.