Texas Court of Criminal Appeals:

An Inventory of Court of Criminal Appeals Centralized Court Case Files (Part I: Through File Number 25006) at the Texas State Archives, 1909-1975

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 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 (indictments, pleas of the defendant, statements of fact, testimony, bills of exception, assignments of error, charges of the court, verdicts and judgments, motions, orders, briefs, sentences, etc.), as well as documents created for or by the Court of Criminal Appeals (motions, briefs, arguments, orders, opinions, etc.), dating from 1909 through 1975.

Two numbering systems existed for the case files: one for the period of the three geographically distinct terms (1892-1909), and one--represented in this inventory--for the period of the centralized court (1909-1975). During the first period (1892-1909), each term (Tyler, Dallas, and Austin) maintained separate numbers for their cases; consequently, the same case number may be used for up to three different cases, requiring the researcher to specify which term he desires for that case (e.g. #889 Dallas). Beginning with the second period (starting October 1909), that of the centralized court, only one numbering system is used.

The dockets (assignment dockets before 1909) provide one way (if the researcher knows the year) of determining the numbers assigned to the cases heard between 1892 and 1925, although there are many gaps. Another way to determine the number of a case, especially if the researcher only knows the appellant's name, is through the general indexes (for the Tyler and Dallas terms before 1909, and for all cases between 1909 and 1947). Of course probably a better, quicker, and surer means of discovering the number is through the published Texas Criminal Reports, which has an alphabetical table of contents at the beginning of each volume.

This finding aid describes Texas Court of Criminal Appeals centralized court case files through file number 25006. For centralized court case files from file number 25007 on, see An Inventory of Court of Criminal Appeals Centralized Court Case Files (Part II: From File Number 25007). See An Inventory of Court of Criminal Appeals Records at the Texas State Archives, 1892-2005 for the description of additional records series held by the Texas State Archives.

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.

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. A list of case numbers for missing case files follows, which the researcher should check before requesting that a case file be retrieved from the Texas State Library's State Records Center. Also important to check is the list of cases retained at the Archives Division (following the list of missing cases); these include the appeals for Jack Ruby and Billie Sol Estes, plus those for the period of missing cases (1899-1909), plus several others.

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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.

Restrictions on Use

None.

Technical Requirements

None.

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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 number: 1993/088

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 (via the Tarlton Law Library of the University of Texas at Austin), on June 9, 1992.

Processing Information

Tony Black, August 1993

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Detailed Description of the Records