Inventory of Record Series
Supreme Court of Judicature
(Albany, Utica, Geneva Offices)
1797-1847

Introduction
  
     The New York State Archives preserves an preserves an estimated three million Supreme Court documents which occupy nearly 1,800 cubic feet of storage space. The records are arranged in 129 series. Each series is an aggregate group of documents created or filed at one of the court's offices. The documents in a particular series have the same form or deal with the same subject or activity or are arranged serially.

     The inventory begins with a summary list of all record series. The order of series follows the progress of a case through the court: civil arrest or summons, bail, pleading, trial, judgment, execution, and satisfaction. Next are series documenting motions and rules; cases appealed from lower courts; special proceedings such as insolvencies; collection of court fees; and attorney admissions. The summary list provides the title, dates, and quantity of each series and indicates the clerk's office where the series was filed or created, Following the summary list are detailed record series descriptions. In addition to the series title, dates, and quantity, the detailed descriptions contain information about the function, content, arrangement, and indexing (if any) of each record series. Because the same or very similar series usually existed at each of the Supreme Court clerk's offices, most entries begin with a general discussion of the common characteristics of several related series. There follows a description of the distinguishing features of each individual series.

     Documents relating to a specific case in the Supreme Court of Judicature may be found in up to a dozen or more different record series, depending on the type of case and the complexity of the proceedings. However, the most extensive record series—both in terms of quantity of records (almost 665 cubic feet) and the completeness of information about cases—are the judgment rolls. The judgment roll always contains a summary of the pleadings and proceedings in the case, including, of course, the trial verdict (if any) and the award of judgment. Copies of certain case documents, such as the declaration, bail piece, pleadings, and satisfaction piece, are included in the judgment roll.

     Research access to Supreme Court of Judicature cases may be difficult because most filed papers are arranged chronologically by year and thereunder either alphabetically by name of judgment debtor (usually the defendant) or alphabetically by name of filing attorney. The judgment rolls, for example, are arranged chronologically by year, thereunder alphabetically by first letter of the last name of the losing party, and thereunder chronologically by filing date. The only court-produced indexes to cases are dockets and transcripts of dockets of judgment. The dockets and transcripts were produced periodically (usually after each court term) and listed judgment debtors in alphabetical order. Over the fifty-year period for which the State Archives holds records of the Supreme Court of Judicature, there are nearly two thousand of these alphabetical indexes. The only cumulative index is an index to judgment debtors covering all four court offices for the years 1829 to 1835. See Appendix B Suggestions for Locating Case Papers. 		 
Map of Supreme Court Clerk's Offices
Map of Supreme Court Clerk's Offices
Map of Supreme Court Clerk's Offices. Inset map indicates the Supreme Court clerk's offices to which sheriffs returned writs of arrest and execution. The New York State Archives holds the writs, pleadings, motions, judgment rolls, and other documents that were filed at Albany, Utica, and Geneva. Documents filed at New York City are now in custody of the New York County Clerk's Office. (Map of State of New York. [London: 1831]. Courtesy Manuscripts & Special Collections of New York State Library.)		  
     For most series described in the inventory there are unpublished finding aids, which are usually volume or container lists giving span dates of individual books or boxes of filed documents. Existing court-produced indexes are mentioned in the inventory descriptions found below. The State Archives plans to produce topical and name indexes to selected series, starting with J0031 Writs of Error (Utica) and continuing with other series documenting cases appealed to the Supreme Court from lower courts. As time permits, Archives staff will unfold, clean, and rebox documents. This process will cause the series quantities (in cubic feet) stated in the inventory to increase considerably.    
Series Identification Numbers
     The State Archives' series identification numbers for the Supreme Court of Judicature records in its custody consist of an alphanumeric code (for example, J0154). The letter "J" denotes records from the judicial branch of government. The final three digits correspond to series numbers assigned by the WPA Historical Records Survey (HRS) during the l93Os. The HRS published an Inventory, Records Preserved, Court of Appeals (Albany: ca. 1939). However, much of the information in this inventory is inaccurate. Some of the HRS series were actually aggregates of several original series. Wherever possible, the original series have been identified and separated out. They are indicated by sequential digits (starting with "I") occupying the second space of the code. For example, series JlOll Fines and Chirographs (Albany) was found in a labeled bundle among J0011, Motions and Declarations (Albany). Because the documents in this bundle related to a particular type of proceeding and were unrelated to other documents in the series, they were designated as a separate series. 		 


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