Harris County Archives Houston, Texas

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1 Harris County Archives Houston, Texas Finding Aid (Multiple Precincts) ( ) Size: 2877 volumes, 129 cu. ft. case files processed, 110 cu. ft. case files unprocessed Restrictions on Access: None Restrictions on Use: None Acquisition: Justice of the Peace Precincts, Accession Number: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Processed by: AnnElise Golden, ; ARMA Houston , 2016, Donna Beth Shaw , Sarah Canby Jackson Citation: [Identification of Item], Justice of the Peace Records, Harris County Archives, Houston, Texas. Agency History: Justices of the Peace have been a part of the county judiciary since the earliest days of the Republic of Texas. The number of justices and their terms of office changed over the years with the system stabilizing with the Constitution of The constitution called for not less than four nor more than eight precincts in each county. Each precinct would elect a Justice of the Peace every two years with their duties consisting of presiding over the justice court, acting as coroner, and conducting marriage ceremonies. If a precinct includes a city with a population of over 8000, a second justice may be added. In 1954 the term of office was extended to four years. In Harris County by the end of 1888, all eight precincts had elected justices of the peace. Precinct 1 which includes downtown Houston has had two justices since at least These courts were never officially assigned the title of either JP1-1 or JP1-2 until 1930 so their records are often co-mingled. In 1973 Commissioners Court redistricted the precincts, unseating several long serving justices who sued the county for destroying their livelihoods. However, these new precincts allowed representation for minority groups in the county and the new precinct lines remained. Because of these changes, it is helpful to check for locations of the precincts. An excel spreadsheet of Page 1

2 justices and the locations of their courts by precinct number can be found at Scope and Contents Note: (1593 volumes, ) including Dockets and Fee Books, Small Claims Dockets, Civil Judgment Dockets, Execution Dockets, Forcible Detainers, and Marriage Indexes; Criminal Dockets (1131 volumes, ) including Search Warrant Dockets; Inquest Dockets (156 volumes, ); and Case Files (Civil, Criminal, Inquest) document the functions of the justice courts and the social and legal history of Harris County, Texas, The, primarily concerned with collecting debts and evicting renters, document economic conditions and purchasing preferences. The earliest dockets from the 1870s contain repossessions of sewing machines which were deemed essential by many housewives and often bought on credit. When the payments fell in arrears, the machines were repossessed by the companies using the Justice of the Peace courts. The Civil Case Files contain more records than the docket books. Often inventories, lists of merchandize purchased, promissory notes, and correspondence support the legal filings. Budding attorneys tried their first cases in Justice of the Peace courts and the early arguments of future legal leaders in Houston can be found in the case files. Of particular interest is Grovey v. Townsend a 1934 voting rights case filed in Justice Court whose appeal went directly to the Supreme Court. In addition, the landmark Supreme Court ruling on Lawrence v. Texas started in the Harris County Justice of the Peace courts. The Criminal Dockets primarily record traffic infractions after Prior to that date, the Justice of the Peace courts were often the first courts for felony offenses which were then referred to the District Courts. Of particular interest are the criminal docket books from oil boom towns in the early 20 th century as law enforcement attempted to grapple with rapid population expansion, tent cities, and a Wild West atmosphere. The Criminal Dockets created after 1973 are sampled. As coroners Justices of the Peace conducted inquests to deaths occurring in specific circumstances as defined by the Constitution. Oftentimes these records include extensive, signed witness statements describing the context of the death and can become windows onto their times. Of interest are handwritten notes concerning the lynching of Bert Smith at Goose Creek in The two earliest Inquest Dockets have been digitized and are available online through the Texas Portal to History and the Harris County Archives website. The District Clerk s office has 4435 inquest case files ( ) that were introduced into evidence during court proceedings. An additional 714 case files ( ) from Precinct 3 were recently processed with an every name inventory created. Unfortunately, not all the Justice of the Peace records survive. The dockets were often destroyed after a contentious election or tossed aside and eventually thrown out. The most complete records are from Precinct 1 (Houston), Precinct 2 (Harrisburg), Precinct 3 (Goose Creek, Baytown), and Precinct 4 (Humble). Approximately128 cubic feet of Precinct 1 Civil Case Files Page 2

3 ( ) have been processed and an additional 80 cubic feet remain unprocessed but available. Precinct 3 Case Files -- Criminal (23 cubic feet, ), Civil (6 cubic feet, bulk ), and Inquest (2 cubic feet, ) are processed and available. Also of interest are administrative records ( ) including correspondence, inventories, and financial records from Precinct 3. In addition, private business records (.4 cubic feet) from Justice J. E. (Ervin) Flowers ( ) were comingled with JP court records and although unprocessed are available for research. Unless indicated, access to most of the case files is through the docket book case file number. The inventory that follows is arranged by precinct, then records series. For access to specific records, please contact the Harris County Archives. Page 3

4 INVENTORY Precinct Series Range of Dates Amount JP 1-1 (CR012) JP 1-2 (CR013) JP 2-1 (CR014) Dockets and Fee Books vol. Small Claims Dockets vol. Civil Judgment Dockets vol. Execution Dockets vol. Forcible Detainer vol. Marriage Dockets vol. Case Files (includes JP 1-2) cu. ft. Dockets vol. Search Warrant Docket vol. Inquest Records vol. Dockets and Fee Books vol. Small Claims Dockets vol. Indexes vol. Dockets vol. Criminal Search Warrants vol. Inquest Records vol. Dockets and Fee Sheets vol. Page 4

5 Indexes vol. Dockets vol. Warrants and Affidavits vol. Inquest Records vol. JP 2-2 (CR015) Criminal Dockets vol. JP 3-1 (CR016) Dockets and Fee Sheets vol. Small Claims Dockets vol. Indexes vol. Case Files cu. ft. Dockets vol. Indexes vol. Case Files cu. ft. Inquest Records vol. Case Files cu. ft. JP 3-2 (CR017) Criminal Dockets vol. JP 4-1 (CR018) Civil Dockets and Fee Books vol. Criminal Dockets vol. JP 4-2 (CR019) Criminal Dockets vol. JP 5-1 (CR020) Criminal Dockets vol. Page 5

6 JP 5-2 (CR021) Criminal Dockets vol. JP 6-1 (CR022), JP 6-2 (CR023) Criminal Dockets vol. JP7-1 (CR024) Dockets vol. Execution Dockets vol. Criminal Dockets vol. JP 7-2 (CR025) Criminal Dockets vol. JP 8-1 (CR026) Civil Dockets vol. Criminal Dockets vol. JP8-2 (CR027) Criminal Dockets vol. JP Unknown (CR003) Indexes Marriages vol. Index n.d. 2 vol. Page 6