Texas Court of Criminal Appeals:

An Inventory of Court of Criminal Appeals Centralized Court Case Files (Part III: File Numbers 49720 thru 71207) at the Texas State Archives, 1975-1990

Agency History

A constitutional amendment adopted September 22, 1891, followed by legislation approved April 13, 1892, created the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, thereby abolishing the Court of Appeals (which had been created by the Constitution of 1876). Or, to put it another way, all civil jurisdiction was removed from the Court of Appeals, whose name was changed to the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Court of Criminal Appeals is the highest criminal court in the state, holding the same position in the area of state criminal law that the Supreme Court holds in civil law. The Court of Criminal Appeals has appellate jurisdiction in all criminal cases of whatever grade (i.e., for both felonies and misdemeanors). However, only appeals from state district or county courts are heard by the Court of Criminal Appeals, not appeals from justice courts, mayors' courts, or other inferior courts, or from county court cases imposing a judgment or fine of less than $100: in these cases, the judgment of the county court is final. The Court of Criminal Appeals also has original jurisdiction to investigate the detention of persons. It has the power to issue the writ of habeas corpus, and other necessary writs under such regulations as may be prescribed by law.

At first the court consisted of three judges elected by the voters, for terms of six years. (In 1966 the number was increased to five, and in 1981 to eight.) The three existing judges on the Court of Appeals in 1892 were to serve out their elected terms as judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The judges selected one of their number to be presiding judge. Like the Supreme Court at that time, the Court of Criminal Appeals held three terms annually, of three months each, at Tyler (October through December), Dallas (January through March), and Austin (April through June). The court appointed a separate clerk, and maintained separate records, for each geographical term.

Beginning in October 1909, the Court of Criminal Appeals met only in Austin, between October and June (House Bill 58, 31st Texas Legislature, Regular Session). At that time the numbering of cases began all over, with Number 1.

Opinions were published beginning with Volume 31 of the Texas Criminal Reports: Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Court of Criminal Appeals of the State of Texas (beginning with the Austin Term, 1892). The Archives and Information Services Division of the State Library has volumes 31 through 151 (1892-1946) and also volume 157 (1952).

In 1925, the 39th Legislature (in Senate Bill 370, Regular Session) created a two-member "Commission in aid of the Court of Criminal Appeals." Appointed by the court, these commissioners discharged duties assigned by the court and submitted opinions to the court for approval. The practical result was the operation of a five-member judicial body. The Commission was abolished in 1966 when the legislature expanded the number of judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals to five. At that point, the Commissioners serving became Judges, pending the next regular election.

In September 1981, by constitutional amendment, the courts of civil appeals received criminal jurisdiction for the first time, to relieve the backlog in the Court of Criminal Appeals. At that time they were renamed courts of appeals, totalling fourteen in number. The appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Criminal Appeals remained exclusive, however, for cases involving the death penalty.

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Scope and Contents of the Records

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the highest criminal court in the state, holding the same position in the area of state criminal law that the Supreme Court holds in civil law. The Court of Criminal Appeals has appellate jurisdiction in all criminal cases (both felonies and misdemeanors). These records contain the most thorough documentation of the cases heard before the court. They consist of case files containing copies of documents filed with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals--writ of habeas corpus files, the district clerk's file (indictments, pleas of the defendant, bills of exception, assignments of error, charges of the court, verdicts and judgments, motions, orders, briefs, sentences, etc.), and statements of fact (the trial transcripts of pre-trial hearings, voir dire of prospective jurors, the guilt/innocence phase, the punishment phase, and exhibits)--as well as documents created for or by the Court of Criminal Appeals (motions, briefs, arguments, orders, opinions, etc.), dating 1975-1990.

The cases listed in this inventory generally fall into three categories: appeals filed prior to September 1, 1981 (direct appeals, not automatic or mandatory); cases where the Court issued an opinion in post-conviction writs of habeas corpus under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 11.07 (from felony judgments imposing a penalty other than death); and some old death penalty appeals (where the prisoner was executed, died in custody, or had their sentence commuted).

If a researcher only knows the appellant's name, but not the case number, for a case heard between 1964 and 1990, the researcher should contact the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Cases filed with the Court of Criminal Appeals after mid-1984 may be searched on the agency's website, at http://www.cca.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/casesearch.asp (accessed March 20, 2012), which will hopefully yield a case number and other pertinent information.

This finding aid describes Texas Court of Criminal Appeals centralized court case files from file number 49720 thru 71207, dating 1975-1990. For earlier centralized court case files, see the inventory of Court of Criminal Appeals Centralized Court Case Files (Part I: File Numbers 1 thru 25006), 1909-1950 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/50104/tsl-50104.html) and (Part II: File Numbers 25007 thru 49719), 1950-1975 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/50105/tsl-50105.html). See the inventory of Court of Criminal Appeals Records at the Texas State Archives, 1892-2010 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/50022/tsl-50022.html) for the description of additional records series held by the Texas State Archives.

Question marks in the inventory indicate that a case number is presumed to be in that box, but that this is not yet confirmed.

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were not consulted directly, since they are stored offsite. The first and last case number in each box reflects information in the transfer document provided by the Court of Criminal Appeals, and there may be some errors in that listing.

Note: Most of these records are stored at the State Records Center. Records requested before 10:00 a.m. will usually be available for review by an archivist by 4:00 p.m. the same day. Records requested after 10:00 a.m. and before 3:00 p.m will usually be available for review by an archivist by noon the next day. See the restrictions on access statement in this document for further information.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Case files may possibly contain documents sealed by the court according to Texas Public Information Act, 552.107(2). When a researcher requests a case, the file will be reviewed by an archivist in order to remove sealed documents. The researcher will be informed that sealed documents have been removed from the file and it will then be up to the researcher to obtain permission from the Court to access the documents.

Case files may possibly contain personal information of jurors and prospective jurors. According to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 35.29, information collected by the court or by a prosecuting attorney during the jury selection process about a person who serves as a juror, including the juror's home address, home telephone number, social security number, driver's license number, and other personal information, is confidential and may not be disclosed by the court, the prosecuting attorney, the defense counsel, or any court personnel except on application by a party in the trial or on application by a bona fide member of the news media acting in such capacity to the court in which the person is serving or did serve as a juror. On a showing of good cause, the court shall permit disclosure of the information sought. (Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 371, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993) The Court of Criminal Appeals has verified that juror information is to be withheld from the public according to the statute cited above. Therefore, when a case is requested, an archivist will review the case to ascertain whether or not juror information is present. If such information is found, the researcher will be informed and the documents will be removed from the file. If an individual wishes to access juror information, they will have to obtain permission from the Court. Because the judiciary is not covered by the Texas Public Information Act, the Archives cannot estimate how long it will take the Court to respond to a request.

Non-court documents may possibly be found in the Case files. Before a researcher is granted access to a case, an archivist will review the files and remove all such materials. The researcher will be informed if materials are removed. If the researcher wishes to access the documents, the Archives will contact the Court to determine the appropriate course of action on a case-by-case basis. Because the judiciary is not covered by the Texas Public Information Act, the Archives cannot estimate how long it will take the Court to respond to a request.

Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room. Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

None.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Texas Court of Criminal Appeals centralized court case files. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 2006/074, 2010/139, 2012/050

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on November 22, 2005 (one case); August 10, 2010; and September 19, 2011.

Processing Information

Addition of one accession by Tony Black, September 2010

Addition of one accession by Tony Black, March 2012

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Detailed Description of the Records