Series 22610

District Court (Third District) Civil registers of actions

Dates: 1871-1896.

14 microfilm reels

These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.

Historical Note

An agency history is available.

Scope and Content

Civil cases document the legal process and the administration of justice in conjunction with civil proceedings for the determination of a controversy between parties wherein rights are enforced or protected, or wrongs are prevented or redressed. Records and documents pertaining to a particular civil action are filed together by the court clerk and collectively these documents constitute the case file. As these records or actions are filed, the clerk enters them in the registers which comprise this series. The clerk is required as documents enter the case file to make a notation that shows "the nature of each paper filed or writ issued and the substance of each order or judgment of the court and of the returns showing execution of process. The notation of an order or judgment shall show the date the notation is made. When trial by jury has been properly demanded or ordered the clerk shall enter the word "jury" on the page assigned to that action [UCA 79 (b) (2)]."

A register of actions may contain the following entries for each civil case: name of the attorney for plaintiff and defendant, name of the judge presiding over the case, petitions, complaints, summons, answers to summons, orders from the court, assignment of judges, exhibits, judgment, findings and conclusions, costs, decrees, requests by attorneys for instructions to the jury, verdict, motions for cross complaints or new trials, amendments to previous answers and disclaimers. Matter from throughout the district (several counties) were heard in Salt Lake City. Cases from Salt Lake County are most numerous but matters from outlying Summit and Tooele counties are common. During the early days of the territory, the Third Judicial District included other current Utah counties as well as Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Morgan, Rich and Weber. A small number of case files from locales may be included.

Arrangement

Numerical by case number, thereunder chronological

Research Note

Researchers should consult this series to ensure finding all the actions which occurred in a case.

Related Records

Territorial minute books from the District Court (Third District), Series 1649, documents the proceedings of each case.

Case file index from the District Court (Third District), Series 3243, facilitates access to this series.

Case files from the District Court (Third District), Series 9802, contains the entire case file listed in these registers.

Access Restrictions

This series is classified as Public.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Gaps in Series

Registers containing cases 1-111 and 298-497 are not in Archival holdings.

Processing Note

Registers of Actions were first scheduled as permanent records in 1983. These records were microfilmed and destroyed. This series was archivally processed by David Clark in February 2000.

Finding Aids

Indexes: Series 3243, Case File Index, 1871-1896, provides access to this series.

Indexing Terms

• Divorce suits—Utah.
• Utah—Trials (Divorce).
• Utah—Actions and defenses—Cases.
• Utah—Habeas corpus.

Container List

REEL	DESCRIPTION
1	112-297; 1871 Apr 12-1871 Sep 12
2	498-814; 1872 Aug 03-1873 May 06
3	815-2189; 1873 Feb 13-1875 Dec 07
4	2189-3549; 1875 Dec 07-1878 Apr 06
5	3549-4867; 1878 Apr 06-1881 Jul 19
6	4867-6159; 1881 Jul 19-1885 Jan 21
7	6159-7469; 1885 Jan 21-1888 Sep 08
8	7469-8770; 1888 Sep 08-1890 Oct 15
9	8770-10050; 1890 Oct 15-1891 Dec 31
10	10050-11118; 1891 Dec 31-1892 Nov 03
11	11119-11758; 1892 Nov 03-1893 Apr 17
12	11759-13020; 1893 Apr 17-1894 Feb 27
13	13020-14300; 1894 Feb 27-1895 Mar 09
14	14300-15136; 1895 Mar 09-1896 Jan 04