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These volumes are dockets of undertakings of bail. Each entry gives the names of the defendant and plaintiff, names of the bail (sometimes with their residences and occupations or ranks), name of defendant's attorney, and date of filing. Usually one of the bail is a fictitious person, i.e., "John Doe" or "Richard Roe." The entries are arranged alphabetically by last name of defendant, then chronologically by court term and filing date.
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| J1202 |
Special Bail Books (Albany), 1799-1801, 1807-27. 2 vols., 1 item
These volumes serve as indexes to J0096 Special Bail Pieces (Albany). The special bail book for 1799-1801 is fragmentary.
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| J2202 |
Special Bail Books (Utica), 1807-26. 5 vols.
These volumes serve as indexes to J0098 Special Bail Pieces (Utica). The volume for 1827-32 (letters A-L) is missing.
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| J3202 |
Special Bail Book (Geneva), 1829-43. 1 vol.
This volume serves as an index to J0099 Special Bail Pieces (Geneva).
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Recognizance Rolls |
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The recognizance roll is a record of the undertaking of bail, made before a justice of the Supreme Court. The roll contains the same information as is found in the plaintiffs declaration, followed by a statement of the obligation of the bail. A copy of the bail piece is usually found attached to the roll. The recognizance roll was the formal record upon which a plaintiff could bring an action against the defendant's bail for recovery of a judgment award. (The bail piece was merely a memorandum of the undertaking.) Laws of 1818, Chap. 259, stated that no costs were to be allowed for recognizance rolls except in actions against bail; hence there are few recognizance rolls found after that year.
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| J0002 |
Recognizance Rolls (Albany), 1797-1834. 2.6 cu ft.
The Albany recognizance rolls are arranged by filing date. Some Albany rolls may be found in J0003.
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| J0002 |
Recognizance Rolls (Utica), 1807-34. 1.3 cu. ft.
The Utica recognizance rolls are arranged by filing date. Some of the rolls in boxes 2 and 3 may have been filed at Albany.
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| J1003 |
Recognizance Rolls (Geneva), 1829-39. .4 cu. ft.
The Geneva recognizance rolls are unarranged.
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Committiturs and Orders for Exoneration of Bail |
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These series contain documents pertaining to the surrender of a defendant and exoneration of his bail from liability for damages and costs awarded in a judgment. Bail might choose to render over the principal (i.e., the defendant) either before or after judgment; but had to do so before return of a writ of capias ad satisfaciendum, which commanded a sheriff to arrest and imprison a judgment debtor until the judgment was satisfied. A typical file in this series contains the following documents: the committitur, a copy of bail piece on which the sheriff states that he has taken the defendant into custody, and a judge or other court officer orders that the defendant stand committed in the case; a copy of the justice's order to the plaintiff to show cause why the exoneretur should not be endorsed upon the bail piece; a copy of notice of impending order to show cause, sent to the plaintiff's attorney by the attorney for the bail; and a justice's final order that the exoneretur be subscribed upon the bail piece filed with the clerk of the Supreme Court. Later files in these series occasionally include the original bail piece with the exoneretur. The documents are bundled by year but are not otherwise arranged or indexed. Laws governing surrender of defendant and exoneration of bail were Laws of 1787, Chap. 26, and Revised Statutes of 1829, Part III, Chap. 6, Title 6, Art 3, Sections 21-30.
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| J0143 |
Committiturs and Orders for Exoneration of Bail (Albany), 1797-1829. 2.2 cu ft.
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| J0144 |
Committiturs and Orders for Exoneration of Bail (Utica), 1807-1837. 2.2 cu ft.
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Affidavits of Justification of Special Bail |
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Affidavits of special bail state that the special bail is worth double the amount demanded by the plaintiff in the writ of capias ad respondendum, after payment of all debts; the amount was itself double the demand stated in the plaintiff's declaration. The affidavit also states that the special bail is a freeholder or housekeeper in the county where the defendant resides. The affidavit is signed by the bail and acknowledged before a judge of other court officer.
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| J1098 |
Affidavits of Justification of Special Bail (Utica), 1807-47. .4 cu ft.
A few of the Utica affidavits are accompanied by orders for allowance of bail, signed by a Supreme Court commissioner or other court officer. The documents were apparently arranged by filing date but many are out of order. See also J0098 Special Bail Pieces (Utica).
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| J3026 |
Affidavits of Justification of Special Bail (Geneva), 1839-47. .4 cu. ft.
This series also includes a few affidavits of merits of a case, made by defendants. This affidavit states that the defendant has "fully and fairly stated his case" to his attorney and that the defendant is advised and believes that he has a "good and substanticase oneon the merits," that is, in law. The affidavits are procedural documents not governed by court rule or statute. This series is unarranged and unindexed. See also J0099 Special Bail Pieces (Geneva).
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