Guide to Research in 

Federal Judicial History

Federal Judicial Center

Federal Judicial History Offi ce

2010

This Federal Judicial Center publication was undertaken in furtherance of the Center’s statutory mission to “conduct, coordinate, and encourage programs relating to the history of the 

judicial branch of the United States government.” While the Center regards the content as 

responsible and valuable, it does not refl ect policy or recommendations of the Board of the 

Federal Judicial Center.

iii

Contents

Acknowledgments, ix

Introduction to Historical Research in Federal Judicial History, 1

Part I. Records of the Federal Judiciary, 5

Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts, 7

A. Historical Note, 7

B. Records Description, 8

C. General Records, 9

D. Administrative Records of the Clerk of Court, 10

E. U.S. District Courts: Case Records, 12

1. Law, Equity, and Civil Records, 12

2. Criminal Records, 14

3. Habeas Corpus Records, 15

4. Bankruptcy Records, 16

5. Naturalization Records, 18

6. Admiralty Records, 20

7. Records of the U.S. Commissioners, 23

8. Fugitive Slave Records, 24

9. Records Concerning the Supervision of Elections, 25

F. U.S. Circuit Courts: Case Records, 26

1. Equity and Law Records, 26

2. Criminal Records, 28

3. Habeas Corpus Records, 29

4. Naturalization Records, 29

5. Bankruptcy Records, 31

6. Records of the U.S. Commissioners, 31

7. Fugitive Slave Records, 31

8. Records Concerning the Supervision of Elections, 32

9. Appellate Records, 33

G. Published Decisions, 34

Chapter 2. Records of the U.S. Courts of Appeals, 37

A. Historical Note, 37

B. Records Description, 38

C. General and Administrative Records, 39

D. Case Records, 40

E. Published Decisions, 41

Chapter 3. Records of the Supreme Court of the United States, 43

A. Historical Note, 43

B. Records Description, 43

C. General Records, 44
iv Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

D. Appellate Jurisdiction Case Records, 45

E. Original Jurisdiction Case Records, 45

F. Records Relating to Ex Parte and Miscellaneous Cases, 46

G. Records of the Offi ce of the Clerk, 46

H. Records of the Offi ce of the Marshal, 47

I. Published Decisions and Other Records, 48

Chapter 4. Records of the Courts of the District of Columbia, 53

A. Historical Note, 53

B. Records Description, 55

C. Published Decisions, 55

Chapter 5. Records of Federal Courts of Special Jurisdiction, 59

A. Introduction, 59

B. Court of Claims, 1855–1982, 60

1. Historical Note, 60

2. Records Description, 61

3. Published Decisions, 62

C. U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 1982–, 63

1. Historical Note, 63

2. Records Description, 63

3. Published Decisions, 63

D. Board of General Appraisers, 1890–1926; U.S. Customs Court, 

1926–1980; U.S. Court of International Trade, 1980–, 63

1. Historical Note, 63

2. Records Description, 64

3. Published Decisions, 65

E. U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, 1910–1982, 66

1. Historical Note, 66

2. Records Description, 66

3. Published Decisions, 66

F. Commerce Court, 1910–1913, 67

1. Historical Note, 67

2. Records Description, 67

3. Published Decisions, 68

G. Emergency Court of Appeals, 1942–1961; Temporary Emergency 

Court of Appeals, 1971–1992, 68

1. Historical Note, 68

2. Records Description, 69

3. Published Decisions, 70

H. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, 1978–, 70

1. Historical Note, 70

2. Records Description, 70

3. Published Decisions, 70
Contents v

I. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, 1968–, 71

1. Historical Note, 71

2. Records Description, 71

3. Published Decisions, 72

Chapter 6. Records of Judicial Branch Administration, 73

A. Judicial Conference of the United States, 1922–, 73

1. Historical Note, 73

2. Records, 74

3. Publications, 74

B. Administrative Offi ce of the United States Courts, 1939–, 75

1. Historical Note, 75

2. Records, 75

3. Publications, 76

C. Federal Judicial Center, 1967–, 76 

1. Historical Note, 76

2. Records, 77

3. Publications, 77

D. Circuit Judicial Councils, 1939–, 78

1. Historical Note, 78

2. Records, 78

E. Circuit Judicial Conferences, 1939–, 79

1. Historical Note, 79

2. Records, 79

F. United States Sentencing Commission, 1984–, 79

1. Historical Note, 79

2. Records, 80

3. Publications, 80

Chapter 7. Records of Other Courts, 83

Part II. Congressional Records Related to the Judiciary, 87

Chapter 8. Records of the U.S. Congress, 89

A. Records of Legislative Proceedings: Introduction, 89

B. General Records of the Senate and House of Representatives, 90

1. Minutes and Journals, 90

2. Bills and Resolutions, 91

3. Miscellaneous Records, 91

C. Records of Congressional Committees, 91

1. Committee Reports and Papers, 92

2. Petitions and Memorials, 94

3. Bill Files or Accompanying Papers, 95

D. Records of Other Senate Committees, 95

E. Records of Other House of Representatives Committees, 96

F. Records of Joint Congressional Committees, 96
vi Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

G. Published Committee Records, 97

1. Hearings, 97

2. Published Committee Documents, 98

H. Records of Senate Executive Proceedings, 99

I. Records of Impeachment Proceedings, 100

J. Records of Congressional Debates, 102

K. Statutes, 103

L. Congressional Serial Set and American State Papers, 103

M. Internet Resources, 104

N. Documentary Editions, 104

Part III. Executive Branch Records Related to the Federal Judiciary, 107

Chapter 9. Records of the Department of State, 109

A. Historical Note, 109

B. Archival Records, 109

C. General Records, 109

D. Appointment Records, 111

E. Pardon Records, 112

Chapter 10. Records of the Department of the Treasury and Related 

Agencies, 113

A. Historical Note, 113

B. Archival Records, 113

C. Archival Records of the Department of the Treasury, 114

1. General and Administrative Records, 114

2. Fiscal and Accounting Records, 115

3. Claims Records, 117

D. Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, 118

1. Historical Note, 118

2. Archival Records, 119

E. Records of the Secret Service, 122

1. Historical Note, 122

2. Archival Records, 122

F. Other Treasury Records of Related Interest, 123

Chapter 11. Records of the Department of the Interior, 127

A. Historical Note, 127

B. Archival Records, 127

C. Published Records, 128

Chapter 12. Records of the Attorney General and the Department of 

Justice, 131

A. Historical Note, 131

B. Archival Records, 132

C. Records of the Offi ce of the Attorney General, 1789–1870, 133
Contents vii

D. Records of the Department of Justice, 1870–, 135

1. General Records, 135

2. Records of Offi cials and Organizational Units, 138

E. Personnel Records, 140

F. Court of Claims Section, 140

G. Offi ce of the Pardon Attorney, 141

H. Federal Bureau of Investigation, 142

I. Published Records of the Attorney General and the Department of 

Justice, 143

J. Records of United States Marshals, 144

1. Historical Note, 144

2. Archival Records, 145

K. Records of the United States Attorneys, 147

1. Historical Note, 147

2. Archival Records, 147

Part IV. Records Related to Federal Courthouses, 149

Chapter 13. NARA Records Related to Federal Courthouses, 151

A. Records of the Public Buildings Service, 151

B. Records of the Department of the Treasury, 154

C. Records of the General Services Administration, 157

D. Other Records at the National Archives, 158

Chapter 14. Other Federal Resources for Research on Courthouses, 159

A. Historic American Buildings Survey, 159

B. National Register of Historic Places, 160

Chapter 15. Images of Federal Courthouses, 163

A. National Archives and Records Administration, 163

B. Library of Congress, 165

C. National Register of Historic Places, 165

D. Center for Historic Buildings, 166

E. Local Repositories, 166

Part V. Research Collections, 167

Chapter 16. Personal Records, 169

A. Introduction, 169

B. Federal Judges, 169

C. Court Offi cers, 170

D. Supreme Court Reporters, 170

E. Members of Congress, 171

F. Presidents and Executive Branch Offi cials, 171

G. A Note on the Papers of Lawyers and Law Firms, 172

H. Locating Archival Resources, 173

I. Finding Aids, 173
viii Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

Appendices, 175

Appendix A. Resources Available Through the Federal Judicial History 

Offi ce, 177

Appendix B. Preliminary Inventories and Finding Aids for Judiciary-Related 

Records at the National Archives, 181

Appendix C. Court Records at the National Archives (by record group), 187

Appendix D. Locations of Federal Court Records at the National Archives (by 

state or by type of court), 189

Appendix E. National Archives Locations, 201

Appendix F. Court Records Held Outside of the National Archives, 205

Index, 211
ix

Acknowledgments

Many people assisted in the work of putting this guide together. At the 

National Archives in Washington, D.C., Robert Ellis, Bill Davis, Rod 

Ross, and George Briscoe all assisted me in my search for records. Bill 

Davis and Rod Ross also read and commented on the chapters related to 

congressional records. At the National Archives at College Park, Maryland (Archives II), Gene Morris and Tab Lewis helped me locate records. 

Tab Lewis also read and commented on several chapters in Parts I and 

III. John VanDereedt, also of Archives II, read several chapters in Parts III 

and IV and made very helpful suggestions. Many archivists at the regional branches of the National Archives provided fi nding aids, answered 

questions, and photocopied records. These archivists include Jefferson 

Moak and Gail Farr of the National Archives at Philadelphia; Charles 

Miller of the National Archives at San Francisco; Randy Thompson of 

the National Archives at Riverside; Gregory Plunges of the National 

Archives at New York City; Greg Longacre of the National Archives at 

Chicago; Mary Evelyn Tomlin of the National Archives at Atlanta; and 

Joan Gearin of the National Archives at Boston. Nathaniel Wiltzen of the 

National Archives at Boston, and Diana Duff and Mark Corriston of the 

National Archives at Kansas City, offered helpful comments on Chapters 

1 and 2. 

 Much of the research for this guide was conducted at libraries in 

Washington, D.C. The research librarians at the library of the Supreme 

Court of the United States—Catherine Romano, Jill Duffy, Joy Shoemaker, Linda Corbelli, Melissa Williams, and Sara Sonet—allowed me to use 

the stacks of the Court’s library, which was helpful as I tracked down 

bibliographic records related to the judiciary. Elizabeth Endicott, at the 

library of the Administrative Offi ce of the United States Courts, also assisted. Luis Acosta of the Law Library of Congress read and gave helpful 

comments on Chapter 4. Leona Faust of the U.S. Senate Library helped 

me locate materials related to Congress. Virginia Dunn of the Library of 

Virginia helped verify information for Appendix F.

 Michael Courlander and Lisa Rich of the United States Sentencing 

Commission offered comments on the Sentencing Commission section 

of the guide.

 Several of my colleagues at the Federal Judicial Center have offered 

indispensable assistance in the preparation of this guide. I. Scott Messinger began work on the guide several years ago, collecting much of the 

information necessary for its completion and providing me with drafts 
x Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

of several chapters. Steven Saltzgiver provided me with notes he had 

taken on records related to the executive branch administration of the 

federal courts and on courthouses. Robert Timothy Reagan offered me 

his knowledge of “unpublished” court opinions as well as of sealed and 

classifi ed materials. Rozzie Bell tracked down dozens of books, articles, 

and fi nding aids. Jake Kobrick assisted in the compiling of Appendix F. 

Finally, I thank Bruce Ragsdale, director of the Federal Judicial History 

Offi ce at the Federal Judicial Center, who envisioned this project and 

patiently guided it through to its completion.

Jonathan W. White
1

Introduction to Historical Research in 

Federal Judicial History

This guide describes the records of the federal courts, as well as records 

of Congress and the executive branch, that are relevant to researching 

federal judicial history. Most federal records are held by the National 

Archives and Records Administration (NARA), either at NARA’s main 

facilities in Washington, D.C., and College Park, Maryland, or at one 

of the National Archives’ regional branches. Recent records may still be 

held by the government agency that created the records, or, pending 

their accession by the National Archives, at a Federal Records Center.

 Records at the National Archives are organized into “record groups,” 

with most government departments, offi ces, organizations, and agencies being assigned their own record group number. The records of the 

U.S. district courts, for example, are in Record Group (RG) 21, while 

the general records of the Department of the Treasury are in RG 56, and 

the records of the U.S. courts of appeals are in RG 276. Each chapter of 

this guide directs researchers to record groups related to various aspects 

of judicial history, as well as to materials that document the judiciary’s 

relationship with the other two branches of the federal government.

 In 1995, the National Archives published The Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States, which contains a brief 

description and inventory of each record group held by NARA; an online version (at http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/) incorporates information about records received after 1995 and is updated 

regularly. Detailed descriptions of individual record groups also appear in 

the National Archives’ online Archival Research Catalog (ARC), available 

at http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/index.html. Researchers can use

ARC to fi nd information about the content of each record group, as well 

as view selected documents that the National Archives has digitized and 

made available online.

 The National Archives has published preliminary inventories for 

many of its record groups (see Appendix B). A preliminary inventory 

outlines the organizational structure of a record group and briefl y describes the record group’s contents. Most record groups have only one 

preliminary inventory; however, record groups that are held by more 

than one branch of the National Archives may have multiple inventories to describe the records maintained by individual regional branches. 

The records of the U.S. district courts in RG 21, for example, are orga-
2 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

nized by judicial district and are held at various regional branches in 

the NARA system. Accordingly, each regional branch has created a preliminary inventory or fi nding aid for the records of each judicial district 

whose records it holds.

 Many of NARA’s preliminary inventories were created more than 40 

years ago and do not describe recently accessioned records. In some 

cases, record groups have been reorganized so that the preliminary inventories no longer accurately describe the arrangement of the records. 

In such cases, preliminary inventories are still a useful starting point for 

researchers to determine the basic scope and content of a record group, 

but researchers should confi rm with an archivist that an inventory accurately describes the records the researchers plan to use.

 The National Archives has created a “master location register” for 

each record group in the Washington, D.C., area, as well as for many 

of its holdings at the regional facilities. Master location registers are “in 

house” documents that the archivists use to locate records in the stacks. 

At many locations, however, researchers can use these registers to determine how many boxes or volumes are in a particular series within a 

record group, or to identify newly processed materials that are not described in The Guide to Federal Records or in a record group’s preliminary 

inventory.

 The National Archives has microfi lmed many portions of its collections related to the federal judiciary, and a listing of microfi lmed records 

is available at http://www.archives.gov/research/formats/microfi lm.html. 

NARA’s microfi lmed records may be viewed at the main National Archives facilities in Washington, D.C., and College Park, Maryland, and 

at selected regional facilities; copies of microfi lmed records may also be 

purchased.

 The National Archives places prefatory information at the beginning 

of each reel of microfi lm that it produces. For some reels this material 

is quite extensive, giving information about content down to the item 

level. Other reels only provide researchers with a brief explanation of 

the scope and type of records included in the collection. This prefatory 

material can help researchers determine which reels of microfi lm to purchase, or how to locate particular records within NARA’s microfi lmed records. Researchers can download and print this prefatory material from 

any reel of NARA microfi lm directly from the National Archives’ website, 

http://www.archives.gov/order/.

 The locations, hours of operation, and contact information of 

the various branches of the National Archives are available online at 
Introduction to Historical Research in Federal Judicial History 3

http://www.archives.gov/locations/ (see also Appendix E). While NARA’s 

regional research centers maintain regular hours of operation, most of 

the branches recommend making an appointment prior to arrival to 

ensure that there will be space available in the reading room (reservations are not required at NARA’s main facilities in Washington, D.C., 

and College Park, Maryland). By speaking with an archivist in advance, 

researchers can confi rm that that branch of the National Archives has 

the materials the researchers plan to use. Many of the regional branches 

will also have the records pulled and ready for researchers prior to their 

arrival. Appendices C and D list the locations of all federal court records 

within the National Archives system.

 The Federal Judicial History Offi ce compiled this guide using a 

number of resources, starting with the National Archives’ preliminary 

inventories and master location registers, the Library of Congress’s online catalog and “American Memory” website, and several subscription 

databases, including HeinOnline, LexisNexis, Westlaw, America: History and Life, WorldCat, JSTOR, and ArchivesUSA. After conducting this 

preliminary research, the Federal Judicial History Offi ce consulted the 

original records from many of the record groups described in this guide, 

as well as the published records related to the courts at the Law Library 

of Congress, the Library of the Supreme Court of the United States, and 

the library of the Administrative Offi ce of the United States Courts.

 This guide directs researchers to the variety of materials at NARA 

regarding the history of the federal courts, but it is not intended to replace the fi nding aids and inventories at the NARA facilities. Researchers 

will want to consult those more-detailed guides before examining the 

archival records of a court or federal agency. This guide also includes 

descriptions of the non-federal records that will be important sources of 

federal judicial history.

5

Part I. Records of the Federal 

Judiciary

This section describes and directs researchers to the archival records and 

published decisions of courts and agencies that are or were part of the 

federal judiciary. A brief historical note precedes the description of the 

records in each section of this guide.

 The offi cial records of the U.S. courts are held almost exclusively 

by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Chapter 

1 discusses the records of the U.S. district and circuit courts, which are 

held in Record Group 21 at the regional branches of the National Archives and in the regional federal records centers. Chapter 2 describes 

the records of the U.S. courts of appeals in RG 276; these records are 

also held at NARA’s regional facilities. Chapters 3 and 4 describe the 

records of the Supreme Court of the United States and the records of 

the federal courts of the District of Columbia, both of which are held 

at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Chapter 5 examines the 

records of the federal courts of special jurisdiction, while Chapter 6 discusses records related to judicial administration of the federal courts. 

Most of the records described in Chapters 5 and 6 are held at the National Archives facilities in the Washington, D.C., area. Finally, Chapter 

7 describes records of pre-federal, territorial, provisional, Confederate, 

and other non-Article III courts whose records are maintained within 

the National Archives system. Recently created judicial records, as well 

as some historic materials, are still maintained by the courts themselves 

and are usually available through the offi ce of the clerk.

7

Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. 

District and Circuit Courts

A. Historical Note

From 1789 to 1911, two types of federal trial courts operated in most of 

the judicial districts throughout the nation. The Judiciary Act of 1789 

established the U.S. district courts to serve as the federal trial courts for 

admiralty and maritime cases, as well as for some minor criminal cases 

and minor civil suits brought by the United States. The Act of 1789 

established the U.S. circuit courts to serve as the federal trial courts for 

most federal crimes, for suits between citizens of different states, and 

for most causes initiated by the United States. Congress gave the circuit 

courts appellate jurisdiction over the fi nal decrees of the district courts 

in admiralty and civil cases and the authority to entertain certain types 

of cases that were commenced in state courts. Although the U.S. district 

courts gradually gained greater jurisdictional authority, particularly in 

non-capital criminal cases, the U.S. circuit courts remained the more 

important trial courts through most of the nineteenth century.

 The Judiciary Act of 1789 divided the United States into thirteen 

judicial districts and authorized the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint a district judge to serve in each district. 

Congress also provided that two Supreme Court justices and the local 

district judge would serve as the judges of the circuit court in that district and that any two of those judges could convene the court. An act of 

1793 provided that a single Supreme Court justice and the local district 

judge would serve as the judges of each circuit court.

 The Judiciary Act of 1801 established separate judgeships to serve 

the circuit courts and relieved the Supreme Court justices of circuitriding duties, but Congress repealed the Act and abolished the circuit 

judgeships in 1802. The Judiciary Act of 1802 reinstated the justices’ 

circuit-riding responsibilities, but the Act authorized the district judge 

to convene a circuit court without the Supreme Court justice. In 1869, 

Congress created separate circuit judgeships to serve the circuit courts 

in each of the nine judicial circuits. The same act provided that a circuit 

court could be convened by the circuit judge, by the Supreme Court justice assigned to that circuit, by the district judge, or by any two of those 

judges.
8 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 In the original districts of Maine and Kentucky, and in many states 

newly admitted to the union during the nineteenth century, the U.S. district courts exercised the jurisdiction of a circuit court until the new district was incorporated into a judicial circuit. Appeals from such courts 

generally went to the Supreme Court of the United States and occasionally to the circuit court in another district within the state. Only in 1889 

did Congress fi nally provide a circuit court for every judicial district in 

the nation and thus end the expanded jurisdiction of certain district 

courts.

 In 1891, Congress transferred the appellate jurisdiction of the U.S. 

circuit courts to the newly created U.S. circuit courts of appeals. The Judicial Code of 1911 abolished the U.S. circuit courts, effective January 1, 

1912, transferring their jurisdiction, pending cases, and records to the 

U.S. district courts, and making the district courts the sole trial courts of 

general jurisdiction in the federal judiciary.

B. Records Description

Most of the historical records of the U.S. district courts and the U.S. circuit courts have been accessioned by the National Archives and Records 

Administration and are deposited in regional archives as part of Record 

Group 21. Unaccessioned historical records are located in the clerk’s offi ce of the respective district court or, in rare cases, at regional libraries 

and historical societies (see Appendix F for a list of federal court records 

held outside of the National Archives system).

 The records in RG 21 are organized by judicial district, and thereunder by type of court (district and circuit). The records of each district 

and circuit court are then organized by the geographical divisions of that 

court, where applicable, and grouped therein by type of record or by the 

type of jurisdiction exercised by the court. The scope and organization 

of court records refl ect the practices of the clerks who maintained them 

and vary considerably from court to court and across time.

 Researchers interested in the history of a particular judicial district 

will need to examine the records of both the district and circuit courts of 

that district. Likewise, researchers interested in the work of a particular 

judge who served prior to the 1911 abolition of the circuit courts will 

want to review the records of both the district and circuit courts of the 

judicial district in which the judge served.

 Most district and circuit court records fall into three basic categories: (1) general records, such as minute and docket books, describe the 
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 9

full scope of the courts’ business and proceedings; (2) administrative 

records, which are sometimes designated the “records of the clerk of 

court,” document the clerks’ various responsibilities, such as the payment of expenses and the collection of fees, the operation of the jury 

system, and the admission of attorneys to practice before the court; and 

(3) case records, which detail the specifi c matters brought before the 

court.

 The fi rst two sections below describe the general and administrative records of the district and circuit courts together, since both types 

of courts kept similar types of records. Researchers should be mindful, 

however, that the district and circuit courts in a judicial district usually 

kept separate sets of general and administrative records. The third and 

fourth sections, on case records, discuss the case-related materials of the 

district and circuit courts separately since Congress assigned different 

jurisdiction to the district and circuit courts. The fi fth section directs 

researchers to the published opinions of the district and circuit courts.

C. General Records

Minute books, also known as journals, summarize the activities of each 

district and circuit court. Arranged chronologically, entries within the 

minutes describe the court’s meeting place and the presiding judge or 

judges as well as the daily administrative functions of the court, including the adoption of procedural rules, the appointment of court offi cers, 

the summoning of grand and petit jurors, and the admission of attorneys to the bar. The minutes also describe the work and proceedings of 

the court in all of its areas of jurisdiction, including the dates that cases 

were heard, grand jury reports, jury fi ndings and verdicts, court orders 

and judgments, sentences imposed, settlement agreements, and the 

postponement of cases. Some courts’ general records include “rough” 

minutes, which are the volumes the clerk used to prepare the “fi nal” or 

“engrossed” minutes. Many general court records also include minute 

books related to the selection of jury members.

 District and circuit courts often kept various types of docket books, 

including judges’ and clerks’ dockets, issue dockets, “rough” dockets, 

motion dockets, subpoena dockets, writ execution dockets, grand jury 

dockets, judgment lien dockets, and dockets pertaining to specifi c areas 

of a court’s jurisdiction. Docket books contain a chronological list of the 

proceedings held and papers fi led in each case initiated in the court. 

Volumes correspond to particular years or court terms. Within each vol-
10 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

ume, cases are presented alphabetically or by case number. Each entry 

includes the case name and number, the names of the parties and their 

attorneys, abstracts of motions and orders, a record of fees charged and 

collected, the actions of U.S. marshals, and a statement of the court’s 

disposition of the case. Jurisdictionally specifi c dockets may be stored 

with a court’s general records, but those dockets are usually kept with 

the court’s case records for the particular type of jurisdiction.

 The general records of a court often include other volumes that document the proceedings of the court. Order, judgment, and decree books 

contain the text of each court’s orders or judgments, as well as a record 

of the amount of monetary judgments, if any, in each case. Some order 

books contain the same information as minute books, and on rare occasions include verbatim transcripts of court proceedings. Final record 

books contain transcripts of papers submitted to and issued by the court 

in cases that were subsequently appealed.

 The general records of a court may also include miscellaneous court 

papers, including caseload statistics kept by the court, rules, summonses, writs, lists of witnesses, miscellaneous or unidentifi ed case papers, 

indexes to dockets or case fi les, affi davits, executions, copies of opinions, instructions to juries, bonds, judges’ trial notes, rolls of attorneys, 

calendars, recognizances, and general correspondence.

 Because the records within RG 21 refl ect the individual fi ling system implemented by each court’s clerks, some of the records fi led under 

“General Records” in one court may be maintained with the case fi les or 

the clerks’ records in another court.

D. Administrative Records of the Clerk of Court

Although the Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized each district court to appoint a clerk to serve both the district and circuit courts of the district, 

the clerks generally maintained separate sets of records for the district 

and circuit courts. In 1839, Congress authorized the circuit courts to 

appoint their own clerks, but most circuit courts did not do so for several decades, and a few never did. In such cases, the clerk of the district 

court continued to serve as the clerk of the circuit court. The records of 

the clerks are generally included with the records of the district or circuit courts in which they served. Where a clerk served both the district 

and circuit courts of a district, the clerk’s records for both courts may be 

fi led with the records of the district court, but those records usually are 

maintained separately.
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 11

 In addition to maintaining and preserving the records of the courts, 

clerks may have also performed administrative duties, including collecting fees from litigants, preparing the court’s budget and managing its operating expenses, administering the jury system, recording the names of 

attorneys admitted to the bar, assigning cases and courtrooms to judges, 

and making the courts’ rules of practice and procedure available to the 

public. On several occasions, Congress has also authorized the clerks to 

perform various other tasks, such as taking testimony or depositions in 

certain types of cases, preserving census returns and copyright materials, and transmitting naturalization papers to the Secretary of State.

 The administrative records of a court help to outline both the individual responsibilities of the clerk and the larger workings of the court. 

Cash and fee books, ledgers, records of deposits to the U.S. Treasury, 

registries of funds, clerks’ and marshals’ account books, accounts of expenditures, reports to the commissioner of internal revenue, bills, receipts, and other accounting records all detail the fi nancial operations 

of the courts. Other records relate to the daily functions of the court, 

including subpoenas, rules and procedures of the court, drafts of offi cial 

forms, memorandum books, administrative orders, and reference calendars. Clerks also maintained docket and process books, including some 

kept specifi cally for the clerk or judge, as well as others that detailed the 

verdicts of the court or the actions and responsibilities of the marshal.

 The clerks kept detailed records related to persons who worked or 

practiced in the court, including letters of appointment and lists of appointees, oaths of offi ce for court employees, Civil War loyalty oaths for 

attorneys, rolls of attorneys admitted to practice, and bonds posted by 

court offi cers to secure the performance of their duties. Records related 

to witnesses and juries—including witnesses’ affi davits and certifi cates 

of attendance, discharges of witnesses, jury attendance lists, grand jury 

reports, orders dismissing jurors, and jury books—are also kept among 

the clerks’ papers. Other assorted papers, such as copyright registers, 

census schedules, deed books for forfeited lands, amnesty oaths for former Confederates, and the claims of election supervisors, may also be 

found among the papers of a clerk.

 The administrative records of a court often include the offi cial correspondence of the clerk and deputy clerks. During the nineteenth century, clerks frequently shared offi ce space with the U.S. attorneys and 

marshals. For that reason, the offi cial correspondence of the marshals 

and U.S. attorneys will occasionally be found among the records of a 
12 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

clerk. On rare occasions, the records of a clerk will also include the personal papers of the clerk or other court offi cials.

E. U.S. District Courts: Case Records

The case records of the U.S. district courts are arranged into series according to the various types of jurisdiction exercised by the courts. Each 

district court series of case records contains case fi les and other jurisdictionally specifi c materials, including dockets, order and judgment 

books, and other documents related to that aspect of the courts’ business. Case fi les contain the original papers submitted by the parties as 

well as other documents issued by the courts in those proceedings. The 

case fi les may also contain transcripts of testimony or exhibits introduced at trial, although the parties usually retained exhibits. Case fi les 

are arranged either chronologically by date of fi ling, numerically by case 

number, or in some cases, both chronologically and by case number. 

Case names and numbers can be found in docket books and related indexes. Within each case fi le, records may be organized in loose chronological fashion, by type of proceeding or document, or by some other 

method. Researchers can often trace the proceedings and outcome of a 

specifi c case either through entries in a docket book or by the endorsements made on a case fi le’s outer jacket.

 Each of the following subsections describes different types of case 

records that were generated by the U.S. district courts. While the organization of case materials varied from court to court, the following 

jurisdictional categories generally describe the ways that most clerks 

maintained district court records. The clerks’ organizational systems 

have been largely preserved in Record Group 21 at the various regional 

branches of the National Archives.

1. Law, Equity, and Civil Records

Article III of the Constitution extends the judicial power of the federal 

courts “to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall 

be made, under their Authority,” although the Eleventh Amendment 

(1795) excludes from this jurisdiction suits against a state by noncitizens of that state. In the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress gave the U.S. 

district courts jurisdiction, concurrent with the U.S. circuit courts and 

state courts, over suits at common law that were brought by the United 

States and in which the matter in dispute was between $100 and $500. 
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 13

The act gave the district courts exclusive original jurisdiction in “all suits 

against consuls or vice-consuls” except those involving crimes. The majority of nineteenth century law cases brought in the district courts were 

suits initiated by the United States to recover debts owed to the federal 

government. With the abolition of the circuit courts in 1911, the district 

courts’ law docket expanded to include diversity cases as well as those 

raising federal questions.

 In equity cases, Congress only granted the district courts authority 

to grant temporary injunctions when the circuit court was not available. 

Congress enacted several statutes in the nineteenth century permitting 

district judges to convene equity proceedings in certain types of bankruptcy and tax cases, but the district courts did not acquire full equity 

jurisdiction until the abolition of the circuit courts in 1911. Equity cases, which the Judiciary Act of 1789 defi ned as suits in which it was not 

possible for a “plain, adequate and complete remedy [to] be had at law,” 

included patent and trademark infringements, copyright violations, the 

fraudulent conveyance of real or personal property, libel, defamation, 

fraudulent misrepresentation, and the threatened breach of a contract. 

 The district courts conducted both law and equity proceedings from 

1912 until 1938, at which time the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure abolished the distinction between law and equity pleading in the federal 

courts, thereby consolidating what had been two separate dockets into 

one “civil” docket. In 1966, admiralty cases were also transferred to the 

district courts’ civil dockets.

 “Law Records,” which are made up of civil cases seeking a remedy 

under either a federal statute or the common law, included records from 

suits brought by the United States to recover fi nes and other debts, actions arising from violations of customs and internal revenue laws, cases 

involving fugitive slaves, suits for trespass, real estate disputes, infringements of patents, conspiracies in restraint of trade, and damages for assault and battery. “Law Records” often include docket books and “rough” 

dockets, execution registers, writs, rule books, order books, fi nal record 

books, indexes, and case fi les. Law case fi les include complaints and 

declarations, narratives of debt, defendants’ answers, demurrers and rejoinders, summonses, affi davits, depositions, exhibits (which may include charts, maps, and fi gures), court orders, records related to the 

summoning of juries, judges’ charges to juries, verdicts, judicial opinions, agreements between parties, warrants, subpoenas, writs, bonds, 

petitions for remission of fi nes, and reports of court costs. Some collections of “Law Records” also include subsets related to specifi c types of 
14 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

law cases, including Civil War claims, suits brought by election supervisors (also sometimes maintained as their own set of records, described 

below), National Bank Compromise cases during the Great Depression, 

cases regarding debts on bonds, and forfeiture and internal revenue cases (also sometimes maintained as their own set of records).

 “Equity Records” (sometimes called “Chancery Records”) consist of 

case fi les, minutes, dockets, order books, and miscellaneous records, 

such as records from ancillary bankruptcy proceedings and stenographer’s minutes. Equity case fi les contain bills of complaint (sometimes 

called bills in equity or bills in chancery), defendants’ answers and pleas 

for dismissal, summonses, pleas to jurisdiction, exhibits, briefs, depositions, lists of interrogatories, transcripts of testimony, subpoenas and 

attachments, affi davits, court orders and decrees, injunctions, and other 

miscellaneous papers. Exhibits in equity case fi les include letters of patent, contracts, fi nancial and accounting records, receipts, meeting minutes, and motion pictures

 As with other records in RG 21, district court law and equity records 

are organized according to the fi ling system of each court’s respective 

clerk. Unlike other court records, however, there is more variety in the 

ways that law and equity records were maintained. Until 1938, most 

district courts maintained their “Law Records” and “Equity Records” on 

separate dockets. Other courts docketed their law and equity records 

together. In some districts, pre-1912 district court equity proceedings 

were included with the circuit court’s equity records. Since 1938, most 

district courts, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 

have fi led all of their civil litigation in one civil docket, although several 

district courts continued to number law and equity cases separately. Researchers will need to consult the National Archives’ preliminary inventory for the records of each judicial district to determine how the records 

are organized. Post-1938 civil records contain the same types of materials as the pre-1938 law and equity records. 

2. Criminal Records

The Judiciary Act of 1789 limited the criminal jurisdiction of the district 

courts to cases involving minor offenses against the United States. The 

act gave circuit courts jurisdiction over all other federal crimes, as well 

as concurrent jurisdiction with the district courts over the lesser ones. In 

1842, Congress granted the district courts jurisdiction concurrent with 

the U.S. circuit courts over all noncapital crimes. With the abolition of 
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 15

the circuit courts, effective January 1, 1912, the district courts acquired 

exclusive original jurisdiction of all federal crimes.

 Criminal case fi les contain the full range of documents used in the 

prosecution and defense of those tried for crimes in the federal courts, 

including indictments, pleas of defendants, nolle prosequis, recognizances, subpoenas, depositions, transcripts of testimony, warrants, 

briefs, applications for extradition, petitions for writs of habeas corpus, 

jury verdicts, sentences, lists of jurors, attachments for contempt, transcripts from dockets, petitions for the mercy of the court, motions to 

quash indictments, and papers related to witness fees. Researchers can 

often trace the proceedings and outcome of a case through the endorsements made throughout the case fi le or on the fi le’s outer jacket. Case 

fi les vary in size and content, with some early ones containing so little 

documentation that it is impossible to determine what charges had been 

brought against the defendant.

 Criminal case fi les are usually organized by session and then by case 

number (although some early case fi les are organized alphabetically). 

Docket and minute books offer supplementary information, including 

records of papers fi led, information about who was present at various 

proceedings, and the outcomes of cases. The criminal records of some 

district courts also contain separate collections of order books, bail 

bonds, abstracts of cases fi les, name indexes, records and indexes of verdicts and sentences, and compilations of indictments and informations.

3. Habeas Corpus Records

The Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized the district courts, circuit courts, 

and the Supreme Court to issue writs of habeas corpus to inquire into 

the reasons for confi nement of petitioners held under federal authority. 

A writ of habeas corpus, Latin for “you have the body,” ordered a detaining offi cer to bring the petitioner before the court, where a judge would 

determine whether the detention was lawful. Congress expanded the 

scope of the federal judiciary’s habeas jurisdiction in 1833 to include 

cases involving persons who were being sued, prosecuted, or imprisoned for acting in accordance with U.S. law; in 1842 to cases involving 

foreign citizens who had been arrested by state or federal offi cials for 

actions carried out under the authority of their home government; and 

in 1867 to persons who had been denied their federal constitutional 

rights within a state court system. In a few instances—most notably the 

Civil War-era habeas acts (1863 and 1866) and the “McCardle repealer” 
16 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

(1869)—Congress temporarily limited the federal judiciary’s habeas jurisdiction.

 Case fi les, which vary widely in their content, may include petitions 

for writs, transcripts of hearings on those petitions, affi davits, subpoenas, writs of habeas corpus, respondents’ returns, recognizances, orders 

of discharge, testimony, judges’ opinions, requests for appeal, correspondence, and related papers. Case fi les are usually arranged in chronological order by date of petition or alphabetically by name of petitioner. Habeas dockets record the date and title of papers fi led in habeas cases, the 

names of petitioners and their attorneys, and other information relating 

to the proceedings. Most district courts maintained habeas records as a 

distinct series within the records of the court, although habeas papers 

may also be found among a court’s criminal case fi les.

4. Bankruptcy Records

a. Historical Note

Article I of the Constitution authorizes Congress to establish “uniform 

Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States.” In 

the nineteenth century, Congress adopted four major pieces of bankruptcy legislation, each giving original jurisdiction in bankruptcy cases 

primarily to the U.S. district courts. The fi rst four bankruptcy laws—adopted in 1800, 1841, 1867, and 1898—were enacted following major 

fi nancial crises, and all but the last was a temporary emergency measure. 

Thus, until 1898 the federal courts exercised bankruptcy jurisdiction 

for only short periods of time. The 1898 act remained on the books until 1978, when Congress overhauled the federal bankruptcy system by 

authorizing the appointment of bankruptcy judges within each federal 

judicial district.

 The Bankruptcy Act of 1800 provided only for the involuntary 

bankruptcy of merchants. Under the Act, debts were discharged by 

commissioners of bankruptcy (initially appointed by the district judges, 

but changed to presidential appointment in April 1802) and assignees 

selected by the creditors. The 1800 Act gave limited jurisdiction to the 

circuit courts, allowing the creditors or the bankrupt’s assignees to request a jury trial in the circuit court of the judicial district in which the 

debtor resided, but this jurisdiction was transferred to the district courts 

in 1802. Although the act of 1800 was set to expire in 1805, Congress 

repealed it in December 1803 because of dissatisfaction with the limited 
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 17

nature of the law, as well as corruption and excessive expenses involved 

in the proceedings.

 Following the Panic of 1837, Congress in 1841 enacted a new bankruptcy law that permitted all debtors to fi le for voluntary bankruptcy. 

The act also authorized creditors to seek the involuntary bankruptcy 

of merchants, bankers, and other types of businessmen. Like the act of 

1800, the 1841 law was administered by court-appointed commissioners and assignees, but if creditors blocked the discharge of a debt, the 

debtor could seek relief through a jury trial. Congress repealed the act 

of 1841 in March 1843, just thirteen months after it went into effect, in 

response to the widespread dissatisfaction of both debtors and creditors 

with various provisions of the law.

 In 1867, Congress enacted the third national bankruptcy act, providing for court-appointed registers in bankruptcy to assist the district 

courts in administering bankruptcy cases and to make adjudications in 

uncontested cases. The act, which was intended to balance the interests of both debtors and creditors, allowed for both voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy fi lings for persons and corporations, but it grew 

increasingly unpopular because of the high court fees it allowed, and 

Congress repealed the act in 1878.

 In 1898, Congress made all persons (both natural and artifi cial) 

eligible for involuntary bankruptcy except for wage earners, farmers, 

unincorporated companies, national banks, state-chartered banks, and 

a few types of corporations. Any natural born person could also fi le for 

voluntary bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Act of 1898 created the offi ce of 

“referee in bankruptcy.” In the absence of a district judge, referees were 

authorized to exercise most of the powers of a court of bankruptcy, although a referee’s decision was subject to review by a district judge.

 The act of 1898 was superseded by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 

1978, which established separate courts of bankruptcy within each judicial district as adjuncts of the district courts. The 1978 act also created 

the offi ce of U.S. bankruptcy judge. Incumbent referees became the fi rst 

bankruptcy judges, and subsequent judges were to be appointed by the 

President. Since 1984, however, bankruptcy judges have been appointed by the courts of appeals. Bankruptcy jurisdiction still rests with the 

district courts, but the courts refer bankruptcy cases to the bankruptcy 

judges of their respective districts. The decisions of a bankruptcy judge 

may be reviewed by a district judge.
18 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

b. Records

The records of bankruptcy proceedings in the district courts are organized by the statutes under which the proceedings were initiated. Recent 

records may still be in the possession of the appropriate clerk of court 

or at a federal records center pending transfer to one of NARA’s regional 

branches. Unless sealed, such records are available to the public.

 Case fi les typically contain petitions of bankruptcy fi led by creditors or debtors, schedules of bankrupts’ assets and debts, receipts for 

the publication of bankruptcy notices, warrants for the seizure of bankrupts’ property, the names and addresses of creditors, notices to creditors, proofs of debt, creditors’ bonds and affi davits, summonses, depositions, transcripts of testimony or proceedings, correspondence, court 

orders, and records from the sale of bankrupts’ property. Depending on 

the act under which a bankruptcy proceeding was initiated, case fi les 

may also include schedules of secured and unsecured creditors, transcripts of commissioners’ meetings, and the reports of commissioners 

and referees. Within each grouping by statutory authority, bankruptcy 

case fi les may be arranged numerically by case number or alphabetically 

by name of petitioner.

 In addition to case fi les, bankruptcy records also often include commissioners’ commissions, calendars, bonds, certifi cates of discharge, reports, decrees, bills, receipts for dividends, ledgers, minutes, orders and 

order books, registers of petitions fi led, and docket books. Some courts 

also maintained indexes listing the names of each bankrupt in alphabetical order.

 Recently, the National Archives created a new record group, RG 

578 (Records of the United States Bankruptcy Courts), for the records 

of bankruptcy proceedings conducted under the 1978 act. Several of 

NARA’s regional branches have begun transferring the records of these 

proceedings from Record Group 21 to Record Group 578. Researchers 

interested in post-1978 bankruptcy records will need to consult with an 

archivist at the regional facility to determine whether the needed records 

are in RG 21 or RG 578.

5. Naturalization Records

In 1790, Congress authorized every “common law court of record” in 

the United States to naturalize aliens seeking to become U.S. citizens. 

U.S. district judges shared the responsibility with U.S. circuit judges, as 

well as with state and local magistrates, to examine naturalization peti-
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 19

tions and issue orders granting or denying citizenship applications. The 

district courts’ duties in naturalization proceedings lasted until 1990, 

when Congress conferred sole naturalization authority upon the Attorney General; district judges, however, continue to preside over naturalization ceremonies for newly admitted citizens.

 The naturalization records within the district court records of RG 

21 include declarations of intention to become a citizen, petitions for 

naturalization, and copies of certifi cates of citizenship (or stubs from 

certifi cates). These documents, which are grouped together and organized by petition number, contain personal information about the applicant, renunciation of allegiance to any foreign state or power, and the 

court’s order granting or denying the petition. The records of particular 

applicants can be located using alphabetically arranged indexes to naturalization records that are available onsite at the regional branches of 

the National Archives, as well as in various historical and genealogical 

publications.

 Record Group 21 contains other records produced as a result of the 

district courts’ naturalization work, including minutes containing the 

names of aliens taking the oath of allegiance, receipt books, copies of 

preliminary forms, court orders, petitions for transfer of jurisdiction, 

circulars from other government agencies instructing clerks of court in 

naturalization procedures, registries of aliens, correspondence, monthly 

reports from the clerks of court to the Immigration and Naturalization 

Service (INS), and some miscellaneous papers. In the early twentieth 

century, district courts began taking depositions from witnesses in support of an applicant’s petition for citizenship. These depositions, as well 

as lists of interrogatories, are often found among a district court’s naturalization papers. Record Group 21 also includes some case fi les from 

instances when the INS contested an alien’s petition for citizenship. Naturalization case fi les include court orders, depositions, exhibits, fi ndings 

of facts, conclusions of law, the recommendations of naturalization examiners, and declarations by petitioners. In a few rare instances, verbatim transcripts of court hearings have also been preserved in the records.

 Some district courts kept separate fi les of notices of application for 

admission to citizenship, military petitions, women’s petitions for repatriation after their foreign husband had died, applications for naturalization that had been refused by the court, petitions fi led by U.S. attorneys 

to annul certifi cates of naturalization of immigrants who did not comply 

with federal naturalization laws, and various lists and court orders.
20 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 Prior to the Naturalization Act of 1906, each court used its own 

set of forms and procedures for the naturalization of aliens. Congress’s 

creation of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (and in 1933, 

the INS) brought uniformity to the naturalization process by authorizing federal offi cials in Washington to revise and distribute naturalization 

forms. The courts continued to naturalize aliens, but they no longer 

used their own forms. The 1906 act also ordered the courts to forward 

all forms dated after September 26, 1906, to the newly established bureau and to keep duplicates of all paperwork for their own records.

 Records related to naturalization will also be found in Record Group 

85, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is 

held at the National Archives’ various regional facilities. The naturalization records of some state and local courts are also included in RG 21 

and RG 85.

6. Admiralty Records

Article III of the Constitution vests the federal courts with jurisdiction in 

all admiralty and maritime cases, and the Judiciary Act of 1789 granted 

the U.S. district courts exclusive original jurisdiction in such cases. Congress never defi ned the precise scope of the courts’ admiralty jurisdiction, but the Supreme Court held in a series of nineteenth century decisions that the federal admiralty jurisdiction extended beyond the high 

seas to include the nation’s publicly navigable rivers, bays, lakes, and canals. From 1789 until 1966, admiralty cases were governed by separate 

rules of procedure and were documented in a separate docket. In 1966, 

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were revised so that admiralty cases 

became part of the federal courts’ civil docket (see above).

 Admiralty proceedings could be in rem, meaning against “a thing,” 

such as a ship or other property, or in personam, meaning against “an 

individual.” Some admiralty suits involved the federal government, such 

as cases that arose from seizures for violations of customs laws or embargoes, or for illegal involvement in the slave trade. Other cases were 

brought between private parties, including suits to recover and establish 

title to ships, or actions involving prizes, ransom, and salvage. Admiralty 

dockets also contained a variety of maritime contract and tort cases, 

including suits involving seamen’s wages, towage, stowage, wharfage, 

marine insurance, collisions, breach of contract, and injuries to persons 

and property sustained on any of the nation’s navigable waters.

 Admiralty case fi les include libels and informations (the instruments 

used to commence an action in admiralty), briefs, answers, subpoenas, 
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 21

interrogatories, correspondence regarding claims, summonses, attachments for condemnation of ships or property, agreements between parties to enter stipulations, defendants’ answers to charges, rules of the 

court, court orders and decrees, bills, depositions and transcripts of oral 

testimony, reports of commissioners, petitions for remission of forfeited 

goods, and opinions of the court. Case fi les may also include exhibits, 

such as logbooks, crew lists, cargo manifests, citations, and arrest warrants. Related admiralty records include dockets, order books, surveys 

of ships and cargoes damaged on the high seas, marshals’ vessel sale 

books, logs and registers relating to captured prize vessels, stipulations 

for costs and value, and bonds for costs on appeal.

a. Prize Case Records

In several statutes adopted subsequent to the Judiciary Act of 1789, 

Congress confi rmed that the district courts’ admiralty jurisdiction included prize cases. From the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries, 

governments at war often issued letters of marque, authorizing private 

ships to capture enemy vessels or merchant ships trading with the enemy. In the United States, the privateer would bring the captured ship, 

or “prize,” to a federal district court, where a district judge would determine if the vessel had been a belligerent or involved in trade with the 

enemy. The court would condemn and order the sale of legally captured 

ships, with the proceeds given to the captor. If the vessel was found to 

have been neutral, however, the court would order the return of the 

ship and its cargo to its former owner. Prize decisions could be appealed 

to the circuit court and ultimately to the Supreme Court of the United 

States.

 Records relating to prize cases, most of which arose during the War 

of 1812 and the Civil War, may be included within a court’s admiralty 

records but are often maintained separately. Prize court records generally consist of (1) records generated by the courts and government offi cials in the process of determining the fate of each captured vessel and 

(2) documents seized on captured ships.

 Prize records include docket books, depositions, motions, orders, 

decrees, briefs, notes for oral arguments, libels for condemnation, the reports of the prize commissioners, the prize commissioners’ offi cial correspondence, the U.S. marshals’ accounts, and the opinions of the court. 

In some instances judges requested expert testimony, reports on navigation, or charts to illustrate the circumstances surrounding the capture. 

Claimants in each case also submitted exhibits to prove that a ship either 
22 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

was or was not engaged in lawful trade. Exhibits—including business 

letters, insurance policies, and affi davits—often detail business transactions between ship owners and both foreign and domestic fi rms.

 Soon after being brought into port, a prize was placed into the custody of the U.S. marshal, who would take out insurance policies to protect the ship and its cargo against loss from fi re or other damage. If the 

ship was in disrepair or its cargo was perishable, the marshal would put 

the prize up for auction. The court records document the insurance, 

advertisement, and sale of each prize.

 Prior to the commencement of a prize case, a court-appointed prize 

commissioner prepared a report based on depositions he had taken from 

the captains, passengers, and crew. Each court adopted a series of standard interrogatories to be asked of all persons onboard the vessel in an 

effort to determine the history and status of the ship.

 Documents seized on captured ships became part of the record of 

the court in prize cases. These include the ship’s offi cial papers (a register, enrollment, and license to engage in trade), lists of articles and crew 

lists, clearance papers, bills of health, receipts, invoices, logbooks, manifests, bills of lading, charters, bills, and insurance policies. Some case 

fi les also include the personal letters of the seamen or correspondence 

the ship was transporting for others.

b. Confi scation Records

In July 1862, Congress adopted the Second Confi scation Act, permitting 

the seizure and condemnation of property owned by persons who were 

engaged in aiding the Confederate war effort. The proceedings would be 

in rem, meaning against “the thing,” and could be initiated in any U.S. 

district court where the property was located or brought. Such property 

would be condemned and sold, with the proceeds deposited in the U.S. 

Treasury.

 Confi scation records are usually maintained as a distinct series within the records of a district court, although they are sometimes grouped 

with other types of cases. Some courts docketed confi scation cases with 

prize cases, most likely because confi scation proceedings were patterned 

after admiralty proceedings, and also because prize and confi scation 

cases both involved the seizure of private property. Other courts fi led 

confi scation cases with treason cases, most likely because the Second 

Confi scation Act also provided for criminal proceedings against accused 

traitors.
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 23

 Confi scation case fi les include documents related to the ownership 

and seizure of the property, including orders of seizure, libels, decrees, 

petitions, advertisements for public sale and proofs of public notice, inventories of property seized, correspondence, and records from the sale. 

In addition to case fi les, a district court’s confi scation records may include docket books, minutes, orders of seizure, trial records, and judgment dockets.

7. Records of the U.S. Commissioners

Throughout most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, commissioners assisted federal judges in the local enforcement of federal law. In 

1793, Congress authorized judges of the U.S. circuit courts to appoint 

“discreet persons learned in the law” to take bail in federal criminal proceedings. In 1812, Congress expanded this authority to include the taking of affi davits and bail in civil cases. An Act of 1817 referred to these 

offi cers as “commissioners” and also gave them the authority to take 

depositions of witnesses for use in civil cases. In 1842, Congress granted 

commissioners further authority to arrest, imprison, and release on bail 

any persons accused of committing a federal crime.

 Over the remainder of the nineteenth century, Congress periodically 

expanded the powers of commissioners to aid in the enforcement of specifi c federal laws. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 granted commissioners jurisdiction concurrent with that of federal judges to authorize the 

apprehension and trial of runaway slaves. The Civil Rights Act of 1866, 

which extended citizenship to former slaves, authorized commissioners 

to make arrests and institute proceedings against those who violated the 

constitutional rights of former slaves. And the Chinese Exclusion Acts 

of the 1880s gave commissioners the same authority as judges to order 

the removal of Chinese immigrants who were unlawfully in the United 

States.

 In 1896, Congress established the formal offi ce of U.S. commissioner and transferred the authority to appoint commissioners from 

the circuit courts to the judges of the district courts. In 1968, Congress 

replaced the offi ce of U.S. commissioner with that of U.S. magistrate 

(changed to magistrate judge in 1990). In addition to creating the new 

title, the Federal Magistrates Act of 1968 also expanded the magistrates’ 

authority to conduct misdemeanor trials with the consent of the defendants, to serve as special masters in civil actions, and to assist district 

judges in pretrial and discovery proceedings as well as appeals for posttrial relief. The 1968 act authorized a majority of district judges on any 
24 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

court to assign to magistrates “additional duties as are not inconsistent 

with the Constitution and laws of the United States.”

 The records of the U.S. commissioners are included with the records 

of the district court for the district they served. Commissioners’ records 

consist primarily of criminal return dockets and the record of proceedings in criminal cases. Arranged chronologically within bound volumes, 

these records show the charges against defendants, the dates on which 

warrants and subpoenas were issued and returned, pleas entered, bonds 

posted, the names of witnesses and the dates they appeared before the 

commissioner, dates of imprisonment, rulings of the commissioner, and 

the commissioner’s fees for hearing each case (commissioners remained 

on a fee system until 1968).

 Additional records of the U.S. commissioners include other types of 

docket books, costs books, minutes of testimony taken, bail registers, depositions, recognizances, arrest warrants, orders, fee books, transcripts 

of proceedings in extradition cases, records of habeas corpus proceedings in cases involving Chinese aliens subject to deportation, vouchers, 

claims for fees, accounts, case fi les of cases that did not go to grand juries, lists of cases, affi davits, petitions, and proofs in fugitive slave cases. 

Some records from magistrates and magistrate judges, including order 

books and records of proceedings, continue to be accessioned with the 

records of the U.S. commissioners.

8. Fugitive Slave Records

In 1793, Congress empowered slave owners, or their agents and attorneys, to seize runaway slaves and bring them before a U.S. district or 

circuit judge (or a county or city magistrate) to determine whether the 

fugitive was the legal property of the claimant. If the judge determined 

that the captive was the claimant’s slave, the court issued a certifi cate of 

ownership, authorizing the slaveholder to transport the slave back to the 

state or territory from which the slave had fl ed.

 As one component of the Compromise of 1850, Congress enacted a 

new Fugitive Slave Act that conferred upon federal judges and commissioners the authority to issue warrants for the arrest of fugitive slaves, 

to conduct summary hearings for the purpose of determining the legal 

status of persons arrested under the act, and to issue certifi cates of ownership to successful claimants. The act permitted claimants to establish 

ownership by affi davit or deposition, but it forbade alleged fugitives 

from testifying on their own behalf. In addition, the statute made interfering with the enforcement of the act a crime cognizable in the U.S. 
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 25

district courts, and it provided for the return of fugitive slaves at government expense if necessary to prevent rescue attempts. Congress repealed 

both fugitive slave laws on June 28, 1864.

 Pre-1850 fugitive slave cases are usually found among a district 

court’s Law Records (see above). Post-1850 records from fugitive slave 

cases are generally maintained as a distinct group within the records of a 

district court, although they are sometimes held within the records of a 

court’s commissioners. Fugitive slave case fi les are arranged numerically 

(which is usually also by date fi led) and contain affi davits and depositions submitted by claimants, warrants for the arrest of fugitive slaves, 

records of hearings to establish ownership, and accounts of expenses 

incurred by marshals in transporting, protecting, housing, feeding, and 

delivering fugitive slaves. Case fi les also often contain documentation 

from the petitioner’s state or local court in support of ownership claims. 

In a few rare instances, case fi les also include transcribed testimony and 

judges’ opinions.

 Some clerks kept bound volumes of petitions fi led under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Arranged numerically by case, these volumes 

include copies of the documents that were fi led in fugitive slave cases, 

including petitions of the alleged slave owners, physical descriptions 

of the fugitive slaves, ownership papers, affi davits, depositions, probate 

records, and court orders.

 Records related to the enforcement of the fugitive slave acts will also 

be found in other federal court records, including the courts’ general 

correspondence fi les and habeas corpus records. District court criminal 

case fi les often include case papers related to the rescue or harboring of 

fugitive slaves.

9. Records Concerning the Supervision of Elections

As part of its effort to protect voting rights in federal elections after the 

Civil War, Congress in 1871 enacted a statute requiring circuit judges, 

upon receipt of a written request, to appoint election supervisors to 

oversee the registration of voters and to monitor elections. The vast majority of election supervisors were appointed in southern states, where 

intimidation and voting irregularities were most prevalent. The statute 

was repealed in 1894.

 The records of several U.S. district courts include a series of case 

fi les related to suits brought by election supervisors; some of these suits 

have to do with supervisors seeking compensation for their services. A 

limited number of case fi les may also be found among a district court’s 
26 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

Law Records (discussed above). Most of the records in RG 21 related to 

election supervisors, however, are maintained with the case records of 

the U.S. circuit courts (see below).

F. U.S. Circuit Courts: Case Records

The case records of the U.S. circuit courts are organized into series according to the types of jurisdiction exercised by the courts. Each subset 

of case records contains case fi les and other jurisdictionally specifi c materials, including dockets, order and judgment books, and other documents related to that aspect of the courts’ business. Case fi les contain 

the original papers submitted by the parties as well as other documents 

issued by the courts in those proceedings. Case fi les may also contain 

transcripts of testimony or exhibits introduced at trial, although the parties usually retained exhibits. Case fi les are arranged either chronologically by date of fi ling, numerically by case number, or in some cases, 

both chronologically and by case number. Case names and numbers can 

be found in docket books and related indexes. Within each case fi le, 

records may be organized in loose chronological fashion, by type of proceeding or document, or by some other method. Researchers can often 

trace the proceedings and outcome of a case either through entries in a 

docket book or by the endorsements made on a case fi le’s outer jacket.

 Each of the following subsections describes the different types of 

original and appellate jurisdiction case records that were generated by 

the U.S. circuit courts. While the organization of case materials varied 

from court to court, the following jurisdictional categories generally describe the ways that most clerks maintained circuit court records. As 

noted earlier, the clerks’ organizational schemes have been largely preserved in Record Group 21 at the various regional branches of the National Archives.

1. Equity and Law Records

Article III of the Constitution extends the judicial power of the federal 

courts “to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, 

the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be 

made, under their Authority,” although the Eleventh Amendment (1795) 

excludes from this jurisdiction suits against a state by noncitizens of that 

state. In the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress gave circuit courts jurisdiction concurrent with state courts over common law and equity suits 

when the matter in dispute was valued at greater than $500 and the 
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 27

suit was brought by the United States, an alien, or a citizen of a state 

other than the one in which the suit was brought. The act of 1789 also 

granted circuit courts jurisdiction, concurrent with the district courts 

and the state courts, over suits at common law brought by the United 

States when the matter in dispute was valued at $100 to $500. “Law Records,” which are made up of civil cases seeking a remedy under either a 

federal statute or the common law, included suits brought by the United 

States to recover fi nes and other debts, actions arising from violations of 

customs and internal revenue laws, cases involving fugitive slaves, trespasses, suits involving real estate disputes, infringements of patents, and 

conspiracies in restraint of trade. “Law Records” often include docket 

books and “rough” dockets, execution registers, writs, rule books, order 

books, fi nal record books, indexes, and case fi les. Law case fi les include 

complaints and declarations, narratives of debt, defendants’ answers, 

demurrers and rejoinders, summonses, affi davits, depositions, exhibits 

(which may include charts, maps, and fi gures), court orders, records 

related to the summoning of juries, judges’ charges to juries, verdicts, judicial opinions, agreements between parties, warrants, subpoenas, writs, 

bonds, petitions for remission of fi nes, and reports of court costs. Some 

collections of “Law Records” also include subsets related to specifi c types 

of law cases, such as Civil War claims, suits brought by election supervisors (also sometimes maintained as their own set of records, described 

below), cases regarding debts on bonds, and internal revenue cases (also 

sometimes maintained as their own set of records).

 Equity cases, which the Judiciary Act of 1789 defi ned as suits in 

which it was not possible for a “plain, adequate and complete remedy 

[to] be had at law,” included patent and trademark infringements, copyright violations, the fraudulent conveyance of real or personal property, libel, defamation, fraudulent misrepresentation, and the threatened 

breach of a contract. “Equity Records” (sometimes called “Chancery Records”) consist of case fi les, minutes, dockets, order books, and other 

miscellaneous records, such as records from ancillary bankruptcy proceedings and stenographer’s minutes. Equity case fi les contain bills of 

complaint (sometimes called bills in equity or bills in chancery), defendants’ answers and pleas for dismissal, summonses, pleas to jurisdiction, 

exhibits, briefs, depositions, lists of interrogatories, transcripts of testimony, subpoenas and attachments, affi davits, court orders and decrees, 

injunctions, and other miscellaneous papers. Exhibits in equity case fi les 

include letters of patent, contracts, fi nancial and accounting records, 

receipts, meeting minutes, and motion pictures.
28 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 As with other records in RG 21, circuit court “law” and “equity” 

records are organized according to the fi ling system of each court’s respective clerk. Unlike other types of case records, however, there is more 

variety in the ways that law and equity records were maintained. In 

most districts, the circuit courts’ “Law Records” and “Equity Records” 

were maintained as distinct sets of records. Other courts docketed their 

law and equity records together. In several districts, the circuit court’s 

law records were maintained with the circuit court’s appellate records 

(to be discussed below). Researchers will need to consult the National 

Archives’ inventory for the records of each judicial district to determine 

how the records are organized.

2. Criminal Records

The Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the U.S. circuit courts original jurisdiction over all federal crimes (this jurisdiction was concurrent with the 

district courts in cases involving lesser federal offenses). From 1879 until the establishment of the circuit courts of appeals in 1891, the circuit 

courts also heard appeals from the district courts in criminal cases in 

which the sentence was imprisonment or a fi ne of more than $300. 

(With the abolition of the circuit courts, effective January 1, 1912, the 

district courts acquired exclusive original jurisdiction in all federal criminal cases.)

 Criminal case fi les contain the full range of documents used in the 

prosecution and defense of those tried for crimes in the federal courts, 

including indictments, pleas of defendants, nolle prosequis, recognizances, subpoenas, depositions, transcripts of testimony, warrants, 

briefs, applications for extradition, petitions for writs of habeas corpus, 

jury verdicts, sentences, lists of jurors, attachments for contempt, transcripts from dockets, petitions for the mercy of the court, motions to 

quash indictments, presidential pardons, and witness fees. Researchers 

can often trace the proceedings and outcome of a case through the endorsements made throughout the case fi le or on the fi le’s outer jacket. 

Case fi les vary in size and content, with some early ones containing so 

little documentation that it is impossible to know what charges had been 

brought against the defendant.

 Criminal case fi les are usually organized by session and then by case 

number (although some early case fi les are organized alphabetically). 

Dockets, minutes, and fi nal record books offer supplementary information, including records of papers fi led, information about who was present at various proceedings, and the outcomes of cases.
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 29

 Records of appeals in criminal cases from the district to the circuit 

courts are grouped with the circuit courts’ appellate records, which are 

described below.

3. Habeas Corpus Records

The Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized the district courts, circuit courts, 

and the Supreme Court to issue writs of habeas corpus to inquire into 

the reasons for confi nement of petitioners held under federal authority. 

A writ of habeas corpus, Latin for “you have the body,” ordered a detaining offi cer to bring the petitioner before the court, where a judge would 

determine whether the detention was lawful. Congress expanded the 

scope of the federal judiciary’s habeas jurisdiction in 1833 to include 

cases involving persons who were being sued, prosecuted, or imprisoned for acting in accordance with U.S. law; in 1842, to cases involving 

foreign citizens who had been arrested by state or federal offi cials for 

actions carried out under the authority of their home government; and 

in 1867, to persons who had been denied their federal constitutional 

rights within the state court systems. In a few instances—most notably the Civil War-era habeas acts (1863 and 1866) and the “McCardle 

repealer” (1869)—Congress temporarily limited the federal judiciary’s 

habeas jurisdiction.

 Case fi les, which vary widely in their content, may include petitions 

for writs, transcripts of hearings on those petitions, affi davits, subpoenas, writs of habeas corpus, respondents’ returns, recognizances, orders 

of discharge, testimony, judges’ opinions, requests for appeal, and related papers. Case fi les are arranged in chronological order by date of 

petition, or alphabetically by name of petitioner. Habeas dockets record 

the date and title of papers fi led in habeas cases, the names of petitioners 

and their attorneys, and other information relating to the proceedings. 

Most circuit courts maintained habeas records as a distinct series within 

the records of a court, but habeas papers may also be found among a 

court’s criminal case fi les.

4. Naturalization Records

In 1790, Congress authorized every “common law court of record” in 

the United States to naturalize aliens seeking to become U.S. citizens. 

U.S. circuit judges shared the responsibility with U.S. district judges, as 

well as with state and local magistrates, to examine naturalization petitions and issue orders granting or denying citizenship applications. The 
30 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

circuit courts performed these duties until those courts were abolished 

as of January 1, 1912. Most NARA regional archives maintain naturalization records with the records of the court to which the individual 

applied for citizenship, but some archives have merged naturalization 

records from the district and circuit courts.

 The naturalization records within Record Group 21 include declarations of intention to become a citizen, petitions for naturalization, 

and duplicates or stubs of certifi cates of citizenship. These documents, 

which are grouped together and organized by petition number, contain 

personal information about the applicant, renunciation of allegiance to 

any foreign state or power, and the court’s order granting or denying 

the petition. The records of particular applicants can be located using 

alphabetically arranged indexes to naturalization records that are available onsite at the regional branches of the National Archives, as well as 

in various historical and genealogical publications.

 Record Group 21 contains other records produced as a result of the 

courts’ naturalization work, including minutes that recorded the names 

of aliens taking the oath of allegiance, receipt books, copies of preliminary forms, orders of the court, petitions for transfer of jurisdiction, 

circulars from other government agencies instructing clerks of court 

in naturalization procedures, registries of aliens, correspondence, and 

other miscellaneous papers. In the early twentieth century, the courts 

began taking depositions from witnesses in support of an applicant’s 

petition for citizenship. These depositions, as well as lists of interrogatories, are often found among a circuit court’s naturalization papers. Record Group 21 also includes some case fi les from instances in which the 

United States contested the naturalization of petitioners. Circuit court 

naturalization case fi les include declarations of intention, depositions, 

correspondence, and annotations denoting the outcome of each case.

 Prior to the Naturalization Act of 1906, each court used its own set 

of forms and procedures for the naturalization of aliens. With that Act, 

Congress created the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, which 

brought uniformity to the naturalization process by authorizing federal 

offi cials in Washington to revise and distribute naturalization forms. The 

courts continued to naturalize aliens, but they no longer used their own 

forms. The 1906 act also ordered the courts to forward all forms dated 

after September 26, 1906, to the newly established bureau, and to keep 

duplicates of all paperwork for their own records.

 Records related to naturalization will also be found in Record Group 

85 (Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service), which is 
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 31

held at the National Archives’ various regional facilities. The naturalization records of some state and local courts are also included in RG 21 

and RG 85.

5. Bankruptcy Records

The federal bankruptcy laws of 1800, 1841, 1867, and 1898 gave jurisdiction in bankruptcy proceedings primarily to the U.S. district courts 

(see Chapter 1, section E.4, above). In a few instances, however, these 

acts gave limited jurisdiction to the circuit courts. The act of 1800 allowed creditors or the bankrupt’s assignees to request a jury trial in the 

circuit court of the district in which the debtor resided, although this 

jurisdiction was transferred to the district courts in 1802. It is not likely 

that many, if any, circuit court records survive from cases brought under 

the 1800 act. The bankruptcy acts of 1841 and 1867 also authorized the 

circuit courts to hear certain bankruptcy cases in equity. The records and 

proceedings of these cases are usually maintained with the circuit courts’ 

“Equity Records” (discussed above).

6. Records of the U.S. Commissioners

Although the U.S. commissioners assisted both the district and the circuit courts, and circuit courts appointed commissioners until 1896, the 

commissioners’ records are usually held with the records of the district 

court for the district in which they served. 

7. Fugitive Slave Records

In 1793, Congress empowered slave owners, or their agents and attorneys, to seize runaway slaves and bring them before a U.S. district or 

circuit judge (or a local magistrate) to determine whether the fugitive 

was the legal property of the claimant. If the judge determined that the 

captive was the claimant’s slave, the court issued a certifi cate of ownership, authorizing the slaveholder to transport the slave back to the state 

or territory from which the slave had fl ed.

 As one component of the Compromise of 1850, Congress enacted a 

new Fugitive Slave Act that conferred upon federal judges and commissioners the authority to issue warrants for the arrest of fugitive slaves, 

to conduct summary hearings for the purpose of determining the legal 

status of persons arrested under the act, and to issue certifi cates of ownership to successful claimants. The act permitted claimants to establish 

ownership by affi davit or deposition, but it forbade alleged fugitives 
32 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

from testifying on their own behalf. In addition, the statute made interfering with the enforcement of the act a crime cognizable in the U.S. 

district courts, and it provided for the return of fugitive slaves at government expense if necessary to prevent rescue attempts. Congress repealed 

both fugitive slave laws on June 28, 1864.

 Pre-1850 fugitive slave cases are usually found in a circuit court’s 

“Law Records” (see above). Post-1850 records from fugitive slave cases 

are generally maintained as a distinct group within the records of a circuit 

court, although they are sometimes held within the records of a court’s 

commissioners (which are usually held with the records of the district 

court for that district). Fugitive slave case fi les are arranged numerically 

(which is usually also by date fi led) and contain affi davits and depositions submitted by claimants, warrants for the arrest of fugitive slaves, 

records of hearings to establish ownership, and accounts of expenses 

incurred by marshals in transporting, protecting, housing, feeding, and 

delivering fugitive slaves. Case fi les also often contain documentation 

from the petitioner’s state or local court in support of ownership claims. 

In a few rare instances, case fi les also include transcribed testimony and 

judges’ opinions.

 Some clerks of court kept bound volumes of petitions fi led under 

the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Arranged numerically by case, these volumes include copies of the documents fi led in a fugitive slave case, including petitions of the alleged slave owners, physical descriptions of 

the fugitive slaves, titles, affi davits, depositions, deeds, probate records, 

and court orders.

 Records related to the enforcement of the fugitive slave acts will also 

be found in other federal court records, including the courts’ general 

correspondence fi les and habeas corpus records. Case papers related to 

the rescue or harboring of fugitive slaves are usually found among the 

district courts’ criminal case fi les, not the circuit courts’.

8. Records Concerning the Supervision of Elections

As part of its effort to protect voting rights in federal elections after the 

Civil War, Congress in 1871 enacted a statute requiring circuit judges, 

upon receipt of a written request, to appoint election supervisors to oversee the registration of voters and to monitor elections. In making these 

appointments, circuit judges were to consider the recommendations of 

the chief election supervisors, one of whom was appointed in each judicial district by the circuit courts. The statute was repealed in 1894. The 
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 33

vast majority of election supervisors were appointed in southern states, 

where intimidation and voting irregularities were most prevalent.

 Circuit court records relating to the supervision of elections include 

records related to the appointment of commissioners as well as records 

related to the supervision of specifi c elections. Appointment records include letters of recommendation, minutes of special court sessions convened for the purpose of making appointments, certifi cates of appointment, oaths of service, forms relating to the qualifi cations of election 

supervisors, and fi nancial accounts. Records related to the supervision 

of elections include petitions submitted by citizens, correspondence, 

lists of supervisors, sets of instructions to supervisors, poll books and 

election returns, lists of denied voters, affi davits, transcripts of testimony, and registers of voters. Records related to the supervision of elections 

are usually maintained as their own series of records, although in some 

districts they are held within the records of the clerk of the circuit court.

9. Appellate Records

The Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized the circuit courts to hear appeals 

from the district courts in admiralty cases where the amount in controversy exceeded $300, and in civil suits where the amount in dispute 

exceeded $50. This jurisdiction was expanded in 1803, when Congress 

lowered the monetary threshold for all appeals to $50. The bankruptcy 

acts of 1800, 1841, and 1867 gave the circuit courts appellate jurisdiction in bankruptcy cases, and in 1879 Congress authorized appeals 

from the district to the circuit courts in criminal cases in which the sentence was imprisonment or a fi ne of more than $300. In 1891, Congress 

transferred the circuit courts’ appellate jurisdiction to the newly created 

courts of appeals.

 Appeals from the district courts could be initiated either by a writ 

of appeal or a writ of error. A writ of appeal asked the circuit court 

to review both the law and the facts of the case, while a writ of error 

subjected only the legal issues to examination by the circuit court. Appeals in admiralty were by writ of appeal, while appeals in civil cases 

proceeded by a writ of error. Circuit court appellate records in Record 

Group 21 may appear under several different headings, including “Appellate Jurisdiction Records” and “Error and Appeal Records.”

 Appellate records generally include only dockets and case fi les, although some courts maintained separate collections of bonds, admiralty 

minutes, and other miscellaneous records. Several courts also fi led their 

bankruptcy, admiralty, and civil appeals cases separately.
34 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 Appellate case fi les vary in size and scope depending on the type of 

case. Some case fi les consist of only a copy of the district court’s proceedings, while others include copies of the papers fi led in the case at the district level and copies of the district court’s minute book entries pertaining to the case. Cases that involved the seizure of ships or violation of 

customs laws also often include copies of depositions and ships’ papers 

(as described in the district court case records section of this chapter). 

Finally, case fi les may also contain briefs, writs of error and appeal, bills 

of exception, petitions for reversal or modifi cation of the decrees of the 

district court, orders of the circuit court, assignments of error to rulings 

of the district court, judicial opinions, and Supreme Court mandates in 

cases appealed from the circuit court.

G. Published Decisions 

For the fi rst century of the federal courts, there was no standard procedure for the reporting of lower federal court cases. Most district and 

circuit court decisions went unreported, and those that were reported 

appeared in privately published reports (often called nominative reports 

because they were named for the individuals who compiled and edited 

them) that generally focused on a particular court, judge, or type of 

law (such as admiralty, prize, railroad, bankruptcy, or patent law). Many 

federal court decisions were also printed in newspapers, journals, state 

reporters, and legal digests.

 In the 1890s, the West Publishing Company collected the decisions 

from the nominative reports and published them along with many unreported district and circuit court decisions that the company acquired 

from judges, clerks of court, the Patent Offi ce, newspapers, law journals, 

and other individuals. The resulting 30-volume Federal Cases (St. Paul, 

Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1894–1897), contains more than 20,000 

cases argued and determined in the U.S. district and circuit courts from 

1789 to 1880. In compiling the reports for Federal Cases, West’s editors 

strove to “preserve everything of importance, and no effort has been 

spared to make the reports of these cases full and complete in every 

respect.” A list of the sources they consulted appears in Volume 1 (pp. 

xxxvii–xlvii), and a bibliographic description of each source is included 

in Volume 30 (pp. 1261–84).

 The cases in Federal Cases are arranged alphabetically by title and are 

then numbered consecutively (these numbers do not correspond with 

case numbers that will be found in the original case fi les or docket books 
Chapter 1. Records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts 35

at the National Archives; the numbers are merely intended to allow for 

easy cross-referencing within the 30 volumes of Federal Cases). Because 

some of these cases were originally reported in more than one source, 

with occasional variations in text or inclusion of different supplementary 

materials, the editors of Federal Cases selected what they judged to be 

the “best report of each case.” In most cases, the editors used brackets 

and footnotes to insert additional material that did not appear in the version they had selected for publication.

 In 1880, West began publishing the current decisions of the district 

and circuit courts in the Federal Reporter (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1880–1925 [300 vols.]; second series, 1925–1993 [999 vols.]). 

Like the nominative reports that preceded it, the Federal Reporter was 

published privately rather than by the federal government, but West 

quickly developed a relationship with the district and circuit courts, 

from which it regularly received the courts’ written decisions and stenographers’ reports of oral opinions.

 Over time, the scope of the Federal Reporter was broadened to include 

the decisions of other federal courts. So in 1933, West introduced the 

Federal Supplement (St. Paul Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1933–1998), 

which reported the decisions of the district courts and court of claims. 

The Federal Supplement grew to 999 volumes by 1998, at which time 

West introduced the Federal Supplement, Second Series (St. Paul, Minn.: 

West Publishing Co., 1998–), in which are reported the decisions of the 

district courts, as well as those of the U.S. Court of International Trade 

and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

 Opinions of the district courts interpreting the Federal Rules of Civil 

Procedure and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure are published in 

Federal Rules Decisions (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1941–) and

Federal Rules Service (Chicago: Callaghan and Co., 1939–1991; Rochester, N.Y.: Lawyer’s Cooperative Publishing Co., 1991–1997; St. Paul, 

Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1997–). In addition to the opinions of the 

district courts, the latter series also reports other federal courts’ decisions construing the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

 Decisions of the bankruptcy courts that were established by the 

Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 and certain decisions of the district 

courts involving bankruptcy issues are published in Bankruptcy Reporter

(St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1980–) rather than in the Federal Supplement. The Bankruptcy Reporter also contains decisions of the 

Supreme Court and the U.S. courts of appeals dealing with bankruptcy 

matters.
36 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 Most of the decisions of the district courts are “unpublished” and 

do not appear in any published reporter. Because of the sheer volume 

of judicial opinions rendered annually, West seeks to publish only those 

opinions that “deal with issues of fi rst impression,” “establish, alter, 

modify or explain a rule of law,” review or criticize an existing law, involve “unique factual situations,” “present a unique holding,” or “involve newsworthy events.” Some unpublished opinions are reported by 

other commercial services and in topical reporters such as Copyright Law 

Decisions (New York: Commerce Clearing House, 1978–), United States 

Patents Quarterly (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 1929–), 

and U.S. Tax Cases (New York: Commerce Clearing House, 1937–). Published and unpublished decisions are also available through electronic 

databases such as LexisNexis (at http:www.lexis.com) and Westlaw (at 

http://www.westlaw.com).

 Researchers can follow the proceedings of a particular federal court 

through historic newspapers and periodicals. Local newspapers often 

reported the local district and circuit courts’ dockets and the outcomes 

of important cases. Newspapers also often gave detailed descriptions of 

courtroom scenes and judicial opinions in high-profi le cases. The recent 

digitization of many historic newspapers facilitates keyword searches for 

court-related articles.

 Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, lawyers often 

paid to have their oral arguments published in pamphlet form. Judges 

also often made their opinions and grand jury charges available for publication. In some rare instances—usually high profi le cases—transcripts 

of entire judicial proceedings in particular cases were published in book 

form. Researchers may be able to locate such pamphlets and books by 

searching library catalogs or online databases like WorldCat and GoogleBooks.
37

Chapter 2. Records of the U.S. Courts 

of Appeals

A. Historical Note

The U.S. courts of appeals were the fi rst federal courts designed exclusively to hear cases on appeal from trial courts. In an effort to relieve 

the caseload burden in the Supreme Court and to handle a dramatic 

increase in federal fi lings, Congress, in the Judiciary Act of 1891, established nine courts of appeals, one for each judicial circuit. The Act 

designated the existing circuit judges and a newly authorized judge in 

each circuit as the judges of the appellate courts. The circuit justice and 

district judges in the circuit also were authorized to sit on the threeperson courts of appeals panels, but district judges were prohibited from 

considering appeals of their own decisions.

 The act of 1891, commonly known as the Evarts Act, gave the U.S. 

courts of appeals jurisdiction over the great majority of appeals from the 

U.S. district and circuit courts. The act sharply limited the categories 

of cases that could be routinely appealed to the Supreme Court, and 

the Judiciary Act of 1925 and later statutes continued that trend while 

expanding the jurisdiction of the courts of appeals. By the 1930s, the 

courts of appeals also had jurisdiction over administrative appeals of 

decisions rendered by federal regulatory agencies.

 The Evarts Act authorized each of the new courts to review the fi -

nal decisions and certain interlocutory orders or decrees of the district 

courts in their circuit, except in cases for which direct review by the 

Supreme Court was statutorily provided. The act also conferred upon 

the new courts a limited original jurisdiction to issue writs necessary for 

the exercise of its primary appellate jurisdiction. The decisions of the 

courts of appeals were usually fi nal in admiralty, diversity, patent, revenue, and criminal cases, although the Supreme Court was authorized 

to grant appeals in such cases. Congress preserved a right of appeal to 

the Supreme Court in all other cases where the amount in controversy 

exceeded $1,000.

 Throughout the twentieth century, Congress altered and expanded 

the jurisdiction of the courts of appeals by reducing the categories of 

cases that could be routinely appealed to the Supreme Court and thus 

making court of appeals decisions fi nal in those cases. Congress also 

granted the courts of appeals the authority to review the decisions of 
38 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

federal administrative agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, 

the National Labor Relations Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission.

 The number and size of the courts of appeals grew in response to the 

addition of new states and territories as well as the increase in the number of cases appealed from the federal trial courts. In 1893, Congress 

established the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia to hear 

appeals from the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. In 1929, 

Congress created a court of appeals for the newly established Tenth Circuit. The U.S. courts of appeals for the Eleventh and Federal Circuits 

were established in 1980 and 1982, respectively. The latter is the only 

U.S. court of appeals with national jurisdiction. It hears appeals in patent cases and in cases decided by the U.S. Court of International Trade 

and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. It also hears appeals of decisions 

of the Merit Services Protection Board and of various executive branch 

administrative decisions as designated by law. 

 By 1922, there were at least three circuit judges assigned to each 

court of appeals, obviating the regular service of district judges on the 

courts’ panels. In the 1930s, as the number of circuit judges on the 

courts of appeals increased beyond three, several of the courts increased 

the size of their panels in important cases and in those in which there 

was a signifi cant split of opinion among the judges. The Supreme Court 

sanctioned these “en banc hearings” in 1941. The Judicial Code of 1948 

authorized such hearings upon the vote of the majority of a court’s active 

judges.

 In 1948, Congress changed the name of each circuit court of appeals 

to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the respective circuit.

B. Records Description

The historical records of the twelve regional U.S. courts of appeals have 

been accessioned by the National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA) and are deposited at its regional branches as part of Record 

Group 276. Newer records are located in the offi ces of the respective 

clerks of court, in the circuit libraries, or in one of the federal records 

centers. The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have not yet been accessioned by NARA. Once accessioned, these 

records will make up Record Group 504 at the National Archives in 

Washington, D.C. The records of the U.S. courts of appeals are made up 

of general and administrative records, as well as case materials.
Chapter 2. Records of the U.S. Courts of Appeals 39

C. General and Administrative Records

Each U.S. court of appeals maintained a general record of its proceedings in its minutes and dockets. Minute books (sometimes called journals or court record books) provide a daily account of the business of 

each court of appeals. Arranged chronologically by court session, entries 

in the minutes indicate the judge or judges presiding on certain days, 

the matters before the court and the actions taken on those matters, the 

attorneys making appearances, the adoption of procedural rules, the appointment of court offi cers, and the admission of attorneys to practice.

 Dockets, which correspond to particular years or terms of court, 

contain a chronological summary of the proceedings and fi lings in each 

matter before a court of appeals. Within each box or volume, cases are 

presented alphabetically or by case number. Entries indicate case titles 

and numbers, the name of the lower court or commission from which 

each case was appealed, the nature and date of the rulings, the names of 

the parties and their attorneys, the dates of specifi c actions and fi lings, 

and, when applicable, citations to subsequent proceedings. Dockets also 

contain abstracts of papers fi led with the court, summaries of the court’s 

orders and other actions, and notations indicating fees charged by the 

court. More recent dockets may also include information regarding exhibits or legal precedents alluded to in a case.

 Some courts kept additional dockets that dealt with specifi c types of 

matters. “Leave Dockets” listed all of the petitions received by the court, 

such as petitions seeking changes of venue in the district court or requests for the issuance of various writs. Most petitions in a leave docket 

were denied. “Miscellaneous Dockets” kept a record of cases that were 

part of the courts’ original jurisdiction, including petitions for writs, requests for injunctions or restraining orders, and motions to stay court 

orders or vacate sentences. Some courts also preserved “clerk’s memorandum books” and “rough dockets,” which were the clerk’s working 

dockets while cases were before the court.

 Many courts maintained lists of appellants and appellees in bound 

volumes or card fi les. Indexes in bound volumes generally indicated 

only case names and numbers, but card fi les may also include information regarding the issues or subject matter of the case, the actions of the 

court, references to other cases, and citations to the Federal Reporter.

 The administrative records of an appeals court may include fee 

books, correspondence between judges and clerks, letters received from 

the public, and memorials issued upon the death of judges, court offi -
40 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

cers, and prominent local attorneys. Some courts also kept “Designation 

Files,” which consist of forms fi led when circuit judges were assigned to 

sit in another judicial circuit or in a specifi c district court case.

 Many of the administrative records of a court of appeals pertain to 

attorneys who practiced before the court. These records include attorney 

admission fi les, rolls and indexes of attorneys admitted to practice, and 

records related to disbarment. Attorney admission fi les include motions 

for admission to the bar, personal statements of applicants, character 

reports issued by bar examiners, letters of reference, statements from the 

clerks of other courts confi rming that the applicant is a member of the 

bar in good standing, questionnaires, affi davits, and certifi cates of admission. Disbarment fi les include correspondence, court orders of disbarment, reports and charges by a court’s grievance committee, exhibits, 

respondent’s answers to court rulings, and petitions for reinstatement.

D. Case Records

Court of appeals case records generally consist of three types of records: 

(1) transcripts of the offi cial record from the lower court or federal agency, including printed copies of the proceedings of the trial or hearing 

as well as copies of papers that were fi led in the trial; (2) documents 

submitted to the court of appeals by the parties, including briefs, appendices, petitions, and answers; and (3) papers produced during the 

appellate proceedings, including stipulations, agreements, motions, correspondence between the court and the parties, judgments, orders, decrees, mandates sent to district courts or received from the Supreme 

Court, and judicial opinions.

 The organization of court of appeals case records varies signifi cantly 

from court to court. Some clerks collected all of the various materials related to specifi c cases into “case fi les.” Other courts fi led the three types 

of case records listed above as distinct sets of records. Whether stored in 

integrated case fi les or by type of record, court of appeals case records 

are arranged by case number, which may be obtained from a court’s alphabetically arranged indexes or docket. 

 Several courts of appeals separated matters related to the courts’ 

original jurisdiction (such as the review of decisions by federal agencies 

or commissions, petitions for various writs or rehearings, and motions 

to vacate sentences or stay court orders) from the court’s appellate jurisdiction records. Some courts also set apart materials from certain types 
Chapter 2. Records of the U.S. Courts of Appeals 41

of cases—patent or desegregation cases, for example—from their general case papers.

 Many courts maintained copies of judicial opinions in loose fi les or 

in bound volumes. Arranged by court term and thereunder either by 

case number or alphabetically by case name, opinions provide a summary of the facts of the case and the reasons for the court’s decision. Some 

courts also kept bound volumes of handwritten opinions and mandates 

of the courts.

E. Published Decisions

From their establishment in 1891, the courts of appeals issued their 

decisions in the form of written opinions, which the West Publishing 

Company included in the Federal Reporter (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1880–1925), a series of 300 volumes that had originally 

only reported the decisions of the district and circuit courts. In 1925, 

West introduced the Federal Reporter, Second Series (St. Paul, Minn.: West 

Publishing Co., 1925–1993) to report the decisions of the courts of appeals (along with those of the district courts, until 1933, when West 

began publishing district court opinions in the Federal Supplement).

 In 1964, the Judicial Conference of the United States resolved that 

district and appeals court judges ought to “authorize the publication of 

only those opinions which are of general precedential value” and that 

published opinions “be succinct.” Despite the ensuing trend toward the 

selective publication of opinions, the total number of reported court 

of appeals opinions continued to grow with the increase in the size of 

the courts’ dockets. After the Federal Reporter, Second Series grew to 999 

volumes in 1993, West introduced the Federal Reporter, Third Series (St. 

Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1993–).

 Each court of appeals has adopted a set of rules, procedures or policies for determining which opinions will be offi cially “published” in the 

Federal Reporter. Generally, an opinion must have “precedential value” 

in order to be selected. Since the mid-twentieth century, several private 

companies have printed “unpublished” appeals court decisions in topical reporters, and beginning in 2001, decisions not selected for publication in the Federal Reporter have been printed in West’s Federal Appendix

(St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 2001–).

 Until 2006, each of the circuits adopted its own rules regarding 

whether “unpublished” opinions (meaning those not included in the 

Federal Reporter) could be cited in current proceedings. Some courts 
42 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

allowed the citation of “unpublished” opinions while others courts discouraged or prohibited their use. In 2006, an amendment to the Federal 

Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 32.1, required courts of appeals to permit “unpublished” or “nonprecedential” opinions to be cited.

 Except for a brief period from 1891 until 1899, when Samuel A. 

Blatchford compiled 63 volumes of United States Courts of Appeals Reports

(New York: Banks and Brothers, 1893–1899), and from 1982 to 1995, 

when the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit offi cially reported its 

opinions in thirteen volumes of Cases Decided in United States Court of 

Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1985–2000), 

West has been the exclusive reporter and publisher of the decisions of 

the U.S. courts of appeals. The published decisions of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia are described in Chapter 4.
43

Chapter 3. Records of the Supreme 

Court of the United States

A. Historical Note

Article III of the Constitution places the judicial power of the federal 

government in “one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts” as 

Congress might decide to establish. The Constitution granted the Supreme Court original jurisdiction in cases in which states were a party 

and in cases involving diplomats, but left for Congress to determine the 

size, appellate jurisdiction, and other responsibilities of the Court. The 

Judiciary Act of 1789 established a Supreme Court with one chief justice 

and fi ve associate justices. The act further defi ned the jurisdiction of the 

Court to include appellate jurisdiction in larger civil cases and cases in 

which state courts ruled on the constitutionality of federal statutes. The 

act also authorized the Court to appoint a clerk to record its proceedings, fi lings, decrees, judgments, and determinations.

 The 1891 act establishing the circuit courts of appeals restricted the 

right of automatic appeal to the Supreme Court by giving the justices 

authority to grant review through certiorari. At the same time, it gave 

the courts of appeals the authority to certify specifi c questions for appeal 

to the high court. The Judges’ Bill of 1925 further increased the justices’ discretion in determining what cases to hear, and in 1988 Congress 

eliminated nearly all of the Supreme Court’s mandatory jurisdiction. 

Since 1891, the majority of cases before the Court have been appeals 

from state and federal court decisions interpreting the Constitution, federal statutes, and treaties. The most common actions invoking the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction are petitions for writs of mandamus 

and prohibition, and suits involving boundary and water rights disputes 

between states.

B. Records Description

The historical records of the Supreme Court make up Record Group 

267 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Record Group 267 

contains general records, case records, the records of the clerk, and the 

records of the marshal of the Supreme Court. Nontextual records, including sound recordings, are held at the National Archives at College 

Park, Maryland.
44 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

C. General Records

The general records of the Supreme Court describe the full scope of the 

Court’s business and proceedings. These records include minutes and 

dockets, as well as opinions, indexes, memorandums, transcripts and 

recordings of oral arguments, correspondence, and other miscellaneous 

items.

 The records of the Supreme Court include both rough and engrossed minutes. Minutes indicate the Court’s meeting place, the names 

of the justices and Court offi cers who were present at each session, the 

swearing in of new justices, the admission of attorneys to practice, the 

resignation and appointment of Court offi cers, the names of cases and of 

the attorneys appearing before the Court, memorial proceedings for deceased justices and other prominent persons, the adoption of procedural 

rules, and the decisions and orders of the Court. Since 1890, the Court 

has published bound Journals that contain a condensed printed version 

of the minutes (these are available in RG 267, as well as through many 

library collections). The Court’s minutes, covering the period from 1789 

to 1806, were also transcribed and published between 1961 and 1964 

in the American Journal of Legal History.

 The Supreme Court maintains both rough and engrossed dockets. 

Docket entries for each Court case indicate the case name, the court 

from which the case was appealed (if applicable), the names of the attorneys appearing for the parties, and a chronological record of the papers 

fi led and the proceedings held. In addition, the general records include 

transcripts of oral arguments since 1968 and sound recordings of oral 

arguments since 1955 (audio versions of selected oral arguments can 

also be downloaded from various websites).

 The general records of the Court include some case materials, including papers related to more than one case, papers and exhibits from 

unidentifi ed cases, maps and charts, memorandums of pending cases, 

photographs, indexes, and a volume of manuscript opinions issued in 

1832. The general records also include correspondence related to the 

Committee on Equity Practice (1911–1912), the correspondence of the 

Chief Justice’s law clerks (1927–1938), and the private papers of Supreme Court employee Francis R. Kirkham (1931–1934).
Chapter 3. Records of the Supreme Court of the United States 45

D. Appellate Jurisdiction Case Records

The Supreme Court’s appellate case records consist of case fi les, indexes, 

opinions, copies of mandates sent to lower courts, and miscellaneous 

papers in undocketed cases.

 Appellate case fi les contain transcripts of proceedings from lower 

courts, petitions for writs of error or certiorari, briefs, motions, orders, 

judgments, decrees, mandates, agreements, bonds, depositions, writs, 

and other papers. Appellate case fi les from 1792 to 1933 are arranged 

in one numerical sequence (case numbers 1–38,700). Since 1934, appellate case fi les have been arranged by term and thereunder by case 

number. Researchers wishing to locate particular case fi les can use a 

card index available at the National Archives that provides the title and 

number of each appellate case, as well as the fi ling and decision dates.

 The Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction records include a numerically arranged collection of manuscript opinions and revised printed appellate opinions, including both majority and dissenting opinions. 

The National Archives published an Index to the Manuscript and Revised 

Printed Opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States in the National 

Archives, 1808–1873 (Washington, D.C.: The National Archives, 1965), 

which includes citations to both appellate and original jurisdiction cases. The Court also kept, as distinct sets of records within the Court’s 

appellate records, duplicate mandates to lower courts, papers from undocketed appellate cases, and certiorari cards.

E. Original Jurisdiction Case Records

Original jurisdiction case records consist of case fi les (1792–) and drafts 

of opinions (1835–1909). A fi re in the U.S. Capitol in November 1898 

destroyed many of the Court’s original jurisdiction case fi les, but those 

that survived include bills of complaint, answers, exhibits, petitions, 

affi davits, subpoenas, orders, judgments, correspondence, and other 

related papers. Case fi les are arranged chronologically by term and 

thereunder by case number. The Court also maintained a collection of 

manuscript and printed opinions in cases arising under the Court’s original jurisdiction. These are arranged chronologically by term and thereunder alphabetically by the name of the fi rst party in the case.
46 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

F. Records Relating to Ex Parte and Miscellaneous Cases

The records of the Supreme Court include three distinct sets of papers 

related to habeas corpus cases that were heard in individual justice’s 

chambers, ex parte and miscellaneous case fi les, and papers related to 

applications that were denied by the Court (although it should be noted 

that these types of cases also appear in the Court’s appellate and original 

jurisdiction records). These case fi les include petitions for writs, applications, transcripts of record from trial courts, motions, briefs, orders, 

returns, correspondence, opinions, writs, and other papers. Most of the 

petitions in these subgroups were for writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, or injunction, although some fi les also pertain to stays of execution or the disbarment of attorneys.

G. Records of the Offi ce of the Clerk

The records of the clerk of the Supreme Court include correspondence 

and other papers related to the printing of opinions, the admission of 

attorneys, the Court’s fi nancial operations, and the general administration of the Court.

 The historical records of the Offi ce of the Clerk include several collections of correspondence. The General Correspondence fi le (1791–

1952) includes letters received and copies of outgoing letters relating to 

Court fees, the Court’s docket, the fi ling of papers, and other administrative duties of the clerk. Other fi les include correspondence with the 

justices (1791–1926), letters related to the appointment of stenographic 

clerks (1888–1940), correspondence with the U.S. General Accounting 

Offi ce (1949–1956), and correspondence relating to the Administrative 

Offi ce of the United States Courts (1939–1942) and the Advisory Committees on Rules of Criminal and Civil Procedure (1941–1946). A “Subject File” (1800–1910) includes correspondence, memoranda, orders, 

subscription lists, and other papers relating to various administrative 

aspects of the Court.

 The clerk’s records include material related to the clerk’s administrative duties, including oaths of offi ce, papers related to retirements and 

memorial proceedings, and orders concerning rules, Court administration, and circuit allotments. Also included are miscellaneous papers and 

gifts received by the Court, records related to the printing and binding 

of Court opinions, and scrapbooks of newspaper clippings relating to 

Supreme Court history.
Chapter 3. Records of the Supreme Court of the United States 47

 The records of the Offi ce of the Clerk include several series of “Records Relating to Admissions to the Bar of the Court” and “Fiscal Records.” The Court’s bar admission records include certifi cates of admission to practice before the Supreme Court and state courts, Civil War-era 

loyalty oaths, a card index fi le of counselors and attorneys admitted to 

practice, and attorney rolls. The card index fi le shows the name of each 

attorney, the date of his or her admission, and in most cases the attorney’s place of residence. Attorney rolls contain the signatures of attorneys admitted to practice, and, in some cases, attorneys’ oaths or other 

personal information. Some entries also signify disbarment. The clerk’s 

“Fiscal Records” include fee books, bonds, bills, lists, receipts, records 

of daily receipts and expenditures, and additional records related to the 

printing of Court opinions. These records also include correspondence 

with Treasury Department offi cials regarding the clerk’s accounts.

H. Records of the Offi ce of the Marshal

Congress established the Offi ce of the Marshal of the Supreme Court in 

1867. Prior to that date, the marshal of the district in which the Court 

sat also served as the marshal of the Court. The marshal’s duties have 

included protecting the Court and its visitors, executing the Court’s orders and precepts, securing its property and facilities, disbursing funds 

to Court offi cers and employees, reporting the Court’s expenses to the 

various executive departments charged with overseeing the administration of the federal courts, arranging for the purchase of supplies and 

furniture, and assisting the members of the Court with various tasks.

 Most of the records of the marshal consist of correspondence and 

accounting records. A collection of subject fi les (1867–1913) includes 

correspondence, memorandums, newspaper clippings, and other papers related to legislation, the Court’s meeting places, justices’ funerals, the Columbian Exposition of 1892, presidential inaugurations, and 

portraits of the justices and offi cers of the Court. A separate fi le contains applications and endorsements for various positions at the Court 

(1867–1909), as well as for the position of register in bankruptcy (the 

Bankruptcy Act of 1867 authorized the Chief Justice to appoint registers in bankruptcy to serve in the U.S. district courts). In addition, the 

marshal’s records include correspondence regarding the acquisition of 

books for the Court’s library and for the Library of Congress, as well as 

a general correspondence fi le (1867–1940).
48 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 From 1867 to 1936, the Offi ce of the Marshal maintained the Court’s 

accounting records, which include receipts, statements of accounts, paperwork related to the sale of furniture, payroll receipts, cashbooks, 

journals, and ledgers. The marshal also corresponded regularly with offi cials in the Interior, Treasury, and Justice Departments concerning accounts and requisitions. 

I. Published Decisions and Other Records

The fi rst 90 volumes of the Supreme Court’s reports are called nominative reports because they are named after the person who edited and 

published them. In its earliest years, the Supreme Court had no offi -

cial reporter, and Congress did not authorize a salaried reporter for the 

Court until 1817. In addition, the Court generally did not issue written 

opinions until the early nineteenth century. Researchers must therefore 

be mindful that the earliest reports of the Court’s decisions contain omissions and inaccuracies and may, in fact, refl ect the ideas of the reporter 

more than those of the justices.

 The fi rst reporter of the Supreme Court’s decisions was a Pennsylvania lawyer named Alexander J. Dallas who, on his own initiative, reported the Court’s decisions from 1791 to 1800—Philadelphia was the 

nation’s capital during this period. Dallas also included a record of the 

Court’s proceedings from the Court’s 1790 terms in New York City, although there were no cases heard until 1791. Dallas’s 4-volume series 

was originally introduced to report the decisions of the state, federal, 

and some colonial courts in Pennsylvania, but he included the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions for the period the Court met in Philadelphia 

(these appear in the last three volumes). Dallas based his reports on 

his personal observations of the Court’s proceedings as well as notes he 

obtained from attorneys who attended court sessions. Dallas included 

a statement of the facts and issues in each reported case, a summary of 

the arguments presented by the attorneys, and the text of the Court’s 

opinion as recounted or remembered.

 The next reporter of the Court’s decisions, William Cranch, was a 

judge on the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia. Cranch’s nine 

volumes of reports, covering the Supreme Court’s decisions from 1801 

to 1815, are more detailed and accurate than Dallas’s reports because 

the Court began regularly issuing written opinions during this period. 

Cranch noted, in the preface to his fi rst volume, the relief he felt “by the 
Chapter 3. Records of the Supreme Court of the United States 49

practice which the court had adopted of reducing their opinion to writing in all cases of diffi culty or importance.”

 Henry Wheaton became the fi rst Court-appointed reporter in 1816. 

The following year Congress authorized a salary of $1,000 for the Court 

reporter, although Wheaton and his successors continued to publish 

and sell their reports privately. Wheaton’s twelve volumes of reports, 

which covered the decisions of the Court between 1816 and 1827, contain the most detailed and scholarly annotation of any of the nominative 

reporters.

 Wheaton’s successor, Richard Peters, Jr., compiled seventeen volumes of reports between 1828 and 1843. An entrepreneur, Peters also 

decided to publish the reports of his predecessors, excluding any supplementary material they had added to the opinions. After a long legal 

battle that was ultimately decided in the Supreme Court itself, Peters 

was granted the legal right to publish and sell earlier Supreme Court 

opinions. In 1834, the Supreme Court adopted a rule requiring the justices to fi le their opinions with the clerk of court. This presumably made 

it easier for Peters to obtain and report the Court’s decisions accurately, 

but he was dismissed from his position in 1843 because of long delays 

in the publication of his reports as well as for alleged inaccuracies and 

omissions in the volumes he produced.

 Peters’ last volume of reports covers the same term (1843) as the fi rst 

volume compiled by his successor, Benjamin C. Howard (only Howard’s 

1843 volume was incorporated into the United States Reports). Howard 

reported the Court’s decisions through the 1860 term in twenty-four 

volumes. In 1861 and 1862, Jeremiah S. Black reported two volumes of 

the Court’s decisions. The last of the nominative reports are the twentythree volumes compiled by John William Wallace covering the Court’s 

twelve terms from 1863 to 1874.

 For further historical and bibliographical information regarding the 

ninety volumes of nominative reports, see Morris L. Cohen and Sharon 

Hamby O’Connor’s A Guide to the Early Reports of the Supreme Court of the 

United States (Littleton, Colo.: F.B. Rothman, 1995).

 In 1874, Congress appropriated $25,000 for the printing of the 

Supreme Court’s decisions. Thereafter, the Court’s decisions were published in the United States Reports, rather than in nominative reports 

from which the reporter could make a profi t. The previously published 

nominative reports were incorporated into this series as volumes 1–90. 

In 1889, the Court’s reporter compiled and published the decisions of 

the Supreme Court that had been omitted by the earlier reporters. He 
50 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

gathered as many as he could fi nd, although he certainly missed some of 

the earlier cases for which there was no written decision. These cases, in 

conjunction with other historical information about the Court, appear 

as an appendix to volume 131 of the United States Reports. Researchers 

searching for opinions by particular justices may wish to consult Linda 

A. Blandford and Patricia Russell Evans, comps., Supreme Court of the 

United States, 1789–1980: An Index to Opinions Arranged by Justice, 2 vols. 

(Millwood, N.Y.: Kraus International Publications, 1983), and Supplement, 1980–1990 (Millwood, N.Y.: Kraus International Publications, 

1994).

 Chambers opinions—the opinions of individual justices on petitions 

and other matters presented to them in their capacity as the justices 

assigned to specifi c circuits—were not published in the United States 

Reports until 1969. Prior to that time they were selectively reported in 

commercially produced publications such as The Supreme Court Reporter

(St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1883–) and United States Supreme 

Court Reports, Lawyers’ Edition (Rochester, N.Y.: Lawyers Co-operative 

Publishing Company, 1882–).

 In addition to their availability in RG 267, printed briefs and the 

transcripts of the records of lower court proceedings, dating back to the 

early nineteenth century, are also available at selected federal depository 

libraries, at the Library of Congress, and from subscription databases 

and other Internet sources. Researchers must note, however, that the 

collation, arrangement, and binding of these briefs and transcripts varies 

from library to library.

 The editors of The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the 

United States, 1789–1800, 7 vols. (New York: Columbia University Press, 

1985–2003), compiled a wide array of primary source material from 

the fi rst decade of the Supreme Court’s history, covering appointments, 

circuit riding, the organization of the federal judiciary, and cases. The 

volumes reproduce various types of court records, including the Court’s 

minutes and dockets (both rough and fi nal), motions, orders, grand jury 

charges, papers related to the admission of attorneys, judges’ commissions and oaths, memoranda, case papers, and opinions. The editors 

have also gathered supplementary materials, including diary entries, 

correspondence, reminiscences, draft opinions, legislation, reports of 

oral arguments, briefs, and notes by clerks, judges, and other court personnel. The volumes reproduce public reactions to judicial decisions, 

including jury responses to charges, public and private writings, and 

newspaper reports and editorials.
Chapter 3. Records of the Supreme Court of the United States 51

 Researchers interested in locating recent Supreme Court opinions, 

orders, rules, calendars, and briefs will fi nd helpful information, Internet links, and PDF versions at http://www.supremecourtus.gov/. Cases, 

sound recordings, and other historic materials are also available through 

other websites and subscription databases, including LexisNexis, Westlaw, HeinOnline, and http://www.oyez.org/.

53

Chapter 4. Records of the Courts of the 

District of Columbia

A. Historical Note

In an act of February 27, 1801, Congress established a circuit court for 

the District of Columbia. The act divided the District of Columbia into 

two counties—Alexandria and Washington—and authorized the court 

to hold sessions in each. The court was granted the same jurisdiction 

as the other U.S. circuit courts, as well as some of the powers of a U.S. 

district court. In addition to its federal jurisdiction, the circuit court 

exercised some of the jurisdiction of a local court, applying the law and 

procedures of Virginia for its Alexandria sessions and those of Maryland 

for its Washington sessions. 

 On February 13, 1801, in the Judiciary Act of 1801, Congress, as 

part of a sweeping reorganization of the federal judiciary, established a 

U.S. district court for the District of Potomac, which included the District of Columbia and adjacent portions of Maryland and Virginia. On 

March 8, 1802, Congress repealed the 1801 Judiciary Act, thus abolishing the district court for the District of Potomac. On April 29, 1802, 

Congress authorized the chief judge of the circuit court to hold two annual sessions of a district court in the District of Columbia.

 In 1838, Congress created the Criminal Court of the District of Columbia, granting the court original jurisdiction in all criminal cases arising within the district, and giving appellate jurisdiction of all criminal 

cases to the circuit court. The circuit court ceased holding sessions in 

Alexandria in 1846, when that county was returned to the state of Virginia.

 In 1863, Congress abolished the circuit, district, and criminal courts 

of the District of Columbia and established the Supreme Court of the 

District of Columbia. This court was granted the same authority and 

jurisdiction as the circuit court, and any of the four justices appointed to 

the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia could convene sessions 

of a district or criminal court. In 1936, Congress changed the name of 

the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia to the District Court of 

the United States for the District of Columbia, and in 1948 Congress 

renamed it the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
54 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 In 1893, Congress established the Court of Appeals of the District of 

Columbia to exercise jurisdiction over appeals from the Supreme Court 

of the District of Columbia. In 1934, Congress designated the court as 

the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and in 1948 as 

the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The 1948 

act specifi cally stated that the judges of the court had the same authority 

as the judges of the courts of appeals for the regional circuits.

 At various times, Congress created courts and judgeships of local 

jurisdiction that affected the jurisdiction of the Article III courts in the 

District of Columbia. Under the act of February 27, 1801, Congress authorized the President to appoint justices of the peace and judges of an 

orphans’ court in each county of the District. In 1909, the justices of the 

peace were reorganized as the Municipal Court of the District of Columbia. The circuit (and later supreme) court exercised appellate jurisdiction over the decisions of the orphans’ court until 1870, when that court 

was abolished, and over the justices of the peace and municipal court 

until 1921, when Congress transferred that jurisdiction to the Court of 

Appeals for the District of Columbia.

 In 1870, Congress created the Police Court of the District of Columbia, limiting the criminal jurisdiction of the District of Columbia 

Supreme Court to “capital or otherwise infamous crimes” (although the 

Supreme Court’s criminal jurisdiction was expanded four years later 

so that the two courts had concurrent jurisdiction over many types of 

cases). Justices of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia heard 

appeals from the police court until 1897, when that jurisdiction was assigned to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia.

 The federal courts in the District of Columbia also exercised appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the commissioner of patents from 

1839 to 1929, and from 1919 until 1924 the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia exercised appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the 

local rent commission.

 The federal courts of the District of Columbia exercised a combination of federal and local jurisdiction until 1971. The District of Columbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970 established two 

courts, the District of Columbia Superior Court and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, to assume responsibility for local jurisdiction, 

similar to that exercised by state courts.
Chapter 4. Records of the Courts of the District of Columbia 55

B. Records Description

The records of the district court for the District of Potomac (1801–

1802), the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia (1801–1863), the 

criminal court of the District of Columbia (1838–1863), the Supreme 

Court of the District of Columbia (1863–1936), the District Court of 

the United States for the District of Columbia (1936–1948), and the 

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (1948–) are included 

in Record Group 21 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. (The 

records of the Alexandria term of the circuit court, 1801–1846, are 

maintained by the Library of Virginia in Richmond.) The records are 

organized by court and thereunder by type of case. Like other federal 

district and circuit courts, these records include law, appellate, criminal, 

bankruptcy, admiralty, habeas corpus, fugitive slave, equity, and naturalization cases, as well as other general administrative papers. District 

of Columbia court records also include manumission and emancipation 

papers, marriage licenses, lien law case fi les, the papers of the justices of 

the peace, medical licenses, probate records from the orphans’ court, insolvency cases, and copyright papers. The courts’ habeas records refl ect 

the courts’ partly federal and partly local jurisdiction, with many petitions relating to child custody disputes and indentured servitude. RG 21 

also contains appellate records from decisions of the commissioner of 

patents, the orphans’ courts, the police court, the justices of the peace, 

the municipal court, and the rent commission.

 The records of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, 

consisting of minutes, dockets, case fi les, briefs, transcripts of records, 

mandates, and attorney fi les, are maintained in Record Group 276 at 

the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The organization of these records is similar to the records of the other U.S. courts of appeals, which 

are described in Chapter 2, but the records also include patent case fi les 

and material relating to the exercise of the court’s local jurisdiction.

 Some records related to the courts of local jurisdiction in the District 

of Columbia are held with the records of the Government of the District 

of Columbia in Record Group 351 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

C. Published Decisions

Circuit Judge William Cranch published the decisions of the circuit court 

of the District of Columbia from the court’s fi rst four decades in Reports 

of Cases Civil and Criminal in the United States Circuit Court of the District 
56 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

of Columbia, from 1801 to 1841, 5 volumes plus index (Boston: Little, 

Brown and Co., 1852–1853). The commissioner of patents published a 

collection of Cranch’s patent decisions in Laws of the United States Relating to Patents and the Patent Offi ce (Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1848). John 

A. Hayward and George C. Hazleton compiled decisions issued by the 

circuit and criminal courts between 1840 and 1863, in Reports of Cases, 

Civil and Criminal, Argued and Adjudged in the Circuit Court of the District 

of Columbia for the County of Washington, 2 volumes (Washington, D.C.: 

W. H. Lowdermilk and Co., 1892; John Byrne and Co., 1895).

 The decisions of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia 

from 1863 to 1893 were published in sixteen volumes by several printers in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, in a series titled Reports of Cases 

Argued and Adjudged in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia (the 

volumes covering 1873 to 1879 were titled Reports of Cases Argued and 

Determined in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia). The decisions of the court from 1933 to 1935 were published in the short-lived 

Supreme Court of the District of Columbia Reports, 2 volumes (Washington, 

D.C.: National Law Book Co., 1936).

 The decisions of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia 

from 1893 to 1933 were published in Reports of Cases Adjudged in the 

Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia (these reports were published 

by several private companies in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and New 

York, until the West Publishing Co. began publishing the series in 

1920). Decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the District 

of Columbia from 1934 to 1939 were published in Reports of Cases Adjudged in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (St. 

Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1935–1939). From 1939 to 1948, 

decisions appeared in United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Cases Argued and Adjudged (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 

1940–1949), and beginning in 1948, decisions were published in United 

States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Cases Argued and Adjudged (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1950–1955). Since 1955, 

decisions have been reported in United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Cases Adjudged (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing 

Co., 1956–).

 Many of the opinions of the U.S. courts in the District of Columbia (as well as some other state and federal decisions) can be found in 

a weekly newspaper, The Washington Law Reporter (1874–1959), and 

its successor, The Daily Washington Law Reporter (1959–), as well as in 

Federal Cases, 30 volumes (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1894–
Chapter 4. Records of the Courts of the District of Columbia 57

1897). The West Publishing Company also publishes the opinions of the 

district court in the Federal Supplement (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing 

Co., 1932–), and of the supreme and appeals courts in the three series 

of the Federal Reporter (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1880–).

 Researchers interested in further information on the reported decisions of the federal courts in the District of Columbia should consult 

Helen Newman, “Memorials and Notes in District of Columbia Reports,” 

Law Library Journal 26, 33–36 (1933), and the District of Columbia Digest

(Washington, D.C.: Washington Law Book Co., 1936–1968; St. Paul, 

Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1970–).

59

Chapter 5. Records of Federal Courts 

of Special Jurisdiction

A. Introduction

At various times since the mid-nineteenth century, Congress has created 

courts of special jurisdiction to ease the caseload of the U.S. district, circuit, and appeals courts, to exercise authority formerly held by Congress 

or a department of the executive branch, or to review the decisions of 

particular federal agencies or departments. The records of these federal 

courts usually consist of general, case, and administrative records.

 The general records of a court include minutes and dockets. Minute books, which are sometimes called journals, contain a daily account 

of a court’s activities. Arranged chronologically, entries in the minutes 

indicate the actions taken by the court, including rulings on motions, 

the adoption of procedural rules, the admission of attorneys to the bar, 

and the appointment of court offi cers. Some courts also kept “rough” 

minutes, which were the volumes the clerk used to prepare the “fi nal” or 

“engrossed” minutes.

 Dockets contain chronological summaries of the fi lings and proceedings in each case. Docket entries, which are organized by case, indicate case numbers, the names of the parties and their attorneys, dates 

of specifi c fi lings and proceedings, and the outcome of each case. Some 

courts maintained a different docket for each area of the court’s jurisdiction.

 Case records generally consist of case fi les and other related materials. Case fi les, which are usually organized by case number, contain the 

original documents submitted to and issued by the court in each proceeding. These may include petitions, answers, briefs, memoranda, notices of appeal, transcripts of the record of proceedings in other courts, 

testimony, petitions, documents created by other government agencies, 

correspondence relating to the case, exhibits, orders, decrees, transcriptions of oral arguments, and the opinion of the court.

 A court’s administrative records include papers related to the clerk’s 

responsibilities, the court’s fi nancial operations, and the admission of 

attorneys to the bar. Some courts also kept collections of miscellaneous 

papers, such as lists of cases, indexes to opinions, correspondence fi les, 

and other papers related to the work of the court.
60 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

B. Court of Claims, 1855–1982

1. Historical Note

In 1855, Congress established a Court of Claims with jurisdiction to hear 

and determine monetary claims against the federal government based on 

congressional statutes, executive branch regulations, or contracts with 

the government. Previously, such claims had been submitted through 

petitions to Congress. At fi rst, the new court’s power was limited to investigating and reporting on claims and preparing legislative bills for 

payments to successful claimants, but in 1863 Congress authorized the 

court to issue fi nal judgments against the United States and to consider 

counterclaims by the government.

 The court was composed of three judges who were appointed by 

the President and confi rmed by the Senate to serve with tenure during 

good behavior. Each of these judges was authorized to appoint commissioners to take depositions and issue subpoenas. The 1863 act increased 

the number of judges to fi ve and permitted appeals from the Court of 

Claims to the Supreme Court of the United States. Congress expanded 

the court’s jurisdiction on a number of occasions, most notably in the 

Tucker Act of 1887, which gave the court the authority to hear claims 

based on the U.S. Constitution and made the court the principal forum 

for all claims against the United States. The increasing volume of business before the court led Congress in 1925 to authorize the court to 

appoint seven commissioners, each of whom could hear evidence in 

specifi c cases and report fi ndings of fact to the court.

 The Court of Claims heard many types of cases under its grant of 

general jurisdiction, including cases that resulted from violations of government contracts, violations of Indian treaties, infringements on patents, unlawful imprisonments, over-assessment of taxes, cases of eminent domain, and losses of property during wartime. At various times 

Congress also granted the court temporary or special jurisdiction in certain types of cases.

 The Court of Claims was abolished in 1982. Its judges and much 

of its jurisdiction were transferred to the new U.S. Court of Appeals for 

the Federal Circuit. In the same 1982 statute, Congress created a new 

“Claims Court,” with jurisdiction over claims seeking money judgments 

from the United States. In 1992, Congress changed the name of the 

court to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Chapter 5. Records of Federal Courts of Special Jurisdiction 61

2. Records Description

The historical records of the Court of Claims consist of case fi les and 

supplementary case materials, dockets, journals, and registers of attorneys admitted to practice before the court (see the beginning of this 

chapter for a brief explanation of what is included in these types of 

records). Many case papers of the Court of Claims were documents submitted to the court in order to prove the validity of a claim. The court’s 

older records have been accessioned by the National Archives and make 

up Record Group 123 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. 

More recent records are maintained by the Court of Federal Claims, 

pending their accession by the National Archives.

 The records of the Court of Claims are organized by type of jurisdiction, including cases referred to the court by either house of Congress 

(Congressional–Jurisdiction cases) or an executive department (Departmental–Jurisdiction cases), claims against the District of Columbia, 

claims for property taken or destroyed by Indian tribes (Indian Depredation cases), and claims for private property captured by French ships 

prior to 1801 (French Spoliation cases). Each jurisdictional group contains its own dockets, case fi les (which are sometimes divided into additional subgroups), and separate collections of related case materials.

 The 1855 act establishing the Court of Claims also created the position of solicitor to represent the U.S. government in cases before the 

court. In 1868, this responsibility was transferred to the Offi ce of the 

Attorney General, and in 1870 to the Department of Justice. The records 

of the Court of Claims section of the Department of Justice, contained 

in Record Group 205, supplement the records of the Court of Claims. 

RG 205, held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., contains 

administrative records, correspondence, briefs, dockets, weekly reports 

received by the assistant attorney general, offi ce fi les, transcripts of hearings and testimony, exhibits, indexes to the cases and judgments, and 

other miscellaneous papers. Also included in RG 205 are duplicates 

of many case fi les. Like the records in RG 123, the case papers in RG 

205 are organized by type of jurisdiction. Researchers wishing to locate 

specifi c cases within RG 123 will fi nd useful the dockets, indexes, and 

supplementary materials among the Department of Justice’s records.

 Many records related to the work of the Court of Claims are held 

with the records of the Treasury Department. Record Group 56, the 

General Records of the Department of the Treasury, includes correspondence between Treasury offi cials and the judges and clerks of the Court 

of Claims, lists of claimants, reports on claimants, registers of claims, an 
62 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

index to the court’s dockets, copies of records that were sent from the 

Treasury to the court, and lists of awards made by the court. Additional 

correspondence related to the payment of the court’s judgments can be 

found in the Records of the Accounting Offi cers of the Department of 

the Treasury, in RG 217. The Treasury Department records in Record 

Group 56 are held at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. 

The records of the Treasury Department’s accounting offi cers, in RG 217, 

are held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

 Records relating to the Indian depredation cases will also be found 

in the Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (RG 75), which are located 

at the various regional branches of the National Archives. Textual records and maps related to Indian Tribal Claims against the United States 

can be found in the Records of the Government Accountability Offi ce 

(RG 411).

3. Published Decisions

From its establishment in 1855 until 1863, the Court of Claims reported 

to Congress its recommendations for the disposition of claims in Reports 

from the Court of Claims, 18 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Cornelius Wendell, 

1856–1857; James B. Steedman, 1858–1859; Thomas H. Ford, 1860; 

G.P.O., 1861–1863). In addition to the court’s opinions and recommendations, these reports include copies of the petitions, briefs, and miscellaneous documents from each case.

 Opinions issued by the Court of Claims between 1863 and 1982 

are published, along with abstracts of the court’s unwritten decisions, in 

Cases Decided in the Court of Claims of the United States, 231 vols. (Washington, D.C.: W.H. & O.H. Morrison, 1867; G.P.O., 1868–1983). Opinions issued between 1929 and 1932 and between 1960 and 1982 also 

appear in the Federal Reporter, Second Series (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1924–1993), while opinions issued between 1932 and 1960 

are published in the Federal Supplement (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1932–1998).

 Several digest editions of the reports of the Court of Claims have 

been published by private companies as well as by the Government 

Printing Offi ce. The United States Congressional Serial Set also contains 

the court’s opinions, lists of judgments and dismissed claims, correspondence, fi ndings of fact, reports of the clerk of the court, and other related 

documents.
Chapter 5. Records of Federal Courts of Special Jurisdiction 63

C. U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 1982–

1. Historical Note

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims was established as the U.S. Court of 

Claims by the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982. The new court 

assumed the original jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, which was 

abolished by the act of 1982. The act of 1982 granted the U.S. Court of 

Claims jurisdiction to hear money claims against the federal government 

based on the Constitution, statutes, executive department regulations, 

or government contracts. Typical cases involved disputes concerning tax 

refunds, federal contracts, federal takings of private property, or government employees’ pay. In 1992, Congress changed the name of the court 

to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The principal seat of the court is 

Washington, D.C., but Congress authorized the court to sit in other locations to facilitate appearances by parties and witnesses.

2. Records Description

Once they are accessioned, the records of the U.S. Court of Federal 

Claims will make up Record Group 502 at the National Archives in 

Washington, D.C. Some case fi les have been transferred to the Washington National Records Center in Suitland, Maryland, pending their 

accession. These fi les, which are boxed and undescribed, are available 

to researchers.

3. Published Decisions

Opinions issued by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims between 1982 and 

1992 are published in the United States Claims Court Reporter, 26 vols. 

(St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1983–1993). Opinions issued by 

the Court since 1992 are published in the Federal Claims Reporter (St. 

Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1993–).

D. Board of General Appraisers, 1890–1926; U.S. Customs 

Court, 1926–1980; U.S. Court of International Trade, 1980–

1. Historical Note

In order to relieve the caseload of the U.S. district and circuit courts and 

to regularize the procedure for settling customs disputes, Congress in 

1890 established a Board of General Appraisers to decide controversies 

related to appraisals of imported goods and classifi cations of tariffs. The 
64 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

appraisers were nominated by the President, confi rmed by the Senate, 

and could be removed by the President with cause. The Board operated 

under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, and it heard appeals 

of decisions by customs offi cers. Although the secretary could order appraisers to sit in any port in the country, the Board and the courts that 

succeeded it have had their headquarters in New York City. Appeals 

from the Board’s decisions were reviewable by the U.S. circuit courts, 

and, after their establishment in 1891, the U.S. circuit courts of appeals 

as well. The volume of appeals grew so high that, in 1909, Congress 

established a Court of Customs Appeals to hear all challenges to the 

decisions of the Board of General Appraisers.

 In 1926, Congress changed the name of the Board to the U.S. Customs Court and provided that the appraisers would be known as the 

chief justice and justices of the court. (Four years later the titles were 

changed to judge.) In several subsequent acts, Congress integrated the 

court into the administrative structure of the federal judiciary and established it as a court of record under Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

 In 1980, Congress reorganized the U.S. Customs Court as the U.S. 

Court of International Trade, with nine judges appointed with tenure 

during good behavior. The court was granted the same judicial powers 

in law and equity as a U.S. district court and was authorized to issue 

writs, orders, injunctions, and monetary judgments. The act of 1980 

also gave the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals exclusive jurisdiction over appeals from the decisions of the Court of International Trade. 

 The U.S. Customs Court and its predecessor, the Board of General 

Appraisers, were established in an era when almost all federal trade litigation related to tariffs; the court and Board served primarily to oversee 

the decisions of administrative agencies relating to the classifi cation and 

valuation of imported goods. The jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of International Trade, by contrast, includes the adjudication of nearly all civil 

actions related to international trade that are brought by or against the 

United States.

2. Records Description 

The National Archives has established a single record group, RG 321, for 

the records of the U.S. Court of International Trade and its two predecessor entities. The records of the Board of General Appraisers and the 

U.S. Customs Court have been transferred to the National Archives at 

New York City. The records of the U.S. Court of International Trade are 
Chapter 5. Records of Federal Courts of Special Jurisdiction 65

still maintained by the court, pending their accession by the National 

Archives.

 The records of the Board of General Appraisers include bound volumes of the Board’s decisions, judgment and order books, incoming correspondence and press copies (duplicates) of letters sent, schedules of 

examinations, reports of meetings, indexes to the Board’s decisions, a 

register of protests received from the Collector of Customs at New York, 

and miscellaneous papers.

 The records of the U.S. Customs Court include the decisions of the 

court (these are organized by type of proceeding), card indexes to the 

cases, judgment and order books, indexes to the cases, and papers related to the ownership of vessels.

 The records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of 

New York, in Record Group 21 at the National Archives at New York 

City, include minutes, dockets, returns of record, and case fi les from 

suits appealing the decisions of the Board of General Appraisers, covering the period from 1890 to 1911. Later appellate records are located in 

the records of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (described 

below).

 The unpublished decisions of the Board of General Appraisers, as 

well as correspondence between the Board and Treasury Department 

offi cials, are held with the General Records of the Department of the 

Treasury, in Record Group 56, at the National Archives at College Park, 

Maryland.

3. Published Decisions

Abstracts of the decisions of the Board of General Appraisers, along with 

the full text of some of the Board’s written opinions, were published in 

Synopsis of the Decisions of the Treasury Department on the Construction of 

the Tariff, Navigation, and Other Laws (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1881–

1898) and Treasury Decisions, 101 vols. (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 

1899–1967). Treasury Decisions also contains abstracts and reports of decisions issued by the U.S. Customs Court between 1926 and 1938. Later 

decisions of the Customs Court were reported in United States Customs 

Court Reports, 85 vols. (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1939–1981) and, after 1956, in the Federal Supplement (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing 

Co., 1933–1998). The decisions of the U.S. Court of International Trade 

are reported in United States Court of International Trade Reports (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1982–) and in the fi rst and second series of the 

Federal Supplement.
66 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

E. U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, 1910–1982

1. Historical Note

The Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909 provided for a U.S. Court of Customs Appeals to hear all appeals from the Board of General Appraisers (later known as the U.S. Customs Court) because such appeals had 

become a heavy burden for the U.S. circuit courts and the U.S. circuit 

courts of appeals, particularly those of the Second Circuit. Despite considerable opposition to the creation of a specialized appeals court, Congress approved a measure that called for a fi ve-judge court to convene in 

Washington, D.C. In 1929, Congress renamed the court the U.S. Court 

of Customs and Patent Appeals and expanded its jurisdiction to include 

appeals from the Patent Offi ce in patent and trademark cases. Such cases 

previously had been the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals was 

abolished in 1982, when its judges and its jurisdiction were transferred 

to the new U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

2. Records Description

The records of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals were 

transferred to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1982. 

Some of the court’s early records have since been accessioned by the National Archives and are organized as Record Group 503 at the National 

Archives in Washington, D.C.

 The general and administrative records of the U.S. Court of Customs 

and Patent Appeals include dockets, journals, rough notes (rough minutes), attorney rolls, cash books, and court calendars. The court’s case 

records are organized by jurisdiction, with separate series of case fi les 

and briefs for customs and patent cases. Researchers can consult the 

introduction of this chapter for a description of a court’s general, administrative, and case records. In addition to the standard types of materials 

found in case fi les, patent case fi les include patent drawings.

3. Published Decisions

The written decisions of the U.S. Court of Customs Appeals and its successor, the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, are published 

in Court of Customs Appeals Reports (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1911–

1929), Court of Customs and Patent Appeals Reports (Washington, D.C.: 

G.P.O., 1930–1967), and Cases Decided in United States Court of Customs 
Chapter 5. Records of Federal Courts of Special Jurisdiction 67

and Patent Appeals (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1967–1983). The three 

series contain 69 consecutively numbered volumes, each of which includes an alphabetically arranged index of reported cases and a memorandum of cases decided without a written opinion. Volumes 17 to 59, 

covering the period from 1929 to 1972, are divided into two parts, with 

part one containing customs cases and part two containing patent cases.

F. Commerce Court, 1910–1913

1. Historical Note

In 1910, Congress created the Commerce Court to hear appeals from 

orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which had been 

established in 1887 to regulate the nation’s railroads. The court was 

composed of fi ve judges appointed by the President and confi rmed by 

the Senate to serve staggered terms of up to fi ve years. These judges were 

simultaneously appointed to a U.S. circuit court of appeals upon which 

they could continue to serve with tenure during good behavior at the 

conclusion of their Commerce Court service.

 The Commerce Court had jurisdiction, previously vested in the U.S. 

circuit courts, over cases brought to enforce, annul, set aside, or suspend 

the orders of the ICC, but the court’s fi nal judgments were reviewable, 

on appeal, by the Supreme Court of the United States. In an act of October 1913, Congress abolished the Commerce Court as of December 31, 

1913. The jurisdiction of the court was assigned to the district courts, 

and pending cases were transferred to the district court in which the 

petitioning party resided.

2. Records Description

The records of the Commerce Court make up Record Group 172 at the 

National Archives in Washington, D.C. The Commerce Court’s records 

consist of general records, case records, and miscellaneous records (see 

the introduction of this chapter for an explanation of the materials included in these types of records).

 The general records of the Commerce Court include a docket book, 

engrossed and rough minutes, and a roll of attorneys admitted to practice before the court. In addition to a record of the proceedings and fi lings in each case, the docket gives information on Interstate Commerce 

Commission cases in the U.S. circuit courts prior to the creation of the 

Commerce Court as well as a record of the transfer of the Commerce 

Court’s cases to the U.S. district courts in December 1913.
68 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 The court’s case records include case fi les, a collection of records and 

briefs, and a separate fi le of stenographic transcripts of the court’s oral 

proceedings. Records of cases pending in the Commerce Court on December 31, 1913, are part of the records of the U.S. district courts (RG 

21) to which those cases were transferred. 

 The miscellaneous records of the Commerce Court include lists of 

cases pending in or fi led with the court, copies of the marshal’s outgoing correspondence, an index to the court’s published opinions, and a 

bound volume of printed briefs fi led in 1911 by representatives of the 

railroad industry and the federal government relating to the scope of the 

court’s jurisdiction.

 Researchers may also wish to consult the records of the Interstate 

Commerce Commission in Record Group 134, which is held at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

3. Published Decisions

The decisions of the Commerce Court were reported in the single-volume Opinions of the United States Commerce Court (Washington, D.C.: 

G.P.O., 1913). The index to Opinions indicates which of the decisions 

were also reported in volumes 188 to 209 of the Federal Reporter (St. 

Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1880–1924) as well as which cases 

were appealed to the Supreme Court.

G. Emergency Court of Appeals, 1942–1961; Temporary 

Emergency Court of Appeals, 1971–1992

1. Historical Note

In 1942, Congress established the Emergency Court of Appeals as a special court with exclusive jurisdiction to decide cases arising from wartime price control measures imposed by the Emergency Price Control 

Act of 1942. The act authorized the Chief Justice of the United States to 

designate three or more U.S. district and appeals court judges to serve 

on the court until the Chief Justice revoked their appointment. The 

court exercised most of the powers of a U.S. district court, and Congress 

later extended its jurisdiction to cases arising under the Housing and 

Rent Act of 1948 and the Defense Production Act of 1950. The court 

heard its last case in 1961.

 Congress established the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals 

in December 1971 and granted it exclusive jurisdiction to hear appeals 

from the decisions of the U.S. district courts in cases arising under the 
Chapter 5. Records of Federal Courts of Special Jurisdiction 69

wage and price control program of the Economic Stabilization Act of 

1970. Congress authorized the Chief Justice of the United States to appoint to the temporary court three or more district and appeals court 

judges, each of whom was to serve on a part-time basis for an indefi nite 

term. The court exercised the same powers as a U.S. court of appeals, 

and it was authorized to prescribe its own rules of practice, which it did 

when its three district and six appeals court judges convened for the fi rst 

time in February 1972.

 Although the Economic Stabilization Act expired in 1974, Congress, 

in the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973, extended the operation of the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals. The court exercised 

the judicial review provisions of the energy price stabilization program 

established by the act. The temporary court’s jurisdiction was further 

expanded in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 and the 

Emergency Natural Gas Act of 1977. In 1992, Congress abolished the 

Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals and transferred its jurisdiction 

and its pending cases to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

2. Records Description

The records of the Emergency Court of Appeals and the Temporary 

Emergency Court of Appeals, consisting of briefs, appendices, case fi les, 

and other legal papers, are included with the records of the U.S. Courts 

of Appeals in Record Group 276 (see Chapter 2). The records of the 

Emergency Court of Appeals are held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The records of the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals 

are available to researchers at the Washington National Records Center 

in Suitland, Maryland, pending transfer of the records to the National 

Archives.

 Records related to the work of the Emergency Court of Appeals can 

also be found in the records of other federal agencies. Associate general 

counsel case fi les from cases tried before the Emergency Court of Appeals are held with the Records of the Offi ce of the General Counsel in 

RG 188, Records of the Offi ce of Price Administration. Transcripts of 

hearings before the court can be found in RG 252, Records of the Offi ce 

of the Housing Expediter.
70 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

3. Published Decisions

The opinions issued by the Emergency Court of Appeals and the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals of the United States were published 

in Federal Reporter, Second Series (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 

1925–1993).

H. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, 1978–

1. Historical Note

In 1978, Congress established the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 

Court and authorized the Chief Justice of the United States to designate 

seven federal district court judges to review applications for warrants 

related to national security investigations. The provisions for the court 

were part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which required 

the government, before it commenced certain kinds of intelligence gathering operations within the United States, to obtain a judicial warrant 

similar to that required in criminal investigations. The act required each 

application for a warrant to contain the Attorney General’s certifi cation 

that the target of the proposed surveillance was either a “foreign power” 

or “the agent of a foreign power” and, in the case of a U.S. citizen or resident alien, that the target may be involved in the commission of a crime. 

The USA Patriot Act of 2001 increased the number of judges serving on 

the court from seven to eleven.

 The act of 1978 also established a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 

Court of Review—presided over by three district or appeals court judges 

designated by the Chief Justice—to review, at the government’s request, 

the decisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

2. Records Description 

The historical records of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court remain classifi ed and have not been accessioned by the National Archives. 

Upon accession, they will make up Record Group 477.

3. Published Decisions

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requires the Attorney General, in April of each year, to transmit to the Administrative Offi ce of 

the United States Courts and to Congress a report setting forth the total 

number of applications made for orders and extensions of orders approving electronic surveillance under the act and the total number of 
Chapter 5. Records of Federal Courts of Special Jurisdiction 71

orders and extensions either granted, modifi ed, or denied by the Foreign 

Intelligence Surveillance Court during the previous year. These reports 

are classifi ed and unavailable to the public.

 Almost all of the orders of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 

Court are sealed. The unsealed opinions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court are published in the Federal Supplement, Second Series

(St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1998–). The unsealed opinions 

of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review are published 

in the Federal Reporter, Third Series (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing 

Co., 1993–). Additional case materials for both courts, including orders, 

memoranda, correspondence, and other related documents, are available through Westlaw (http://www.westlaw.com).

I. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, 1968–

1. Historical Note

In 1968, Congress established the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and granted it authority to transfer to a single district court the 

pretrial proceedings for civil cases involving common questions of fact. 

The Panel was the successor to the Coordinating Committee for Multiple 

Litigation for the United States District Courts, which had been established by Chief Justice Earl Warren as part of the Judicial Conference 

in 1962 to promote more effi cient processing of the large number of 

antitrust cases involving electrical equipment manufacturers then pending in the federal courts. Expanding on the success of the committee’s 

advisory role, Congress established the Panel as a national court with 

the authority to order transfers, conduct hearings, publish opinions, and 

establish its own rules of practice.

 The Chief Justice of the United States appoints the members of the 

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which is composed of seven 

district or appeals court judges, each of whom must be from a different 

judicial circuit. The Panel’s offi ce is located in Washington, D.C., and it 

convenes in various locations around the country to facilitate the participation of parties and witnesses and to accommodate its members, who 

continue to serve as judges for the courts to which they were originally 

appointed.

2. Records Description

The records of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation make up 

Record Group 482 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. RG 482 
72 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

includes transcripts, minutes, case fi les, and other records from hearings 

and executive sessions.

 The records of the Panel’s predecessor, the Coordinating Committee for Multiple Litigation (covering the year 1962 only), are included 

among the records of the Judicial Conference of the United States, which 

are part of the records of the Administrative Offi ce of the United States 

Courts, in Record Group 116, at the National Archives in Washington, 

D.C. The collection consists of bulletins, legal complaints, correspondence, memorandums, notes, pretrial orders, and the reports of the Judicial Conference’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure.

3. Published Decisions

The opinions and orders of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation 

are published in the Federal Supplement (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1933–1998; second series, 1998–).
73

Chapter 6. Records of Judicial Branch 

Administration

This chapter directs researchers to the historical records and publications of the judicial branch’s institutions and agencies that have aided 

in the administration of the federal courts, served as liaisons between 

the judiciary and the other branches of the federal government, recommended modifi cations in judicial administration, and established policies for the federal courts.

A. Judicial Conference of the United States, 1922–

1. Historical Note

The Judicial Conference of the United States serves as the governing 

board of the federal judiciary in administrative matters. Established in 

1922 as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, the Conference reports 

to Congress on the judicial business of the United States courts and recommends possible improvements in judicial administration. In 1948, 

Congress changed the name of the Conference to the Judicial Conference of the United States.

 The Chief Justice of the United States serves as the presiding offi cer of the Judicial Conference. From the Conference’s inception, the 

chief judges of the United States courts of appeals, known until 1948 

as senior circuit judges, have served as members of the Conference. In 

1957, Congress expanded the membership of the Conference to include 

a district court judge from each circuit, and in 1986 Congress added the 

chief judge of the U.S. Court of International Trade.

 The Judicial Conference operates through a network of committees, 

each of which makes policy recommendations to the larger body. Its 

statutory duties include making comprehensive surveys of the business 

in the federal courts, preparing plans for the assignment of judges to 

or from courts of appeals or district courts, promoting uniformity of 

management procedures and the expeditious conduct of business in the 

federal courts, reviewing and making recommendations regarding the 

federal rules of practice and procedure, supervising the director of the 

Administrative Offi ce of the United States Courts, and reviewing the 

conduct and disability orders of the circuit judicial councils.
74 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

2. Records

The historical records of the Judicial Conference are included with the 

Records of the Administrative Offi ce of the U.S. Courts in Record Group 

116 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. These records primarily relate to the Judicial Conference’s committees and meetings. Records 

related to meetings include minutes, agendas, correspondence, reports, 

surveys, notes, and other related papers. Committee records include 

work materials generated by the committees as well as the committees’ 

fi nal reports. Committee records contain minutes of committee meetings, agendas, transcripts of testimony, correspondence, memoranda, 

surveys, orders for supplies, and other miscellaneous papers relating to 

committee activities.

 The records of the General Services Administration, in Record Group 

269 at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, include two 

boxes of papers related to the Committee on Judicial Review of the President’s Conference on Administrative Procedures (1953–1954), which 

was called by President Eisenhower at the request of the Chief Justice of 

the United States as chairman of the Judicial Conference. The fi les in RG 

269 include the published reports of the Conference on Administrative 

Procedures, lists of consultants, proposed legislation, recommendations 

to the Judicial Conference, correspondence, Conference bulletins, reports adopted by the Judicial Conference, copies of law review articles 

on judicial review, and other miscellaneous papers.

3. Publications

The Report of the Proceedings of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 

which has been published under various titles since 1924, is the offi cial record of the Conference. The Chief Justice of the United States 

submits the report to Congress shortly after each Conference meeting, 

and the report is distributed widely throughout the judicial and executive branches of the government. A memorandum of the Conference’s 

fi rst two meetings, convened on December 28, 1922, and September 

26, 1923, was published in “The Federal Judicial Council,” Texas Law 

Review 2 (1924): 458–63. Reports submitted between 1924 and 1939, 

and in 1942 and 1943, were published as part of The Annual Report 

of the Attorney General of the United States (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 

1924–1939, 1942–1943); the Conference’s 1944 report was never published. Reports issued in 1940 and 1941, and from 1945 to 2004, were 

published in single volumes with the Annual Report of the Director of the 
Chapter 6. Records of Judicial Branch Administration 75

Administrative Offi ce of the United States Courts (Washington D.C.: G.P.O., 

1940–1941, 1945–1990; Administrative Offi ce of the United States 

Courts, 1991–2004). In 2005, the Administrative Offi ce of the United 

States Courts began printing a semiannual Report of the Proceedings of the 

Judicial Conference of the United States.

 Conference reports contain information about the state of the dockets in the federal courts, descriptions of Conference meetings and lists 

of judges in attendance; the reports also include the recommendations 

and resolutions of the Conference and the Attorney General regarding 

proposed legislation, the need for additional judgeships, the salaries of 

court offi cers and employees, and other matters affecting the business of 

the federal judiciary.

B. Administrative Offi ce of the United States Courts, 1939–

1. Historical Note

In 1939, Congress established the Administrative Offi ce of the United 

States Courts as the fi rst agency dedicated solely to the administration 

of the federal judiciary. Unlike the executive branch departments that 

had previously provided centralized administrative support for the federal courts (see Part III), the Administrative Offi ce operated under the 

direction of the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges (later renamed the 

Judicial Conference). The Administrative Offi ce assumed most of the 

judiciary-related duties formerly exercised by the Department of Justice, 

including the preparation of budget requests, the disbursal of appropriated funds, procurement, and the compilation of statistics related to 

court business. Pursuant to the originating statute, the Supreme Court 

selected the director of the Administrative Offi ce until 1990; in 1990 

Congress authorized the Chief Justice to appoint the director and deputy director, with the concurrence of the Judicial Conference. The agency 

continues to provide support for the day-to-day operation of the federal 

courts and for the Judicial Conference.

2. Records

The records of the Administrative Offi ce of the United States Courts 

make up Record Group 116 at the National Archives in Washington, 

D.C. RG 116 includes general administrative records as well as separate 

collections that are organized by offi ce (director, assistant director, or 

deputy director), division, or committee. Within each of these groups 

are collections of correspondence, subject fi les, reports, publications, 
76 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

surveys, memoranda, bulletins, circulars, speeches, published papers, 

and statistics. Many of the records within RG 116 relate to proposed 

legislation, the budget of the judiciary, general court rules and administration, or the particular work of each division or committee.

3. Publications

The Annual Report of the Director of the Administrative Offi ce of the United 

States Courts (Washington D.C.: G.P.O., 1940–1941, 1945–1990; Administrative Offi ce of the United States Courts, 1991–) contains summaries of new and proposed legislation affecting the courts, as well as 

a variety of statistical information related to the caseload, budget, and 

personnel of the federal judiciary. From 1940 until 2004, the director’s 

annual report was published in the same volume as the Report of the 

Proceedings of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

 Over time, the director’s report came to be divided into two component parts, one focusing on the business of the courts and the other on 

the activities of the Administrative Offi ce. In addition to being available 

with the Proceedings of the Judicial Conference until 2004, these parts have 

been published as two separate reports, entitled Judicial Business of the 

United States Courts (published since 1999) and Activities of the Administrative Offi ce of the United States Courts (published since 1990). Since 

2005, Judicial Business and Activities have only been available as separate 

publications.

 The Administrative Offi ce publishes two periodicals, The Third 

Branch: A Bulletin of the Federal Courts (1968–) and Federal Probation: A 

Journal of Correctional Philosophy and Practice (1937–), as well as a variety 

of statistical reports, monographs, manuals, and codes of conduct for 

judges and judicial branch employees. (Initially The Third Branch was 

published by the Federal Judicial Center. From 1970 to 1989 the Federal Judicial Center and Administrative Offi ce jointly published it, and 

thereafter it was published exclusively by the Administrative Offi ce.) 

Recent Administrative Offi ce publications can be viewed or downloaded 

from the offi cial website of the federal courts: http://www.uscourts.gov/.

C. Federal Judicial Center, 1967– 

1. Historical Note

In 1967, Congress established the Federal Judicial Center to carry out 

research related to the administration of justice and court management, 

to provide education and training for federal judges and court person-
Chapter 6. Records of Judicial Branch Administration 77

nel, and to assist and advise the Judicial Conference on matters related 

to the administration and management of the courts. More recent legislation has expanded the Center’s mandate to include, among other 

things, programs related to the history of the federal judiciary and to international judicial affairs. The Federal Judicial Center is governed by its 

Board, consisting of the Chief Justice, who serves as chair, the director 

of the Administrative Offi ce, and seven judges appointed by the Judicial 

Conference. The Board selects the Center’s director and deputy director.

2. Records

The records of the Federal Judicial Center make up Record Group 516 

at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. These records include the 

offi ce fi les of the Center’s directors, subject fi les related to the Center’s 

research and programs, and copies of Center publications.

 The offi ce fi les of the Center’s directors contain correspondence, 

speeches, miscellaneous papers, and reports relating to the work and 

organization of the federal judiciary. The Center’s collection of subject 

fi les documents the Center’s research projects, many of which were assigned to the agency by the Judicial Conference. Subject fi les include 

correspondence, the working papers of the various divisions and groups 

within the agency, drafts of publications, and copies of speeches given 

by the Center’s directors and deputy directors. RG 516 also includes 

Federal Judicial Center publications.

3. Publications

The Federal Judicial Center’s Annual Report (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 

1968–1969, n.p., 1970; Federal Judicial Center, 1971–) describes the 

various education and research projects undertaken by the Center. In 

addition, it includes information about the history and organization of 

the agency, details about the Center’s budget, and lists and summaries of 

its various publications.

 The numerous reports, manuals, pamphlets, brochures, and other 

materials published by the Federal Judicial Center since 1968 are listed and described in the Center’s online publications catalogue. Many 

of these publications can be viewed or downloaded from the Center’s 

website: http://www.fjc.gov/. Reports of the proceedings of the Center’s 

seminars for newly appointed federal judges in the 1960s and 1970s 

were published in Federal Rules Decisions (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1940–).
78 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

D. Circuit Judicial Councils, 1939–

1. Historical Note

In 1939, Congress established circuit judicial councils to oversee the 

administration of the federal courts within each respective circuit. Congress mandated that these councils convene at least twice each year to review the caseload reports of the Administrative Offi ce of the U.S. Courts 

and to issue instructions to the district judges within the circuit to expedite the courts’ business. In 1980, Congress broadened the councils’ 

mandate to include making “all necessary and appropriate orders for 

the effective and expeditious administration of justice within its circuit.” 

The councils’ duties include reviewing and revising local rules of practice to ensure their consistency with national rules, making temporary 

assignments for district and circuit judges, and reviewing complaints of 

judicial misconduct.

 Under the 1939 statute, only the court of appeals judges in each 

circuit sat on a circuit judicial council. Since 1990, the councils have 

included an equal number of district and circuit judges, as well as the 

chief circuit judge, who presides over the council’s meetings.

 In 1971, Congress authorized each circuit judicial council to appoint a circuit executive to “exercise such administrative powers and 

perform such duties as may be delegated” by the council. The circuit 

executive’s responsibilities include the administration of “all nonjudicial 

activities” of the circuit’s court of appeals as well as oversight of many 

other aspects of the court’s administration.

2. Records

The meeting fi les of the circuit judicial councils and the records of the 

circuit executives are included with the Records of the U.S. Courts 

of Appeals (RG 276) at the various regional branches of the National 

Archives. The administrative records of the circuit executives include 

materials related to judicial conferences, reports, correspondence, and 

other miscellaneous papers. To date, few of these records have been accessioned by the National Archives.

 Council orders relating to complaints of judicial misconduct and 

disability are available for public research either at the circuit clerk’s offi ce or on the website of the courts of appeals. Selected reports of the 

proceedings of the circuit councils are also published in Federal Rules 

Decisions (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1940–).
Chapter 6. Records of Judicial Branch Administration 79

E. Circuit Judicial Conferences, 1939– 

1. Historical Note

In 1939, Congress mandated the holding of circuit judicial conferences 

to provide judges and lawyers a forum “for the purpose of considering 

the state of the business of the courts and advising ways and means 

of improving the administration of justice within the circuit.” In 1990, 

Congress gave the chief judge of each circuit the option to hold conferences biennially rather than annually, and in 1996 Congress made the 

holding of these conferences optional. Most circuits continue to convene 

the conferences on an annual basis.

2. Records

Circuit judicial conferences generate few records that are retained at the 

National Archives. Conference proceedings are generally documented in 

the programs and agendas that are distributed to attendees. Other conference records include responses to invitations, newspaper clippings, 

reports of the chief judges of the district courts, transcripts of conference 

meetings, and other miscellaneous conference materials. Few of these 

records have been accessioned by the National Archives. Those that have 

been are included with the Records of the U.S. Courts of Appeals (RG 

276) at the regional branches of the National Archives. The Records of 

the Administrative Offi ce of the U.S. Courts (RG 116) also include conference committee reports, minutes, agendas, studies, memorandums, 

copies of speeches, and correspondence between the director of the Administrative Offi ce and the chief judges of the courts of appeals regarding the agendas of the circuit conferences.

F. United States Sentencing Commission, 1984–

1. Historical Note

Congress established the United States Sentencing Commission in 1984 

as an independent commission within the judicial branch responsible for 

establishing sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts. The 

Sentencing Commission establishes guidelines that prescribe a range of 

sentences for federal judges to use in criminal cases. The guidelines, as 

amended and approved by Congress from time to time, have been in 

effect since 1987. The Commission conducts research on crime and sentencing issues, provides public information on these issues, and advises 

Congress and the executive branch on crime policy. The Commission 
80 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

submits proposed amendments to the guidelines to Congress and provides reports to the Judicial Conference and members of the executive 

branch on matters related to crime policy and sentencing.

 The seven voting members of the Commission—at least three of 

whom must be federal judges and no more than four of whom can be 

from the same political party—are appointed by the President to sixyear terms. The Attorney General, or a designee thereof, serves as a nonvoting member, as does the chair of the U.S. Parole Commission.

2. Records

The National Archives has designated Record Group 539 as the Records of the United States Sentencing Commission, but to date no records have been accessioned. Certain records are available for public 

research through the Sentencing Commission’s Offi ce of Legislative and 

Public Affairs, in Washington, D.C. These materials include agendas, 

transcripts of public hearings, minutes of public meetings, public comments on proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines, data 

and reports, and written public testimony. Minutes from public meetings, witnesses’ written statements, and transcripts of testimony from 

public hearings are also available through the Commission’s website 

(http://www.ussc.gov/).

 Some of the Sentencing Commission’s data on sentencing practices 

(excluding case and defendant identifi ers) are available to researchers 

through the University of Michigan’s Inter-University Consortium for 

Political and Social Research and can be accessed from the Consortium’s 

website (http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/). Commission data that have been 

incorporated into the datasets of the Federal Justice Statistics Resource 

Center, which is sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and developed by the Urban Institute, are available at http://fjsrc.urban.org/.

3. Publications

Proposed amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines are published, 

with a request for public comment, in the Federal Register (Washington, 

D.C.: G.P.O., 1936–). The Commission’s other publications include its Annual Report (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1987–); the Guidelines Manual 

(Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1987–), which contains the Commission’s 

guidelines, commentary, and policy statements; the Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1996–), which had 

previously appeared as the descriptive statistics portion of the Annual 
Chapter 6. Records of Judicial Branch Administration 81

Report; and the Commission’s newsletter, GuideLines (Washington, D.C.: 

U.S. Sentencing Commission, 1995–). The Sentencing Commission 

also publishes various reports for Congress on specifi c topics relating 

to crime and sentencing. Most of the Commission’s reports and publications, as well as its Resource Guide, can be viewed on the Commission’s 

website (http://www.ussc.gov/).

83

Chapter 7. Records of Other Courts

The records of several pre-federal and temporary courts are maintained 

with the records of the federal courts at the various branches of the National Archives.

 The records of the Supreme Court of the United States, in Record 

Group 267 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., include the records of the pre-federal Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture. The Continental Congress established the Court of Appeals in 1780 to hear appeals in prize cases from the courts of the thirteen colonies (from 1776 

until the establishment of the court in 1780, the Continental Congress 

considered these appeals). The records of the court, which date from 

1772 to 1789, include case fi les and other case-related papers, minutes, 

resolutions, lists of cases, and records from the Continental Congress. In 

1792, Congress transferred the records of the Court of Appeals in Cases 

of Capture to the clerk of the Supreme Court.

 The records of the U.S. district and circuit courts in RG 21 at the 

regional branches of the National Archives also include several collections of pre-federal and provisional court records. The records of the 

Vice Admiralty Court of the Province of New York (1685–1838) and of 

the Court of Admiralty of the State of New York (1784–1788) (which 

include admiralty and piracy case papers, minutes, lists, and miscellaneous records), have been accessioned with the records of the Southern 

District of New York at the National Archives at New York City. Similar 

admiralty records for the province and state of South Carolina (1716–

1789) are included with the records of the District of South Carolina 

at the National Archives at Atlanta. The records of the Eastern District 

of Louisiana, at the National Archives at Fort Worth, include the records of the U.S. Provisional Court for the state of Louisiana, which 

was established by executive order in 1862. These records, which cover 

the years 1863 to 1865, include minutes, dockets, case fi les, indexes to 

judgments, and records concerning land condemnation. The records of 

the District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, at the National Archives 

at New York City, include the records of the U.S. Provisional Court of 

Puerto Rico (1899–1900), which include a criminal docket and indexes 

to criminal cases.

 States that joined the Confederacy during the Civil War continued 

to create judicial records. In some instances court personnel used the 

same minute or docket books as the preceding U.S. district or circuit 
84 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

court. In other instances they began keeping new books. In addition 

to the standard types of court records, including law, equity, criminal, 

habeas, admiralty, and clerks’ records, the most prevalent type of case 

records from the Confederate courts are case fi les that resulted from the 

Sequestration Act, adopted by the Confederate Congress in 1861. The 

records of the Confederate judiciary are generally maintained as a distinct unit within the records of a federal judicial district within RG 21, 

except in instances when the Confederate court used the same books 

as the previous or subsequent U.S. court. Additional Confederate court 

records are maintained in two other groups: Record Group 365, the 

Treasury Department Collection of Confederate Records, held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and at College Park, Maryland; 

and Record Group 109, the War Department Collection of Confederate 

Records, held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

 Many records of territorial courts have also been accessioned with 

Record Group 21. Throughout the history of the federal government, 

Congress has established courts for the organized territories of the 

United States, and these courts have generally exercised a combination 

of federal and local jurisdiction. The records created by the territorial 

courts were typically transferred to the federal district court that was established when the territory became a state and are now generally maintained as a distinct series of records within the records of the subsequent 

district court. Territorial records are organized similarly to the records 

of the U.S. district courts, except that the territorial records contain additional material of a local nature. Some territorial court records remain 

in the custody of state archives and private libraries.

 Many of the executive branch records described in Part III of this 

guide include materials related to territorial courts. The National Archives’ collection of “Territorial Papers” in Record Group 59 (General 

Records of the Department of State), for example, contains material relating to the creation and maintenance of various courts in the federal 

territories. Correspondence in the records of the Attorney General and 

Department of Justice in Record Group 60 also contains information 

about the administration of justice in the territories.

 Territorial court decisions were sporadically reported and published 

in individual territorial court reporters and in the following regional reporters: the North Western Reporter (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing 

Co., 1879–), the Pacifi c Reporter (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 

1884–), and the South Western Reporter (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing 

Co., 1887–). Researchers interested in the archival records and published 
Chapter 7. Records of Other Courts 85

opinions of territorial courts should also consult Michael Chiorazzi and 

Marguerite Most, eds., Prestatehood Legal Materials: A Fifty-State Research 

Guide, Including New York City and the District of Columbia, 2 vols. (New 

York: The Haworth Press, 2005), and David W. Parker, ed., Calendar 

of Papers in Washington Archives Relating to the Territories of the United 

States (to 1873) (Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 

1911).

 The National Archives also holds the records of federal courts that 

are outside of the judiciary. These courts are served by judges who do 

not have the Article III protections of service during good behavior or 

exemption from salary reductions, and the administration of these courts 

is not governed by the policies of the Judicial Conference of the United 

States. Most of the federal courts outside the judiciary were established 

by the Congress to carry out a legislative power, such as the determination of taxes or the governance of the armed forces.

 The records of the U.S. Tax Court, which was established by Congress in 1969 as a successor to the Tax Court and the Board of Tax Appeals, are held in Record Group 308 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and at College Park, Maryland. The records of the U.S. 

Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces are returned to the branch of 

the military from which the case was appealed. Once accessioned, the 

records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which was 

established in 1988, will make up Record Group 521 at the National 

Archives. The records of the Merit Systems Protection Board, which was 

established in 1978 to hear appeals of personnel actions in the federal 

civil service, are held at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, 

in RG 479, with related records in the Records of the Offi ce of Personnel 

Management (RG 478) and the Records of the U.S. Civil Service Commission (RG 146). Case fi les and correspondence related to the United 

States Court for China (1906–1943) can also be found in Record Group 

118, Records of the U.S. Attorneys, and Record Group 527, Records of 

the United States Marshals Service.

87

Part II. Congressional Records 

Related to the Judiciary

Historical Note

Article III of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress authority to establish 

inferior federal courts and to defi ne much of those courts’ jurisdiction. 

Since 1789, Congress has created various types of federal courts, established judicial districts and circuits and redrawn their boundaries, 

defi ned federal jurisdiction within the limits set by the Constitution, 

determined judicial salaries, appropriated the annual budget for the judiciary, and established administrative support agencies for the courts. 

The Constitution also grants the House of Representatives and the Senate a central role in the impeachment of federal judges, and the Senate 

has the unique power to confi rm or reject judicial nominees put forward 

by the President.

 The records of both houses of the U.S. Congress provide insight into 

the work of the federal judiciary and the relationship between Congress 

and the courts. Congress received numerous letters, petitions, memorials, and resolutions from judges, litigants, elected offi cials, court offi cers, 

attorneys, and other persons interested in the organization and jurisdiction of the courts as well as other matters of importance to the judiciary, 

the legal profession, and the general public. These congressional records 

help illuminate how the public has viewed the federal judiciary throughout United States history. These records also document various calls for 

reorganization of the judicial system. Records related to bills and legislation reveal the processes by which changes in the judicial system have 

been proposed or enacted. The impeachment records of Congress document the legislative branch’s important disciplinary role over the judicial 

branch as part of the federal government’s system of checks and balances. The Senate’s records of executive proceedings reveal its responsibility 

to advise and consent to presidential nominees to the federal bench and 

other court offi ces.

89

Chapter 8. Records of the U.S. 

Congress

The archival records of the U.S. Congress are maintained in several record groups at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The records 

of the U.S. Senate are maintained in Record Group 46; the records of the 

U.S. House of Representatives are in Record Group 233. Within each 

record group, the records are arranged chronologically by Congress, and 

thereunder in series according to the type of record, including records 

of legislative proceedings (which include committee records), records 

of impeachment proceedings, and, for the Senate, records of executive 

proceedings. Since the mid-1960s, Senate committee records have been 

accessioned by the National Archives in collections that cover multiple 

Congresses. These more recent records are therefore organized by committee rather than by Congress.

 General Senate records are closed to public research for twenty 

years; general House of Representatives records are closed to researchers for thirty years. The investigative and impeachment records of both 

houses are closed for fi fty years. The staff of the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives is available to assist researchers 

in the use of congressional records. Researchers can contact the Center for Legislative Archives by phone at 202-357-5350 or by email at 

legislative.archives@nara.gov.

 Many records of Congress have been published by the federal government, scholarly presses, and private companies. Published records 

of the Senate and House of Representatives include laws, records of debates, hearings, journals, offi cial documents, committee reports, committee prints, and documentary editions of congressional materials. A 

rich collection of congressional records is also available on the Internet.

A. Records of Legislative Proceedings: Introduction

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives maintain series of 

archival records related to their legislative proceedings. These series are 

composed of several subseries, including collections of minutes and 

journals, bills and resolutions, committee papers and reports, bill fi les or 

accompanying papers, petitions and memorials, presidential messages, 

and miscellaneous records. Minutes and journals, bills and resolutions, 

presidential messages, and miscellaneous records document the work of 
90 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

the whole House and Senate. The other subseries—committee papers 

and reports, petitions and memorials, and bill fi les or accompanying 

papers—document the work of the various committees of the House 

and Senate.

 The records of legislative proceedings described in this chapter include documents received by and created by both houses of the U.S. 

Congress in the process of considering legislation, conducting hearings, 

and carrying out Congress’s other legislative functions. These records are 

organized into subseries, as described above. To simplify the description 

of these records, however, this guide describes the records of legislative proceedings in two sections: (1) General Records of the Senate and 

House of Representatives and (2) Records of Congressional Committees. 

B. General Records of the Senate and House of 

Representatives

1. Minutes and Journals

Article I, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution requires each house of the 

U.S. Congress to “keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to 

time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment 

require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House, 

on any question, shall, at the desire of one-fi fth of those present, be entered in the journal.” The minutes of the House and Senate, in Record 

Groups 233 and 46, respectively, provide a record of the daily proceedings in each house of Congress, including the votes and amendments to 

bills related to the federal judiciary. Generally, each house kept a different minute book for each session of Congress. In many early sessions, 

the houses kept a “rough” legislative journal in addition to a transcribed 

and corrected copy. In some instances, the Senate also kept a separate 

journal of the proceedings in impeachment cases.

 The minutes of the House and Senate are transcribed and published 

as the Journal of the House of Representatives and the Journal of the Senate,

providing a printed, indexed, and easily accessible account of the business considered by each house and the votes or other actions that were 

taken on those matters. The published Journals are widely available in 

libraries throughout the nation. Many of the early Journals have been 

digitized and placed online (see Internet Resources below).

 Researchers can track the progress of bills in each house of Congress 

through the houses’ respective Journals. Beginning with the Eighteenth 

Congress (1823–1825), the House Journal included a table indicating 
Chapter 8. Records of the U.S. Congress 91

when each House and Senate bill was introduced, when the bill was 

amended and passed by each house of Congress, and when it was approved by the President. Beginning with the second session of the Twenty-Fourth Congress (1836–1837), the Senate Journal included a similar 

“Table of Bills.”

2. Bills and Resolutions

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have maintained fi les 

of bills and resolutions that originated in their own chamber as well as 

fi les of bills that were fi rst introduced in the other house. Within each of 

these series, bills and resolutions are arranged by session and thereunder 

by number. Researchers can follow amendments to bills through annotated copies in these fi les. Researchers can also access published versions 

of bills and resolutions in their various amended forms at the National 

Archives, the Library of Congress, and federal depository libraries.

3. Miscellaneous Records

Both houses of Congress maintained other series of records that have 

limited amounts of information related to the judiciary. Messages received from the executive branch appear under various headings, including “Messages, Reports and Communications which were Tabled,” 

“President’s Messages,” and other titles. Executive branch messages often 

include reports from the heads of the executive branch departments and 

messages from the President (related to subjects other than presidential 

nominations). Executive branch reports, which are usually published 

and available in the United States Congressional Serial Set (see section L, 

below), can include information related to judicial appropriations and 

fi nances, court meeting places, caseload statistics, and other subjects 

(see the sections on the published records of the executive branch departments in Part III).

 The House of Representatives also kept reports from the Court of 

Claims, which sent Congress brief statements of recently adjudicated 

cases. Many of these papers are also available in the Serial Set.

C. Records of Congressional Committees

The records of the committees of the House and Senate from 1789 until 

the early 1960s are organized into subseries of committee reports and 

papers, petitions and memorials, and bill fi les or accompanying papers 

that document the work of each committee in each house of Congress. 
92 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

The holdings for each of these subseries are often inconsistent or duplicative, so a researcher interested in all documents of one category, such 

as petitions, will need to examine all of the subseries for that committee.

 Since the early 1960s, the records of congressional committees and 

subcommittees have been organized in aggregate fi les for individual 

committees. The House committees continue to organize records by 

Congress for deposit at the National Archives. The Senate committees, 

however, send records to the National Archives in larger groups that may 

include committee records that span several Congresses. The National 

Archives maintains these records in the way they were arranged at the 

time of the accession.

 Researchers interested in federal judicial history will likely fi nd most 

of the archival materials they need among the records of the House and 

Senate committees on the judiciary. The House of Representatives established a standing Committee on the Judiciary in 1813. Since then, the 

committee has reported to the full House of Representatives on most 

legislation regarding the structure of the federal courts and the service of 

judges.

 In 1816, the Senate established its Committee on the Judiciary as 

one of its original standing committees. Since then, the committee has 

been responsible for reporting to the full Senate on legislation regarding the structure, administration, jurisdiction, and proceedings of the 

federal courts, as well as on legislation related to the service of federal 

judges. Throughout the nineteenth century, the Senate Committee on 

the Judiciary frequently considered petitions and other appeals for additional judgeships, new district courts, changes in the meeting places 

of federal courts, and increases in judicial salaries. The committee also 

played a central role in drafting the legislation establishing independent 

administrative agencies for the judiciary in the twentieth century. The 

Senate Judiciary Committee has been responsible for the initial consideration of the nominations of federal judges and justices of the Supreme 

Court.

1. Committee Reports and Papers

The reports and papers of the House and Senate committees are arranged by Congress and then by committee. Committee reports explain 

the committee’s majority (and sometimes minority) views on proposed 

legislation, petitions, memorials, and other matters referred to the committee. Committee papers include documents submitted to the committees by various persons, organizations, or government entities. Initially 
Chapter 8. Records of the U.S. Congress 93

the committees of the House and Senate fi led their reports and papers 

as a single series. Beginning with the Thirtieth Congress (1847–1849), 

Senate committees maintained committee papers and reports separately; 

the committees of the House of Representatives adopted that fi ling system during the Thirty-Seventh Congress (1861–1863). 

 The House and Senate judiciary committees’ papers include petitions and memorials, hearings, committee prints, and correspondence 

related to the work and actions of the committee. (The committee papers may include copies of reports that are normally organized separately.) The judiciary committees often received correspondence from 

the Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney General, and other executive 

department offi cials related to the federal judiciary. Attorneys and other 

citizens also frequently corresponded with the committees regarding the 

organization and jurisdiction of the courts in their district or circuit, and 

court offi cers often asked the committees for increases in their salaries 

or the fees that they could charge for judicial services. Some correspondence included enclosures related to the work of the courts and court 

offi cers, such as statements of the fees and expenses of clerks, marshals, 

and U.S. attorneys. The committee papers of the Senate Judiciary Committee also include two volumes of press copies (duplicates) of letters 

sent (1885–1893).

 The committee papers of the House and Senate judiciary committees also include minute and docket books that document the work of 

the committees. The House Judiciary Committee’s docket books (extant 

from 1827 to 1913) list the bills and documents that were referred to 

the committee and the committee’s actions taken on those matters. The 

House Judiciary Committee’s minute books (1857–) detail the meetings 

and activities of the committee (including activities related to impeachments) and, in some cases, also its subcommittees. The Senate Judiciary Committee has maintained minutes of committee meetings (since 

1865, with gaps), legislative dockets (1845–1896), executive dockets 

(1865–1941), published legislative calendars (1895–1934), and other 

miscellaneous registers.

 Since 1903, when the House Judiciary Committee initiated distinct 

series of committee papers and bill fi les (described below), committee 

papers have served as a “catchall series” that include assorted records 

that do not fi t into the bill fi les or the petitions and memorials fi les.

 Since the mid-twentieth century, the standing and select subcommittees of the House and Senate judiciary committees have performed 

much of the legislative and investigative work of the judiciary commit-
94 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

tees. The papers of these subcommittees include correspondence, legislative case fi les, meeting minutes, hearing transcripts, reports and related papers, newspaper clippings fi les, committee prints, personnel and 

fi nancial records, legal reference fi les, subject fi les, and other assorted 

records. Most of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee records 

date from 1947. Most of the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee 

records date from the late 1940s and early 1950s. The scope, content 

and arrangement of House and Senate subcommittee records depends 

largely upon the workload and fi ling practices of each subcommittee.

2. Petitions and Memorials

Petitions and memorials referred to the House and Senate judiciary committees often concerned proposed legislation related to the courts, the 

organization and jurisdiction of the judiciary, judicial salaries and fees, 

court meeting places, federal bankruptcy legislation, the creation of additional judgeships, and the enforcement of federal laws. Other petitions 

and memorials were submitted in support of or opposition to pending 

legislation, requests for the repeal of laws, the impeachment of federal 

judges, and other various proposals related to the judiciary. Petitioners 

and memorialists included state legislatures, attorneys, judges, court offi cers, litigants in cases, bankrupts, state legislators, governors, members 

of local bars, offi cials of the executive branch departments, and other 

interested persons.

 The petitions and memorials fi les in Record Groups 46 and 233 are 

arranged by Congress and thereunder by committee. Prior to the establishment of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 1816, petitions 

related to the judiciary were considered by temporary select committees that the Senate established to handle specifi c matters or perform 

certain functions. These earliest petitions and memorials are arranged 

by subject. Petitions to the House Committee on the Judiciary date from 

the Fifteenth Congress (1817–1819). Prior to the establishment of the 

House Judiciary Committee, judiciary-related petitions and memorials 

were often referred to the Committee of the Whole House or to a select 

committee that was formed to handle specifi c legislative matters.

 Selected petitions and memorials received by Congress were published in the Serial Set, described below. Resolutions received from state 

legislatures were usually published in that state’s statute books. Brief 

summaries of petitions and memorials that were introduced in either 

chamber are included in the House or Senate Journal, as well as in the 

published record of the debates of Congress.
Chapter 8. Records of the U.S. Congress 95

3. Bill Files or Accompanying Papers

Since 1903, the committees of the House of Representatives have maintained “bill fi les,” which are also known as “papers accompanying specific bills and resolutions.” The bill fi les for each Congress are organized by 

committee and are thereunder arranged either numerically by bill number or alphabetically by name. The House Judiciary Committee’s bill fi les 

often related to the organization and jurisdiction of the courts, the creation of additional judgeships, and other judiciary-related matters. Bill 

fi les contain copies of bills (often showing the amendments that were 

made to them), committee reports, published hearings, transcripts of 

unpublished hearings, petitions and memorials, correspondence, analyses by committee staff, memorandums, and other miscellaneous materials. Since 1947, House Judiciary Committee bill fi les have been arranged 

by Congress and thereunder into three topical series: “public bills and 

resolutions,” “claims,” and “immigration and naturalization legislation.”

 The Senate Judiciary Committee has maintained similar “legislative 

case fi les,” commonly known as “accompanying papers,” since 1947. 

From 1955 to 1966, the Senate Judiciary Committee also maintained 

similar fi les for legislative proposals that were never introduced to the 

full Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s post-1946 legislative case 

fi les supersede the earlier series of committee papers.

D. Records of Other Senate Committees

The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 invested the Senate Committee on the Judiciary with jurisdiction that had previously been exercised 

by other standing committees, including the Committee on Patents 

(1837–1946) and the Committee on Immigration (1889–1946). The 

records of other committees, including the Committee on the Revision 

of the Laws (1869–1928), and the select and standing committees on 

woman suffrage (1881–1921), also contain materials related to the work 

of the federal courts.

 The records of other Senate standing and select committees include 

materials that may be of interest to researchers in the history of the federal judiciary. Researchers may fi nd records related to appropriations 

and fi nances in the records of the Committee on Finance (1816–) and 

the Committee on Appropriations (1867–). Researchers interested in the 

history of courthouses may wish to examine the records of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds (1838–1946) and its successors, 

the Committee on Public Works (1947–1977) and the Committee on 
96 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

the Environment and Public Works (1977–). The records of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds include “legislative case fi les” 

related to public buildings outside of Washington, D.C. Materials related 

to the Court of Claims and to claims against the United States are held 

with the records of the Committee on Claims (1816–1946). The Senate records of the Seventy-Sixth Congress (1939–1941) also include the 

papers of the Special Committee on the Reorganization of the Courts, 

which include meeting and hearing transcripts, minutes, charts related 

to court workload statistics, and miscellaneous papers.

E. Records of Other House of Representatives Committees

In 1946, the Legislative Reorganization Act merged the jurisdiction of 

several House standing committees into the Committee on the Judiciary. 

The records of these committees may be of interest to researchers in federal judiciary history. The committees include the Committee on Claims 

(1794–1946), the Committee on Patents (1837–1946), the Committee 

on Immigration and Naturalization (1893–1946), the Committee on 

Revisal and Unfi nished Business (1795–1868), and its successor, the 

Committee on Revision of Laws (1868–1946). Other standing and select 

committees handled matters related to the judiciary, including the Select Committee on Freedmen’s Affairs (1866–1875), the Committee on 

Alcoholic Liquor Traffi c (1893–1927), and the Committee on Woman 

Suffrage (1917–1927).

 The records of other House standing and select committees may 

also have materials of interest to researchers in federal judiciary history. 

Researchers may fi nd records related to appropriations and fi nances in 

the records of the Committee on Ways and Means (1795–) and the Appropriations Committee (1865–). Researchers interested in the history 

of courthouses may wish to examine the records of the Select Committee 

on Public Buildings (1819–1837) and its successors, the Committee on 

Public Buildings and Grounds (1837–1946), the Committee on Public 

Works (1946–1974), the Committee on Public Works and Transportation (1974–1994), and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (1995–).

F. Records of Joint Congressional Committees

The records of the joint committees of Congress may also have materials 

of interest to researchers in judicial history. The joint committees that 

were established during Reconstruction frequently dealt with matters of 
Chapter 8. Records of the U.S. Congress 97

law enforcement in the United States, particularly in the Southern states. 

The Joint Committee on the Revision of the Laws (1907–1910) includes 

records related to the revision and codifi cation of federal statutes The 

National Archives has placed the records of the joint congressional committees into their own record group, RG 128, at the National Archives in 

Washington, D.C. Within RG 128, the records produced by the House 

and Senate are maintained separately.

G. Published Committee Records

1. Hearings

The committees of the Senate and House of Representatives generally 

hold three types of hearings: legislative, oversight, and investigative. 

Legislative hearings give members of Congress the opportunity to examine expert witnesses regarding policy issues that are before Congress. 

Congressional committees hold oversight hearings to assess whether 

federal legislation, mandated actions, or public policies are being implemented in accordance with congressional intent and the public interest. 

Investigative hearings allow Congress to inquire into the alleged wrongdoing of public offi cials or private individuals in situations that may 

require a “legislative remedy” or impeachment. The Senate also holds 

a fourth type of hearing, confi rmation hearings, as part of its constitutional obligation to advise and consent to presidential nominees, including federal judges.

 Until the latter half of the nineteenth century, Congress did not 

hold many hearings. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Congress published verbatim transcripts of selected congressional 

hearings in the Serial Set. Since 1924, Congress has published selected 

transcripts of hearings and related documents through the Government 

Printing Offi ce. Published hearings include witnesses’ opening statements, transcriptions of testimony, exhibits, reports, correspondence, 

appendices, and other insertions made by witnesses and members of 

Congress. Each congressional committee decides which of its hearings it 

will publish. Unpublished hearings are available with the records of the 

legislative proceedings of the Senate and House of Representatives at the 

National Archives in Washington, D.C. The Congressional Information 

Service (CIS) and LexisNexis have also placed the records from most 

unpublished congressional hearings in a microfi che collection as well as 

a subscription-based “Congressional Hearings Digital Collection.”
98 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 CIS and LexisNexis have published several indexes to the published 

and unpublished hearings of both houses of Congress: CIS US Congressional Committee Hearings Index, 41 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Information Service, Inc., 1981–1985), which covers 1833 to 

1969; CIS Index to Unpublished US Senate Committee Hearings, 10 vols. 

(Washington, D.C., and Bethesda, Md.: Congressional Information 

Service, Inc. and LexisNexis, 1986–2005), which covers from 1823 to 

1984; and CIS Index to the Unpublished US House of Representatives Committee Hearings, 14 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Information 

Service, Inc., 1988–2003), which covers from 1833 to 1936. LexisNexis 

continues to publish supplements to these series.

2. Published Committee Documents

Documents and hearings ordered to be printed by particular congressional committees are published by the Government Printing Offi ce in a 

series titled Committee Prints. The content and arrangement of Committee 

Prints vary widely from committee to committee. Most of the documents 

included are working documents produced by each committee, such as 

drafts of reports, proposals for legislation, sets of statistics, legislative 

analyses, investigative materials, transcripts of hearings, and miscellaneous documents.

Committee Prints has not always had a uniform numbering system, 

and the documents and volumes may be arranged differently from library to library. The House of Representatives has not adopted a uniform 

numbering system for its volumes of Committee Prints; the Senate only 

adopted a central numbering system during the Ninety-Eighth Congress 

(1983–1984). Committee Prints are usually published in small quantities 

and may not be available at all federal depository libraries. Researchers 

interested in using early Committee Prints should consult the Congressional Information Service’s CIS US Congressional Committee Prints Index 

1830–1969, 5 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Information Service, Inc., 1980).

 Since the late nineteenth century, most congressional committees 

have published a legislative calendar, which the Judiciary Committee 

publishes in conjunction with its executive calendar. Researchers can 

use these calendars to determine the fi nal status of bills and nominations 

and to fi nd lists of hearings (both published and unpublished).
Chapter 8. Records of the U.S. Congress 99

H. Records of Senate Executive Proceedings

The Senate’s records of executive proceedings are composed of two series of papers: (1) presidential nomination letters and (2) nomination 

fi les. Until 1946, each of these series in Record Group 46 was arranged 

by Congress and thereunder alphabetically by surname of the nominee. 

Presidential nomination letters continue to be so fi led. Since 1947, however, Senate nomination fi les have been arranged by Congress and thereunder by the committee to which the nomination was referred. Accordingly, researchers interested in judiciary-related nominations since 1947 

should consult the executive records of the Committee on the Judiciary.

 Nomination letters sent by the President to the Senate—including nomination letters for judgeships, court offi ces, and other federal 

posts—are arranged by Congress and thereunder alphabetically by the 

surname of the nominee.

 Nomination fi les include letters and petitions from the public in 

support of or in opposition to the nominee. Most letters are addressed 

to individual senators or the chair of the Judiciary Committee. In some 

instances, letters sent to the President or other executive branch offi cials 

were forwarded to the Senate and are also included in these fi les. Some 

early nomination fi les are missing; noncontroversial nominees may not 

have a fi le. Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, nomination fi les also 

included transcripts of nomination hearings (both from the Judiciary 

Committee and its subcommittees), short biographies of the nominee, 

investigative reports, depositions, newspaper clippings, papers from 

earlier court decisions by the nominee, and letters and reports from bar 

associations. Researchers can consult George P. Perros, James C. Brown, 

and Jacqueline A. Wood, comps., Papers of the United States Senate relating to Presidential Nominations, 1789–1901 (Washington, D.C.: National 

Archives and Records Service, 1964), for a list of judges and court offi cers for whom Record Group 46 has nomination papers. Nomination 

fi les are closed to public research for 50 years.

 Since 1789, the Senate has maintained an Executive Journal that 

records the Senate’s actions regarding the confi rmation of presidential 

nominees and records the Senate’s responsibilities related to treaties. 

The Executive Journal was fi rst made public in 1828, when the Senate 

decided to publish its executive proceedings dating from 1789. Since 

1828, the Senate has published its executive proceedings at the close of 

each session of Congress.
100 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 Many of the Senate’s executive documents and reports are available 

in the Serial Set (see section L, below). Some of the early Senate executive documents and reports, however, were printed in small quantities 

and were not included in the Serial Set. The Congressional Information 

Service (CIS) has produced a 2-volume CIS Index to US Senate Executive 

Documents and Reports Covering Documents and Reports not Covered in the 

US Serial Set, 1817–1969 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Information 

Service, Inc., 1987), that allows researchers to search for printed Senate 

executive documents that were not included in the Serial Set but that 

may be available at the National Archives, the Library of Congress, or 

some other repository.

I. Records of Impeachment Proceedings

Article I of the Constitution grants the House of Representatives “the 

sole power of impeachment,” which is the fi rst stage of the legislative 

process by which federal judges can be removed from offi ce. When Congress receives a petition, memorial, member’s motion, or other message 

requesting the impeachment of a judge, the complaint is referred to a 

committee to report on the case. Since 1813, most impeachment cases 

have been considered by the Committee on the Judiciary. The committee 

investigates the charges against the judge and may subpoena witnesses 

or hold hearings. After it has completed its investigation, the committee 

issues a report recommending whether the House should take actions 

against the judge. Sometimes the House “lays the report on the table,” 

meaning it takes no further action. If the committee report recommends 

impeachment and the House adopts the report, the House draws up 

articles of impeachment, debates those articles, and then votes on them 

(sometimes the committee draws up the articles of impeachment and 

submits them to the House with the committee report). If a majority 

of the House votes in favor of the articles of impeachment, the judge is 

impeached and the case is sent to the Senate for trial.

 Article I of the Constitution gives the Senate “the sole power to try 

all impeachments.” The House presents the articles of impeachment to 

the Senate and selects “managers” to act as prosecutors during the impeachment trial. The senators, sitting as a court of impeachment, hear 

the proceedings and vote whether the judge should be convicted and 

removed from offi ce. According to the Constitution, “no person shall be 

convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the [Senators] present.”
Chapter 8. Records of the U.S. Congress 101

 House impeachment records in RG 233 are fi led as a distinct series 

within the records of each Congress. Impeachment records include a 

complaint against a judge (which usually takes the form of a petition, 

memorial, or congressional resolution), copies of court records from the 

case or cases out of which the complaint may have arose, correspondence from private individuals, a record of the investigation and proceedings of the congressional committee, and the committee’s report on 

the case, which includes its recommendations. In some cases, judges 

under investigation also sent letters to the House committee explaining 

the circumstances surrounding the complaints.

 The records of the Senate related to trials for impeachment are fi led 

as a distinct series within Record Group 46 for each Congress. Senate 

impeachment records include orders, resolutions, proclamations for the 

opening of the court of impeachment, oaths, copies of the articles of 

impeachment, messages from the House of Representatives, motions, 

documentary evidence, subpoenas, lists of witnesses, exhibits supplied 

by the respondent and the House managers, the respondent’s answers 

to the articles of impeachment, roll call votes on motions and on the 

articles of impeachment, and other printed materials. Impeachment fi les 

may include printed copies of the Senate’s proceedings during the trial, 

as well as copies of the Senate rules for trying cases of impeachment.

 Senate impeachment fi les usually include copies of the House’s resolutions impeaching the judge and appointing managers to attend the 

trial in the Senate. Senate orders include orders calling the court into 

session and removing the judge from offi ce. In some instances the Senate maintained a separate manuscript journal related to the impeachment trial, but impeachment journals are usually maintained with the 

Senate’s legislative minutes for that Congress.

 House and Senate impeachment records are closed to public research until fi fty years after the close of the proceedings.

 A listing of judicial impeachment investigations and unsuccessful 

proposals to initiate judicial impeachment investigations in the House 

of Representatives is included in Warren S. Grimes, “The Role of the 

U.S. House of Representatives in Proceedings to Impeach and Remove 

Federal Judges,” in Research Papers of the National Commission on Judicial 

Discipline & Removal, vol. 1 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing 

Offi ce, 1993), pp. 117–38.
102 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

J. Records of Congressional Debates

While the Constitution requires each house of Congress to keep a journal of its proceedings, the Constitution does not require Congress to 

keep a record of its debates. Nevertheless, in the early years of Congress, 

reporters took notes from speeches in Congress and published them in 

their newspapers. The House of Representatives allowed reporters to 

cover its proceedings from the very beginning, although the Senate did 

not allow the press or public into its chamber until 1794.

 Between 1834 and 1856, veteran newspapermen Joseph Gales and 

William Seaton compiled and printed the debates of Congress from the 

First Congress until the 1st Session of the Eighteenth Congress (1789–

1824) in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, 

42 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Gales and Seaton, 1834–1856), which is 

more commonly known as the Annals of Congress. The compilers used 

paraphrased accounts of congressional debates that they gathered from 

newspapers that had covered the debates as they transpired, including 

their own newspaper, the National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.). Beginning during the Second session of the Eighteenth Congress, and lasting until the First Session of the Twenty-Fifth Congress (1824–1837), 

Gales and Seaton published paraphrases of speeches and summaries of 

“the leading debates and incidents” in Congress in the Register of Debates 

in Congress, 14 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Gales and Seaton, 1825–1837).

 In 1833, Francis P. Blair and John C. Rives founded the Congressional Globe, 46 vols. (the Globe and the Register of Debates overlapped 

in publication from 1833 to 1837), publishing “condensed report[s] of 

the proceedings in both Houses of Congress.” Between 1846 and 1850 

the Globe attained semi-offi cial status in both houses of Congress, and 

beginning in 1851, the Globe used highly trained stenographic reporters 

to publish verbatim transcriptions of congressional speeches. Congress 

opted not to renew the Globe’s contract when it expired in 1873. Since 

that time, the proceedings and debates of Congress have been published 

in the Congressional Record (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1873–).

 Researchers can use the indexes and appendices to these congressional proceedings to locate debates related to the judiciary. Researchers 

can also use the House and Senate Journals, or the printed versions of 

bills and resolutions, to locate the dates of specifi c debates in the Annals, Register, Globe, and Record. These published proceedings also give 

researchers summaries and verbatim transcriptions of debates on articles 
Chapter 8. Records of the U.S. Congress 103

of impeachment in the House of Representatives, and the proceedings of 

courts of impeachment in the Senate.

K. Statutes

Once a bill becomes a law, it is published in the United States Statutes at 

Large (Boston, Little, Brown, and Co., 1845–1873; Washington, D.C.: 

G.P.O., 1875–). In 1874, Congress compiled the “general and permanent” laws of the United States into a single volume entitled Revised 

Statutes of the United States (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1874). In 1878, 

Congress published a second edition that omitted obsolete laws and corrected errors from the fi rst edition. Since 1925, Congress has regularly 

codifi ed and updated the “general and permanent laws of the United 

States” in the U.S. Code.

L. Congressional Serial Set and American State Papers

Congressional documents have been published in two sets of volumes, 

the American State Papers (1789–1838) and the United States Congressional Serial Set (1817 to the present). The 38 volumes of the American 

State Papers are arranged into ten topical “classes.” Within each topic, 

the documents are arranged chronologically. The tenth class, “Miscellaneous,” contains documents related to the federal courts, including 

communications and reports from the President, federal judges, the 

heads of the executive branch departments, congressional committees, 

and state governors and legislatures, as well as correspondence, memorials and petitions from individuals and groups. These documents cover 

many miscellaneous topics, including the organization, structure, proceedings, and jurisdiction of the federal courts. Researchers can also fi nd 

materials related to appropriations for the judiciary in the third class, 

“Finances.”

 Since 1817, the House and Senate have published offi cial documents and committee reports in the Serial Set. Committee reports often 

pertain to congressional investigations or proposed legislation. The Serial Set also contains other documents ordered by either house to be 

printed, including messages from the President, reports from the executive departments of the federal government (many of which touch on 

judiciary-related matters, as described in Part III), resolutions sent from 

state legislatures, petitions and memorials from private citizens, records 

and proceedings from impeachments, and papers related to the Court 
104 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

of Claims, including opinions, lists of judgments and dismissed claims, 

correspondence, fi ndings of fact, and reports from the clerk of the court.

 The Serial Set is organized by session of Congress, then by Senate and 

House, and then by type of document. The Serial Set contains various 

types of reports and documents, which are printed in separate volumes 

for each house and for each session of Congress. Each volume of the Serial Set is assigned a serial number that researchers can use to locate the 

reports or documents within that particular volume. Within each volume, the published documents are numbered consecutively (e.g., House 

Report 1 and House Report 2, or Senate Miscellaneous Document 1).

 The Congressional Information Service (CIS) has compiled a 36-volume CIS US Serial Set Index, 1789–1969 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Information Service, Inc., 1975–1979), which allows researchers to 

search the Serial Set by subject or name or to browse the titles of congressional documents in the order in which they appear in the Serial Set. 

Since 1970, CIS has published a regularly updated CIS Index that catalogs House and Senate documents and reports, committee reports, and 

Senate executive reports, as well as committee hearings and Committee 

Prints, both of which are discussed below.

M. Internet Resources

The Library of Congress has digitized most early congressional documents on its “American Memory” website (http://memory.loc.gov/) 

under the heading: “A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. 

Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875.” “A Century of 

Lawmaking” includes searchable versions of the debates and journals 

of the House and Senate, the U.S. Statutes at Large, selected bills and 

resolutions, the American State Papers, and selections from the Serial Set. 

Some of these are fully keyword searchable; others have only searchable 

indexes. The Library of Congress provides access to recent congressional 

materials at its “Thomas” website (http://thomas.loc.gov/).

 Researchers can also access published congressional materials 

through subscription databases, including LexisNexis, Westlaw, and 

HeinOnline.

N. Documentary Editions

Several published collections of primary sources document the interaction of the legislative and judicial branches of the federal government. 

Bernard D. Reams, Jr., and Charles R. Haworth compiled Congress and 
Chapter 8. Records of the U.S. Congress 105

the Courts: A Legislative History, 1787–1977: Documents and Materials Regarding the Creation, Structure, and Organization of Federal Courts and the 

Federal Judiciary, 6 vols. (Buffalo, N.Y.: W.S. Hein, 1978), bringing together congressional hearings, reports, and other materials that refl ect 

“congressional concern with the composition and structure of [the] 

Article III courts.” These fi rst six volumes relate to the establishment 

of the federal judiciary, the Supreme Court of the United States, the 

U.S. Courts of Appeals, the creation of additional judgeships, the federal 

courts of special jurisdiction, and proposed reforms to the United States 

judicial system. Since 1978, several supplements have been added to 

this collection, including volumes that pertain to the U.S. district courts.

 The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 

1789–1800, 7 vols. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985–2003) 

includes a wide array of primary source material from the fi rst decade of 

the federal judiciary’s history, including documents related to Congress. 

Volume One, Appointments and Proceedings, and Volume Four, Organizing the Federal Judiciary, include documents that discuss the Senate’s obligation to give “advice and consent” regarding presidential nominations 

as well as Congress’s role in determining the jurisdiction of the courts. 

See Chapter 3 for further discussion of the Documentary History of the 

Supreme Court.

 The First Federal Congress Project, at George Washington University, in Washington, D.C., has published twenty of a projected twentythree volumes of the Documentary History of the First Federal Congress

(Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1972–). The volumes 

reproduce the House and Senate Journals, the Senate’s Executive Journal, 

documents related to the histories of legislation and petitions, congressional debates, diaries and notes on debates, and correspondence. Researchers in federal judicial history can use these volumes to fi nd information about the Judiciary Act of 1789, the location and jurisdiction of 

the courts, and judiciary expenses. The volumes also reproduce petitions, memorials, congressional committee reports, executive branch reports, bills, proposed constitutional amendments, original and amended 

versions of legislation, calendars of debate, and correspondence regarding a wide array of topics, including judicial appointments, judges’ salaries, and legislation related to the courts and court procedures.

107

Part III. Executive Branch Records 

Related to the Federal Judiciary

The Judiciary Act of 1789 established a system of federal courts that extended throughout the nation, but the statute created no central agency 

to provide for the judicial system’s administrative and budgetary needs. 

For 150 years, the administrative responsibility for the courts shifted 

among executive branch departments. In the twentieth century, the 

Congress established independent administrative agencies for the third 

branch of government and instituted a more formal separation of powers. Each of the following executive branch departments and agencies 

has played a signifi cant role in the administration of the federal judiciary, 

and their records reveal much about the operation of the federal courts.

109

Chapter 9. Records of the Department 

of State

A. Historical Note

As a kind of home offi ce, as well as an offi ce of foreign affairs, the Department of State was responsible for several aspects of judicial administration during the fi rst century of the federal government. In an act 

of September 1789, Congress charged the Department of State with 

responsibility for the great seal of the United States, which was to be 

affi xed to all civil commissions approved by the President. The Department issued the commissions, including those that authorized newly appointed judges to take the oath of offi ce and hold court, and maintained 

records of judges’ commissions until Congress transferred responsibility 

for judicial appointments to the Department of Justice in 1888. The 

early courts also relied on the Department of State to distribute printed compendiums of public statutes. In practice, the Secretary of State 

played the principal role in advising the President on judicial nominations in the early years of the government, and, although the Attorney 

General informally assumed this responsibility beginning in the 1850s, 

the Department of State maintained the records of judicial nominations 

throughout the nineteenth century.

B. Archival Records

The records of the Department of State are in Record Group 59 at the 

National Archives at College Park, Maryland. The State Department’s 

records related to the federal judiciary include general records, appointment records, and records related to presidential pardons.

C. General Records

The general records of the State Department include correspondence, 

drafts of letters, ledgers, circulars for U.S. marshals and attorneys, and 

records related to the publication and distribution of laws.

 From 1789 to 1950, the Department of State was responsible for the 

publication of U.S. laws. Initially the acts and resolutions of Congress 

were published in newspapers, but eventually they were collected into 

the United States Statutes at Large, which was published privately from 
110 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

1845 until 1874, when Congress authorized the Government Printing 

Offi ce to produce the volumes. Record Group 59 includes correspondence between the State Department and private publishers from 1789 

to 1875, lists of newspapers in which U.S. laws were published, records 

related to the distribution to judges and clerks of court of the Statutes 

at Large and other books, contracts and receipts for printing, and transcriptions of the U.S. laws from the fi rst twenty-four Congresses.

 In the early nineteenth century, federal judges, court offi cers, and 

private citizens corresponded with the Secretary of State regarding matters that would today be handled by the Department of Justice. The State 

Department’s collections of miscellaneous letters received (1789–1906) 

and domestic letters sent (1784–1906) include such correspondence—

relating to judicial appointments, the misconduct of court offi cers, suits 

brought in the federal courts, piracy and prize cases, instructions to U.S. 

attorneys and marshals, claims, extraditions, pardons, and the violation 

of federal criminal laws. The correspondence in these collections related 

to appointments is not duplicated in the appointment fi les described 

below. In addition, the State Department records include bankruptcy 

returns from the district courts (1845–1846), returns from the district 

courts regarding federal criminal cases (1789–1827), correspondence 

regarding copyrights (1831–1834), and papers related to piracy and privateers (1813–1835).

 The general records of the State Department contain several series 

related to judicial accounts, including letters to the President requesting 

the authorization of disbursements of appropriated funds under an act 

of 1823, and letters received from the Bureau of Accounts relating to the 

publication of laws and the accounts of U.S. marshals. The State Department also kept general and special ledgers (1820–1874) that detailed 

many Department accounts, including those relating to the extradition 

of criminals, the printing of U.S. laws, and the accounts of U.S. marshals.

 Record Group 59 includes registers and indexes to the various collections of State Department correspondence. Researchers can also use 

published calendars to locate particular correspondents or letters from 

specifi c judicial districts. In the 1890s, the State Department published 

calendars of the papers sent and received during the secretaryships of 

Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, as well as a Calendar of the Miscellaneous Letters Received by the Department of State, from 

the Organization of the Government to 1820 (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 
Chapter 9. Records of the Department of State 111

1897). See Appendix B for further bibliographic information regarding 

these State Department calendars.

D. Appointment Records

The State Department’s appointment records include correspondence, 

registers of applications, Senate confi rmations and rejections, acceptances and orders for commissions, lists, and miscellaneous records. 

Most of the appointment records related to the judiciary in RG 59 date 

from between 1797 and 1853, although some appointment-related correspondence and papers related to the issuance of commissions date 

until 1888.

 Correspondence related to appointments include applications and 

recommendations for offi ce, presidential nominations, letters of acceptance, resignations and declinations, and letters and orders suspending 

U.S. marshals and attorneys. The appointment papers in Record Group 

59—which include correspondence related to all federal offi ces that 

could be fi lled by the President—are organized into groups that roughly 

correspond to the presidential administrations, with the earliest dating 

back to the administration of John Adams (1797–1801). Within each 

grouping, the correspondence is organized alphabetically by surname of 

the applicant or nominee.

 The National Archives has prepared indexes to these collections of 

correspondence, listing the names of each applicant or nominee, the 

number of letters in their respective fi le, and other appointment fi les 

in which the nominee is mentioned. These indexes can be accessed 

at the various National Archives facilities or downloaded from NARA’s 

online microfi lm catalog at http://www.archives.gov/research/formats/

microfi lm.html.

 The State Department transferred the appointment records from 

George Washington’s administration to the Library of Congress, which 

incorporated the records within its collection of George Washington Papers. The Library’s Manuscript Division has made these records available 

online at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwhome.html (the appointment records are in Series 7 of the Washington Papers). Researchers interested in Washington’s appointment papers may also wish to 

consult Gaillard Hunt, comp., Calendar of Applications and Recommendations for Offi ce during the Presidency of George Washington, Prepared from 

the Files of the Bureau of Appointments, Department of State (Washington, 

D.C.: G.P.O., 1901).
112 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 Record Group 59 also includes indexes and registers of applications, 

copies of Senate resolutions confi rming or rejecting nominees, copies of 

commissions for various offi ces (including separate fi les of temporary 

and permanent commissions), oaths of offi ce, and lists of various federal 

appointees, including judges, marshals, U.S. attorneys, and justices of 

the peace in the District of Columbia. Other records related to judiciary 

appointments may be scattered in other series within RG 59.

E. Pardon Records

From 1789 to 1853, the Secretary of State received petitions seeking 

pardon for criminals convicted in the federal courts. The Secretary of 

State and Attorney General jointly considered these petitions and made 

recommendations to the President regarding each case. In 1853, the task 

of reviewing petitions for pardon became the sole responsibility of the 

Attorney General, although the Secretary of State continued to issue pardon warrants until 1893.

 The State Department’s records related to pardons include petitions 

for pardon, correspondence, briefs, reports, pardons and remissions, 

requisitions, and drafts of pardons. Record Group 59 also includes catalogs, registers, and indexes that researchers can use to locate particular 

cases or types of crimes. Most of the pardon records in RG 59 date from 

1789 to 1860, although the State Department kept copies of pardons 

and remissions until 1893.

 Researchers interested in brief summaries of cases in which convicts 

petitioned the President for pardon between 1793 and 1853 should consult the Records of the Offi ce of the Pardon Attorney in Record Group 

204, which includes a set of abstracts of pardon cases that were handled 

by the Department of State.
113

Chapter 10. Records of the 

Department of the Treasury and 

Related Agencies

A. Historical Note

From the inauguration of the federal government in 1789 until 1849, 

the Department of the Treasury supervised the fi nancial administration 

of the federal courts. The act establishing the Treasury Department in 

September 1789 gave the Department responsibility for disbursing all 

appropriated money from the federal Treasury and for receipt of all revenues of the United States, thus connecting it to the daily operation of the 

federal courts as well as to executive branch offi cials, such as customs 

offi cers throughout the nation. Further legislative mandates required all 

federal offi cials receiving public money to submit proper accounts. In 

1820, Congress specifi cally instructed the clerks of the federal courts 

to submit to the Department of the Treasury, within 30 days of the adjournment of a court session, a list of all judgments and decrees to which 

the United States was a party, with the monetary amounts awarded for 

and against the federal government. Until 1849, when the Interior Department assumed responsibility for supervising judiciary accounts, the 

courts’ accounts with the Department of the Treasury provided the only 

central record of the business before the lower courts of the federal judiciary.

 After 1849, members of the judiciary continued to correspond with 

Treasury Department offi cials about salaries, additional funds for supplies, litigation involving the federal government, court fees, and other 

related matters. The Department of the Treasury also oversaw records 

related to the administration of judiciary accounts by the Department of 

the Interior, from 1849 to 1870, and the Justice Department, from 1870 

to 1939.

B. Archival Records

The historic records of the Department of the Treasury relating to the 

federal courts are maintained in several record groups, most of which 

are held at the National Archives facilities in Washington, D.C., and 

College Park, Maryland. The General Records of the Department of the 
114 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

Treasury are in Record Group 56 at the National Archives at College 

Park, Maryland. Additional records can be found in RG 206, Records of 

the Solicitor of the Treasury; RG 217, Records of the Accounting Offi cers 

of the Department of the Treasury; and RG 87, Records of the U.S. Secret 

Service, as well as in a few other record groups that are briefl y described 

at the end of this chapter. Many of the Treasury Department’s early records were destroyed by a fi re in the Treasury Department building in 

1833, although some pre-1833 records have survived and are described 

in this chapter.

C. Archival Records of the Department of the Treasury

This section describes the Treasury Department’s general, administrative, 

fi scal, and claims records related to the federal judiciary. Subsequent 

headings describe the records of particular offi ces or agencies within the 

Treasury Department that worked with the federal courts.

1. General and Administrative Records

Record Group 56 includes several collections of correspondence between 

the Department of the Treasury and members of the judicial branch. The 

Department organized its correspondence into “series,” which are arranged according to the offi ce or department with which the Treasury 

Department was corresponding. Letters to and from members of the 

federal judiciary are kept in various collections within the “F” series.

 The “F” series includes copies of letters sent by the Department to 

members of the judiciary (1833–1878) as well as letters received from 

the courts (1829–1899). Much of the incoming correspondence is from 

judges, marshals, and clerks and relates to salaries, court expenses, cases, the conduct of Treasury offi cials, counterfeiting of U.S. currency, the 

sale of seized property, bankruptcy, the arrest of criminals, court fees, 

the rental of court space, the construction of court houses, and requisitions for furniture and supplies. Some correspondents enclosed reports, 

asked questions about cases, sought information about the disposal of 

funds, transmitted information regarding bankruptcy proceedings, forwarded deposits, or explained the disbursement of public funds. A separate subseries of letters received from judges and court offi cers in the 

Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and 

the District of Indiana between 1829 and 1833 includes correspondence 

related to the payment of government informers, judgments awarded by 
Chapter 10. Records of the Department of the Treasury and Related Agencies 115

the courts, the rental of offi ce space for court staff, and the proceedings 

in bankruptcy and customs cases.

 Some correspondence fi les are arranged chronologically while others are organized by state and thereunder by judicial district. The Treasury Department created registers and indexes for most of its incoming 

and outgoing correspondence. Researchers can use these tools to locate 

letters from particular court offi cers or judicial districts.

 Other sets of correspondence related to the judiciary within RG 

56 include letters received from the Attorney General and other Department of Justice offi cials (1831–1910), letters sent to the Attorney 

General and the Department of Justice (1866–1878), correspondence 

and enclosures received from the Solicitor of the Treasury (1819–1905), 

and letters received from the Board of General Appraisers in New York 

City (1851–1910). Much of the Department of Justice correspondence 

in Record Group 56 dealt with federal court cases in which the Treasury 

Department had an interest, or regulations related to the payment of 

judiciary offi cers. Records and correspondence received from the Solicitor of the Treasury related to the many legal matters and federal court 

cases with which the Solicitor was involved, including cases between 

the United States and state banks, violations of customs and internal 

revenue laws, and other federal criminal cases.

2. Fiscal and Accounting Records

Most of the Treasury Department’s records relating to judiciary accounts 

are held among the Records of the Accounting Offi cers of the Department of the Treasury in Record Group 217 at the National Archives in 

Washington, D.C. RG 217 includes ledgers, daybooks, journals, and 

correspondence from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century 

that detail the accounts of court offi cers and the disbursing offi cers of 

the Department of Justice, as well as the payment of fees and expenses 

to court offi cials.

 In 1789, Congress created the offi ce of the Comptroller (later 

changed to the First Comptroller) to superintend, examine, and certify public accounts, to provide accountability in the spending of public funds, and to oversee prosecutions resulting from revenue offi cers’ 

delinquencies or debts owed to the United States. The general records 

of the First Comptroller include letters received from the Secretary of 

the Treasury regarding accounts and claims (1801–1856), letters sent 

to court offi cers regarding the settlement of accounts (1839–1871), and 

abstracts of decisions relating to judicial accounts (1832–1850).
116 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 In 1876, the First Comptroller created the Division of Judiciary 

Accounts, making it responsible for the fi nal approval of the accounts 

of judicial offi cers. The records of the Division include incoming and 

outgoing correspondence (1797–1917) with the Attorney General, the 

Solicitor of the Treasury, judges and other court offi cers, and members 

of Congress relating to judiciary accounts, cases before the Court of 

Claims, decrees in customs cases, and the salaries and fees of court offi cers. The Division also maintained abstracts of judgments in customs 

cases in New England (1830–1838) and abstracts of the fees of court 

offi cers (1842–1891).

 In 1885, the First Comptroller created the Division of Territorial 

Accounts, which was responsible not only for supervising the accounts 

of territorial offi cials (including judges), but also the salary accounts of 

the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. courts of appeals, U.S. 

attorneys, and federal marshals. The Division’s records, which date from 

1835 to 1894, include registers of accounts as well as letters sent and 

received.

 In the 1789 act establishing the Department of the Treasury, Congress created the offi ce of Auditor to receive and settle all public accounts 

before transmitting them to the Comptroller. In 1817, Congress created 

the offi ces of four additional auditors and named the original auditor 

the First Auditor. The First Auditor maintained responsibility for settling judiciary accounts, and in 1868 established the Judiciary Division 

to audit judicial accounts. The records of the Judiciary Division include 

letters sent by the Division, emolument returns from court offi cials, and 

other miscellaneous papers related to judiciary accounts. The emolument returns, which span from 1842 to 1907, are organized by judicial 

offi ce—U.S. attorney, marshal, clerk of court—and thereunder by state, 

judicial district, and then chronologically. Additional correspondence, 

registers, and audit reports related to judiciary accounts and salaries can 

be found in the records of the First Auditor’s Miscellaneous Division, as 

well as in the general records of the First Auditor. The Judiciary Division 

was abolished in 1894, when Congress transferred the First Auditor’s 

responsibilities relating to judicial accounts to the Fifth Auditor.

 In July 1894, Congress made the Fifth Auditor responsible for settling the accounts of the Departments of State and Justice. In October 

1894, the Fifth Auditor created the Division of Judicial Accounts to supervise the accounts of judicial offi cers and the Justice Department’s disbursing clerks, as well as to ensure the payment of retired judges. The 

records of the Division include registers of letters received (the letters 
Chapter 10. Records of the Department of the Treasury and Related Agencies 117

themselves are missing), letters sent, unprinted decisions of the Comptroller of the Treasury, and registers of the accounts of the disbursing 

clerks of the Department of Justice. The records of the Fifth Auditor end 

in 1921, when Congress abolished all of the auditors’ offi ces and transferred their responsibilities to the newly established General Accounting 

Offi ce.

 The records of the Fourth Auditor (created in 1817) include records relating to prize cases, such as indexes to prize cases (1862–1873), 

abstracts of prize accounts (1815–1898), and other records relating to 

prize claims (1862–1903).

 The Records of the Account Offi cers of the Treasury include a large 

number of “undescribed” items, meaning that they have not yet been 

incorporated into the appropriate sections of RG 217 and are not described in the preliminary inventory for the record group. Some records 

related to the judiciary can be found among these undescribed records, 

such as a judiciary ledger from the First Comptroller’s Offi ce that details 

expenses related to the work of the U.S. courts and the Department of 

Justice in the 1880s and 1890s. Researchers can fi nd relevant materials 

among the undescribed records by using the National Archives’ master 

location register at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

3. Claims Records

In 1863, Congress authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to appoint 

“special agents” “to receive and collect” the property of Confederate citizens, property that was either captured by Union troops or abandoned 

by its rebel owners. In 1869, these agents were formally organized as 

the Division of Captured and Abandoned Property, with responsibility 

for furnishing information related to Southern claims to the Attorney 

General, Congress, the Court of Claims, and other interested parties. In 

1881, the name of the division was changed to the Division of Captured 

and Abandoned Property and Lands, and in 1885 to the Division of 

Captured Property, Claims, and Lands. In 1887, the Division’s responsibilities were turned over to the newly created Miscellaneous Division, 

and in 1906 to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants.

 The records of each of these divisions, contained in Record Group 

56, include incoming and outgoing correspondence as well as other materials related to cases before the Court of Claims. Correspondents include the judges and clerk of the Court of Claims, the Attorney General 

and other Department of Justice offi cials, claimants and their attorneys, 

agents of the Treasury Department, and other interested parties. Much 
118 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

of the incoming correspondence relates to cases before the court, investigations of evidence related to certain claims, appeals from the court’s 

judgments, the loyalty of Southerners making claims, and the methods 

of taking testimony in claims cases.

 The records of the Treasury Secretary in RG 56 include several series 

related to the Court of Claims. The “BE” series of the Secretary’s correspondence includes 23 volumes of letters sent by the Secretary related to 

captured property and cases before the Court of Claims. The Secretary 

also kept a separate collection of letters and case papers received from 

the judges and clerks of the Court of Claims relating to the proceedings 

of the court, papers needed by the judges, the payment of Civil War soldiers’ bounties, and the salaries of the judges and other court employees.

 The correspondence fi les of these various offi ces and divisions within the Department of the Treasury are indexed and recorded in registers 

so that researchers can locate records related to particular litigants and 

cases. The records of the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants and the 

Division of Captured Property, Claims, and Lands also contain dockets and case records, lists of claimants, case indexes, and statements of 

awards given by the Court of Claims.

D. Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury

1. Historical Note

The act of 1789 that created the Treasury Department required the 

Comptroller of the Treasury to “direct prosecutions for all delinquencies 

of offi cers of the revenue, and for debts that are, or shall be due to the 

United States.” In 1817, Congress transferred these duties to the First 

Comptroller of the Treasury, and in 1820 to the Agent of the Treasury. In 

1830, Congress authorized the President to appoint “some suitable person, learned in the law,” to be the Solicitor of the Treasury. The Solicitor 

assumed the responsibilities of the Agent as well as other duties related 

to the collection of debts that were owed to the United States.

 The act of 1830 authorized the Solicitor “to instruct the district attorneys, marshals, and clerks of the circuit and district courts of the 

United States, in all manners and proceedings, appertaining to suits in 

which the United States is a party, or interested.” The Solicitor could 

also require individuals to submit reports related to such cases in their 

respective judicial districts. In addition, the Solicitor possessed authority to issue instructions related to the collection of customs duties to 

court and customs offi cials, and to direct the U.S. marshal to institute 
Chapter 10. Records of the Department of the Treasury and Related Agencies 119

proceedings against customs offi cials who were delinquent in their duties.

 In 1870, Congress transferred the Offi ce of the Solicitor of the Treasury to the newly formed Department of Justice. Over time, other Justice 

Department offi cials assumed most of the Solicitor’s responsibilities. In 

1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt transferred the Offi ce of the Solicitor of the Treasury back to the Treasury Department, stripping it of its 

functions related to litigation as well as its supervision of U.S. attorneys, 

marshals, and clerks of court. A year later, Congress abolished the position.

2. Archival Records

The records of the Offi ce of the Solicitor of the Treasury are held in 

Record Group 206 at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. 

RG 206 includes correspondence, legal opinions and briefs, case fi les, 

reports, and miscellaneous records. Additional records related to the Solicitor’s acquisition and disposal of seized and surplus lands, dating from 

1801 to 1943, are located in Record Group 121, Records of the Public 

Buildings Service, at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. 

This section only describes the records found in RG 206.

a. Correspondence

The correspondence of the Offi ce of the Solicitor of the Treasury is divided into separate collections of incoming (1801–1934) and outgoing 

(1820–1934) letters. The correspondence received by the Solicitor is 

further organized by sender, with separate groups for letters received 

from the President, the various executive branch departments, and from 

“other sources.” Each of the executive branch collections is then subdivided into series by sender within the department.

 Much of the Solicitor’s incoming correspondence relates to cases in 

which the United States was a party. Other letters report violations of 

various U.S. laws, including customs and revenue laws, crimes committed on the high seas, and the detection of counterfeit money. The Solicitor also received requests for information, instructions, and opinions on 

legal matters.

 Letters received from the Attorney General, U.S. marshals, U.S. attorneys, and clerks of court are all fi led with the letters received from the 

Department of Justice. These letters relate to any number of legal and 

administrative matters with which the Solicitor was concerned, including court fi nances and the payment of court offi cers, cases in the federal 
120 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

courts, the collection of debt owed to the government, claims against private individuals, counterfeit currency, and property confi scated during 

the Civil War. Some letters enclosed court records, such as indictments, 

transcripts of proceedings in cases, copies of docket entries, statements 

of the sale of property by U.S. marshals, and lists of cases before various 

courts. Letters received from U.S. attorneys, marshals, and clerks are 

organized by state, and thereunder by judicial district.

 Many of the letters from the Departments of State and the Interior 

pertain to the appointment of court offi cers, to violations of federal law, 

and to cases before the courts. Letters received from the Departments of 

the Interior and the Navy include correspondence related to prize cases 

and confi scated property.

 Under the heading of letters received from “Other Sources” are letters from Supreme Court justices, members of Congress, federal offi -

cials, and private individuals relating to litigation in the federal courts as 

well as to property being sold by the Offi ce of the Solicitor. These letters 

are organized alphabetically by the sender’s surname, and thereunder 

chronologically. Multiple letters relating to an individual person or case 

are often grouped together and fi led under the last name of the individual or litigant.

 Beginning in 1896, the Solicitor’s Offi ce organized most of its incoming correspondence into “case fi les” that include correspondence 

received from various government offi cials and agencies, as well as from 

private individuals, relating to a particular case or transaction. Beginning in 1910, outgoing letters were incorporated into the case fi les. The 

Solicitor’s Offi ce also kept a separate set of case fi les that arose from decisions of the Board of General Appraisers in New York City and the U.S. 

Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York.

 Most of the Solicitor’s outgoing letters are kept in a set of chronologically arranged letter books, dating from 1821 to 1934. Several other collections of the Solicitor’s outgoing correspondence include draft copies 

of letters sent (1820–1911), copies of printed regulations and instructions for court and customs offi cials (1830, 1848, and 1870), and copies 

of form letters that were sent to newly appointed marshals (1849–1857) 

and attorneys (1849–1854). The Solicitor also kept copies of letters sent 

to U.S. attorneys, marshals and clerks of court relating to suits on duty 

bonds (1830–1843) and the sale of public lands (1830–1842). 

 The Solicitor maintained registers, indexes, and lists that researchers 

can use to locate particular correspondents within both the incoming 

and outgoing correspondence fi les. Most of the bound volumes of out-
Chapter 10. Records of the Department of the Treasury and Related Agencies 121

going correspondence also include alphabetical indexes at the beginning 

of each volume listing to whom the letters within the volume were sent.

b. Legal Opinions and Briefs

The Solicitor of the Treasury frequently gave legal opinions to Cabinet 

offi cers and executive department heads. The Solicitor’s Offi ce kept copies of these opinions, as well as some legal opinions issued by the Attorney General, the Chief Justice of the United States, Department of Justice 

offi cials, and court offi cers. The Solicitor also kept registers, indexes, 

and digests of these opinions, which researchers can use to locate opinions on particular subjects.

 The records of the Solicitor’s Offi ce include a small set of briefs and 

memorandums (1903–1932); this set of records includes an index.

c. Case Files and Suit Papers

The Solicitor of the Treasury kept “case fi les” related to the litigation with 

which the offi ce was involved (1791–1929). These case fi les include 

copies of incoming and outgoing correspondence, reports, briefs, abstracts, affi davits, depositions, accounts, and enclosures related to cases 

before the federal courts. (The Solicitor’s case fi les do not contain the 

offi cial record of the courts’ proceedings; those are maintained by the 

federal courts in Record Group 21.) The case fi les are organized by type 

of proceeding—bank cases, customs suits, land suits, Treasury suits, internal revenue cases, personal suits and judgments, in rem proceedings, 

and miscellaneous cases. In addition, the Solicitor’s Offi ce kept a record 

of proceedings related to the accounts of postal workers, suits in the 

charge of U.S. attorneys, records of insolvent debtors, and records of 

cases that were compromised (meaning settled out of court).

 The Solicitor tracked the progress of court proceedings in various 

indexes and registers. These registers generally provide the name of the 

debtor or defendant, the court in which the proceedings were initiated, 

the fi nal judgment or decree, miscellaneous remarks on the case, and 

on occasion the location of the case in the original court docket. Some 

registers and indexes are organized by state or judicial district, while 

others are ordered alphabetically or chronologically. Most of the registers 

cover a specifi c type of proceeding, such as Civil War confi scation cases, 

suits involving customhouses, appeals from the decisions of the Board of 

General Appraisers, and suits against banks.
122 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

d. Reports and Miscellaneous Records

The Solicitor of the Treasury had the authority to require, from U.S. attorneys, marshals, and clerks of court, reports related to the commencement or status of suits in the federal courts. Included among the Solicitor’s records are sets of annual, quarterly, and specially requested reports 

from these court offi cers, as well as reports from other offi cers (such as 

collectors of customs) and copies of reports that were sent to Congress.

 The Offi ce of the Solicitor kept many other miscellaneous records 

related to the administrative functions of the Offi ce, including circulars, warrants, requisitions from clerks of court for supplies, oaths of 

offi ce, and law books. The Offi ce also kept many fi scal records, including records of deposits, debts owed to the United States, lists of bonds 

received from U.S. attorneys, registers of payments made to courts and 

court offi cials, papers related to the accounts of U.S. marshals and attorneys, ledgers and daybooks, and records related to salaries.

E. Records of the Secret Service

1. Historical Note

In 1863, the Secretary of the Treasury placed the Solicitor of the Treasury in charge of the Department’s efforts to suppress the counterfeiting of U.S. currency. Two years later, the Solicitor organized the Secret 

Service Division. Prior to 1863, U.S. attorneys and marshals had been 

the only federal offi cers responsible for the arrest and trial of counterfeiters. At various times the Secret Service participated in investigations 

for other executive branch departments; beginning in 1906, the Secret 

Service was formally authorized to protect the President.

2. Archival Records

The records of the U.S. Secret Service are in Record Group 87; most of 

these records are stored at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. RG 87 includes agents’ reports, correspondence, records related to 

the apprehension of criminals, materials related to confi scated property, 

fi scal and administrative records, judicial records, and miscellaneous 

papers.

 The daily and investigative reports of Secret Service agents summarize the activities of the agents and their subordinates, often listing 

suspects and arrests, convictions and sentences, expenses incurred in 

the performance of the agents’ duties, property that they seized, and correspondence that they received. The Secret Service also maintained a set 
Chapter 10. Records of the Department of the Treasury and Related Agencies 123

of registers and monthly abstracts that summarize much of the information found in the daily reports.

 The correspondence of the Secret Service includes several collections of incoming and outgoing letters, as well as registers and indexes 

of incoming and outgoing correspondence. Very little correspondence 

sent or received before 1905 has survived, although the registers contain abstracts of letters sent and received since 1863. Much of the correspondence deals with the detection of counterfeiters, the protection 

of the President, spies during the Spanish–American War, and special 

investigations. Most of the Secret Service’s letters are kept in general correspondence fi les; however, a few specifi c sets of correspondence may 

be of interest to researchers in judicial history, such as the collection of 

letters received from U.S. attorneys (1879–1887) on the “usefulness and 

effectiveness” of the Secret Service’s activities.

 The Division’s records relating to the apprehension of criminals include physical descriptions of suspects, photographs of criminals and 

suspects, “Wanted” posters, short histories of cases, record books of 

persons arrested and convicted, registers of counterfeiters and persons 

suspected of committing other crimes, and lists of suspected anarchists. 

The Division also kept “pardon and parole” case fi les (1926–1937) and 

investigation fi les (1920–1938) that include brief case histories and 

correspondence with the Attorney General, the Solicitor of the United 

States, U.S. attorneys, and other federal offi cials regarding the pardon 

of persons who had been arrested by the Secret Service. The Division’s 

records relating to contraband and confi scated property include registers and indexes of counterfeit money and contraband property seized 

by the Secret Service, and inventories of property that had been used as 

evidence in federal court cases.

 The Division’s fi scal and administrative records include reports submitted to the Solicitor of the Treasury, employment and dismissal records, cash books, ledgers, payrolls, orders, circulars, and miscellaneous 

papers. The Division’s judicial records include a record of actions taken 

in cases involving suspects arrested by the Secret Service (1931–1932), 

and a set of correspondence and opinions on legal matters received from 

the Solicitor of the Treasury and the Attorney General (1883–1915).

F. Other Treasury Records of Related Interest

The National Archives maintains several other record groups that contain Treasury Department records that may be of interest to researchers 
124 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

in federal judicial history. Further records related to federal accounts 

can be found in RG 39, Records of the Bureau of Accounts (Treasury); 

RG 50, Records of the Treasurer of the United States; and RG 411, Records of the Government Accountability Offi ce (known as the General 

Accounting Offi ce from 1921 to 2004). The records of the Supervising 

Architect of the Treasury Department, which are held with the records 

of the Public Building Service in RG 121, are discussed in Part IV of this 

guide.

 Congress created the Offi ce of the Treasurer in 1789 to receive, 

keep, and disburse “the monies of the United States.” The Treasurer’s 

records in RG 50, which date as early as 1808, include incoming and 

outgoing correspondence, cash books, ledgers, journals, trial balances, 

and other fi scal documents; these documents are related to the work of 

the Treasurer, the detection of counterfeit currency, and captured and 

abandoned property. Record Group 50 is held at the National Archives 

at College Park, Maryland.

 The records of the Bureau of Accounts, which date from 1775 to 

1973 (bulk 1789–1948), document the disbursements of federal monies from prior to the Bureau’s establishment in 1940 until its abolition in 

1974. Record Group 39 is organized by executive branch department, 

with series of records related to disbursements for the Departments of 

State, Justice, the Treasury, and the Interior, all of which include information related to appropriations for the federal judiciary. These departmental series include correspondence, subject fi les, ledgers, warrants, 

appropriation journals, and other miscellaneous papers. In addition, RG 

39 contains the records of the disbursing clerks of the Treasury, as well 

as papers related to captured and abandoned property. Record Group 39 

is held at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

 The General Accounting Offi ce, and its successor, the Government 

Accountability Offi ce, continued the work of the auditors of the Treasury Department when the auditors’ offi ces were abolished in 1921. The 

records of the General Accounting Offi ce, which commence in 1920, 

are held in Record Group 411 and document the federal government’s 

efforts to maintain integrity in the fi scal workings of the government. To 

date, very few records of interest to judicial historians have been accessioned into RG 411, although researchers may fi nd some materials related to the judiciary in the Accounting and Bookkeeping Division’s series 

of letters documenting expenditures and account transfers for various 

federal departments and agencies. Record Group 411 is held at the Na-
Chapter 10. Records of the Department of the Treasury and Related Agencies 125

tional Archives facilities in Washington, D.C., College Park, Maryland, 

and San Bruno, California.

 The records of the Internal Revenue Service contain records that 

may be of interest to historians of the federal courts. Record Group 58, 

which spans from 1791 until near the present, includes correspondence, 

tax records, assessment lists, ledgers, claims records, records related to 

seized property, reports of U.S. attorneys regarding actions in tax cases, 

records of tax suits, and other miscellaneous papers, many of which 

relate to the violation of federal revenue laws. RG 58 also includes opinions of the Attorney General, executive orders, transcripts of evidence 

in court cases, compromise dockets, briefs, and judicial opinions concerning the 1894 income tax. Most of the records in RG 58 are at the 

National Archives at College Park, Maryland; however, substantial IRS 

records are also held at the National Archives’ various regional research 

facilities.

127

Chapter 11. Records of the Department 

of the Interior

A. Historical Note

In 1849, “An Act to establish the Home Department . . . to be called the 

Department of the Interior” created a new Cabinet department that assumed oversight of the fi nancial administration of the federal courts. The 

act transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Department 

of the Interior responsibility for the supervision of the accounts of all offi cers of the federal courts. Henceforth, clerks, marshals, and district attorneys submitted to the Department of the Interior all accounts of fees 

received by their respective courts and all requisitions for the advance 

or payment of federal money. Interior Department offi cials regularly corresponded with court offi cers about many aspects of the operation of the 

federal courts, including the rental and furnishing of court buildings, 

travel expenses of judges and court offi cers, and salary disbursal. The 

Department of the Interior closely supervised the fi nancial management 

of each federal court and enforced spending regulations.

B. Archival Records

The Records of the Department of the Interior, in Record Group 48 at 

the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, contain records related 

to the Department’s work with the judiciary, including an 1849 register 

of applications for appointment as U.S. marshals and attorneys, letters 

received from the Court of Claims (1855–1880), records relating to prisons in the District of Columbia and the territories, and registers of letters 

received by the Department relating to the judiciary (1850–1855), although the letters themselves were transferred to the Department of Justice (see Chapter 12). The largest set of judiciary-related records in RG 

48 comprises 42 volumes of letters sent (1854–1869); these letters are 

related to court expenses, the accounts of court offi cers, rental of court 

space, instructions for court offi cers, and the suppression of the slave 

trade. Many of these letters were sent by the Secretary of the Interior to 

judges, marshals, clerks of court, and U.S. attorneys.

 Record Group 48 also includes correspondence and case fi les related 

to court cases in which the Secretary of the Interior was a party. Some of 

these records, which range from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twenti-
128 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

eth century, are organized by the court in which the proceedings were 

held, while others are organized chronologically or by type of case. Several of the largest collections involve correspondence related to the suppression of the slave trade and case papers involving American Indians. 

RG 48 also includes a collection of letters received from the Attorney 

General (1862–1880) relating to patent and pension cases.

 The Department of the Interior established a Division of Finance 

in 1853 to oversee the payment of the “salaries of all the offi cers of the 

department and its bureaus, and all contingent and other bills . . . , and 

all requisitions drawn for the advance of payment of public money.” The 

Division of Finance maintained ledgers that tracked congressional appropriations for the Interior Department, including appropriations for 

the courts and court offi cers. Judiciary-related subjects in the appropriation ledgers include the construction and repair of courthouses and prisons, the rental of court space, expenses related to juries, the settlement 

of the judgments of the Court of Claims, the printing and distribution of 

U.S. laws and Supreme Court reports, and the payment of the salaries of 

court offi cers.

 Most of the Department of the Interior’s records relating to its administrative responsibilities over the federal courts were transferred to 

the Department of Justice when the latter was created in 1870, and these 

records are now found in Record Group 60, the General Records of the 

Department of Justice, at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. These records include letters related to judiciary accounts sent and 

received by the Department between 1849 and 1870.

 The records of the Accounting Offi cers of the Department of the 

Treasury, in Record Group 217 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., also contain Department of the Interior ledgers that detail the 

U.S. marshals’ accounts (1855–1907), civil journals that give the dates 

and explanations of fi scal transactions (1849–1894), and letters received 

from the Secretary of the Interior (1849–1870) relating to judiciary accounts, the federal courts in the District of Columbia, expenses incurred 

by marshals during their work in prize cases, and the appeals of court 

offi cers from the decisions of the comptroller.

C. Published Records

The annual reports of the Secretary of the Interior include information 

related to appropriations for the federal judiciary, judicial salaries, recommendations for the better organization and administration of the 
Chapter 11. Records of the Department of the Interior 129

courts, and miscellaneous topics. The Secretary’s annual reports are 

available in pamphlet and book form and also in the Serial Set as offi cial 

congressional documents.

131

Chapter 12. Records of the Attorney 

General and the Department of Justice

A. Historical Note

In the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress authorized the President to appoint “a meet person, learned in the law” to serve as Attorney General of 

the United States. The act directed the Attorney General to represent the 

United States in cases before the Supreme Court and to give legal opinions to the President and the heads of the executive branch departments 

upon request. The Attorney General joined the President’s Cabinet as 

early as 1792, but the Attorney General’s salary was only half that of 

the other Cabinet secretaries, and the Attorney General was not given 

an assistant or offi ce space until 1818. Initially, Attorneys General were 

expected to supplement their income through private law practice, but 

in 1853 Congress made the salary of the offi ce equal to that of the other 

Cabinet members. Beginning in the 1820s, several Presidents recommended the creation of a “law department” to be headed by the Attorney 

General, but this did not occur until the creation of the Department of 

Justice in 1870.

 The Attorney General’s responsibilities gradually increased between 

1789 and 1870, sometimes by congressional mandate and sometimes 

by matter of custom. In the early years of the federal republic, the Attorney General offered legal advice to members of the executive branch 

and the Congress, but, because such opinions were not mandated by 

law, Attorney General William Wirt ceased giving opinions to Congress 

in 1818. In 1853, the Attorney General began overseeing the appointment process of federal judges and other offi cers in the judicial districts. 

In 1861, Congress gave the Attorney General “general superintendence 

and direction” over the U.S. attorneys and marshals. In 1868, Congress 

authorized the Attorney General to oversee all government litigation before the Court of Claims.

 In 1870, the act establishing the Department of Justice continued 

and expanded the legal and administrative duties of the Attorney General, who was named head of the department. The act transferred from 

the Secretary of the Interior responsibility for supervising the accounts 

of the U.S. attorneys and marshals, clerks of court, and other court offi cers. The act also required the Attorney General to supervise the conduct and proceedings of attorneys representing the United States in the 
132 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

respective judicial districts, and to submit an annual report to Congress 

on the business of the department. In addition, the act authorized the 

Attorney General “to conduct and argue any case in which the government is interested in any court of the United States.”

 In the act of 1870, Congress created the position of Solicitor General 

“to assist the Attorney-General in the performance of his duties.” Congress also brought the solicitors of the Treasury, internal revenue, and 

the Navy, as well as the law offi cer of the Department of State, into the 

Department of Justice. The Attorney General was still authorized to employ outside assistance for litigation, but over time the need diminished.

 In 1888, Congress transferred from the Department of State to the 

Department of Justice responsibility for issuing commissions to federal 

judges and judicial offi cers, including U.S. attorneys and marshals. With 

the abolition of the fee system of compensation for marshals and U.S. 

attorneys in 1896, the Department of Justice’s disbursing clerk began 

distributing appropriated funds for the salaries and expenses of federal 

judges and court offi cials. In 1914, the marshals of individual districts assumed the responsibility of paying the court salaries and expenses in their 

respective districts. This continued until 1934, when the Treasury Department became responsible for these disbursements. The Department 

of Justice also compiled statistics on the business of the federal courts for 

inclusion in the annual report of the Attorney General and prepared and 

submitted to Congress the judiciary’s annual appropriation requests.

 Congress established the Administrative Offi ce of the United States 

Courts in 1939, drastically reducing the role of the Department of Justice in the administration of the federal judiciary. The Department of 

Justice continues to represent the government in civil and criminal litigation, and it retains its responsibilities for supervising U.S. marshals 

and attorneys, and for issuing judicial commissions.

B. Archival Records

Most of the records of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice are included in Record Group 60 at the National Archives at College 

Park, Maryland. RG 60 is divided into two sections. The fi rst section consists of the records of the Offi ce of the Attorney General (1789–1870); 

the second contains the records of the Department of Justice (1870–). 

The records of the Department of Justice in RG 60 also include some 

materials that were transferred from the Departments of State and the 

Interior when the Justice Department assumed administrative responsi-
Chapter 12. Records of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice 133

bilities from those departments. RG 205, which is held at the National 

Archives in Washington, D.C., includes case materials and administrative records from the Court of Claims Section of the Department of Justice. The records of the Department of Justice related to presidential pardons are held in RG 204, Records of the Offi ce of the Pardon Attorney, at 

the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. The records of the U.S. 

attorneys and marshals, in RG 118 and 527, respectively, are housed at 

the various regional branches of the National Archives.

C. Records of the Offi ce of the Attorney General, 1789–1870

The records of the Offi ce of the Attorney General include legal opinions, 

correspondence, miscellaneous papers, records related to California 

land claims, the papers of the Solicitor of the Court of Claims, and some 

personal papers of the Attorneys General—all of these records are from 

the years prior to the creation of the Department of Justice.

 The records of the Attorney General include papers related to the legal opinions that the Attorneys General furnished to the President and executive branch departments. These papers include original opinions, copies and drafts of opinions, bound volumes of opinions, and a record of the 

circumstances under which opinions had been requested. Most of these 

opinions were also published and are available in Offi cial Opinions of the 

Attorneys General of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Robert Farnham, 

1852–1858; W.H. and O.H. Morrison, 1866–1870; G.P.O., 1873–1996).

 Correspondence fi les make up the largest portion of the Attorneys 

General’s records. The correspondence received by the Attorney General 

gives a deep and unparalleled portrait of the life and business of the 

federal courts. Included are letters, reports, affi davits, and other types of 

documents received by the Attorney General, between 1809 and 1870, 

from the President, federal judges, U.S. marshals and attorneys, state 

or federal offi cials, and private citizens. Many of these letters deal with 

cases and lawsuits, the enforcement of federal laws, appointments and 

resignations, legal questions, the organization of judicial districts within 

the states, jurisdictional confl icts between the state and federal judiciaries, rules of civil and criminal procedure, and the caseloads and budgets 

of the federal courts. The incoming correspondence is arranged by state 

or judicial district and thereunder by type of sender (i.e., President, federal judges, U.S. marshals, U.S. attorneys, other federal offi cials, state 

offi cials, and private citizens). The Attorney General also kept a series 

of letters received from other federal departments and agencies (includ-
134 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

ing the Supreme Court, the Court of Claims, the Solicitor of the Court 

of Claims, both houses of Congress, and the various departments of the 

executive branch). All of the correspondence received by the Attorney 

General from 1809 to 1870 in RG 60 has been microfi lmed by LexisNexis (see Appendix B for a list of relevant fi nding aids). 

 The outgoing correspondence includes letter book copies of responses to the incoming correspondence (1818–1870), letters sent to 

the Solicitor of the Treasury (1830–1842), copies of instructions to U.S. 

marshals and attorneys (1860–1870), reports to the President (1853–

1858), and correspondence with the Secretary of the Treasury regarding 

internal revenue cases (1869–1870).

 The miscellaneous records of the Offi ce of the Attorney General include records related to the offi ce’s fi nances and employees, and papers 

related to cases before the Supreme Court in which the United States 

was a party or had an interest, including briefs, memoranda, and transcripts of records from lower courts.

 The records of the Attorney General include a collection of papers 

related to California Land Claims. In 1851, Congress established a Board 

of Commissioners to settle private land claims based on previous titles 

from the Spanish or Mexican governments. The decisions of the Board 

could be appealed to a U.S. district court and ultimately to the Supreme 

Court, and in 1852 Congress made the Attorney General responsible 

for handling these appeals. The Attorney General’s papers related to the 

land claims include dockets (1854–1858), transcripts of proceedings before the Board of Commissioners (1851–1856), case fi les (1853–1870), 

correspondence (1853–1870), U.S. district court opinions (1858), accounting records (1855–1870), and reference materials (such as newspaper clippings, memorandums, notes, and Spanish and Mexican laws, 

ca. 1813 to 1862).

 In 1855, Congress established the offi ce of Solicitor of the Court of 

Claims to represent the federal government in cases before that court. 

The Solicitor’s records include letters received (1855–1869), drafts of 

letters sent (1857–1862), and case fi les (1855–1870), which include 

copies of the papers that were fi led with the court. Congress abolished 

the offi ce of the Solicitor in 1868, transferring the Solicitor’s responsibilities to the Attorney General. Subsequent records related to the Justice 

Department’s Court of Claims Section can be found in RG 205; these 

records are described below.

 The records of the Attorney General’s Offi ce in RG 60 include a small 

collection of personal papers (1832–1868), most of which were letters 
Chapter 12. Records of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice 135

received by Reverdy Johnson (Attorney General, 1849–1850) relating to 

Johnson’s private law practice. Other letters in this series are requests for 

employment within the government, and case papers (1819–1860) from 

private cases in which someone from the Attorney General’s offi ce served 

as counsel.

 The pre-1870 records in Record Group 60 represent only a limited 

amount of the Attorneys General’s papers. Prior to the creation of the 

Department of Justice, many Attorneys General took their papers with 

them when they left offi ce. Accordingly, researchers may wish to examine collections of Attorneys General’s personal papers, which are held 

in libraries and archival repositories at various places throughout the 

United States (see Part V).

D. Records of the Department of Justice, 1870–

The records of the Department of Justice in Record Group 60 are divided 

into two parts: (1) General Records and (2) Records of Offi cials and Organizational Units. Within this second part are the post-1870 papers of 

the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, the Solicitor General, the Assistant Attorneys General, and the various divisions of the 

Department of Justice. The descriptions in this guide are limited to those 

records that relate to the organization of the judiciary or the Department 

of Justice’s role in cases before the federal courts.

1. General Records

The Justice Department’s general records include dockets and other 

case-related papers, legal opinions, correspondence, subject fi les, materials related to the administration of the federal judiciary, and other 

miscellaneous records.

 The Department of Justice kept dockets (1885–1928) to track the 

various cases that it initiated in the federal courts. The dockets are 

grouped by type of case or by the courts in which the cases were tried. 

These include railroad land-grant cases, antitrust and interstate commerce cases, national bank cases, criminal cases, and cases before the 

district courts, the circuit courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court. 

The general records also include a docket related to other miscellaneous 

cases involving the United States; some of these cases were in the courts 

of foreign nations.

 The general records of the Department of Justice include several sets 

of records related to the Attorney General’s opinions, including letters 
136 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

requesting opinions, registers of requests, bound copies of opinions, and 

copies of the offi cial volumes of published opinions. The Department 

also kept correspondence related to the publication of opinions.

 The Justice Department’s general records include several collections of correspondence covering judicial accounts, law enforcement, 

railroads and public lands, and other topics. Between 1870 and 1903, 

the Department maintained its incoming and outgoing correspondence 

in separate fi les. General letters received prior to 1884 are organized 

by sender (President, Congress, judicial district, private citizens, etc.) 

and thereunder chronologically. From 1884 to 1903, the Department 

organized its incoming correspondence into “Year Files” in which letters 

received each year were arranged by subject and thereunder in the order 

in which they were received. Copies of outgoing correspondence sent 

prior to 1904 are organized chronologically in several topical fi les. From 

1904 to 1918, general incoming and outgoing correspondence was kept 

together and organized using a numerical fi ling system. Beginning about 

1914, incoming and outgoing correspondence was combined and organized into subject fi les.

 Researchers wishing to locate correspondence from a particular 

person or judicial district, or related to a specifi c subject, can use the 

various registers and indexes that the Department created to catalog its 

incoming and outgoing correspondence. These indexes and registers are 

part of Record Group 60 and can be requested at the National Archives 

at College Park, Maryland.

 The general records of the Department of Justice include several 

separate categories of outgoing correspondence specifi cally related to 

the federal judiciary, including instructions sent to U.S. attorneys and 

marshals, letters sent regarding various types of court cases or legal matters (including bankruptcy proceedings and French Spoliation cases before the Court of Claims), and correspondence related to the administration of the courts in the various judicial districts. The letters in these 

series generally date between 1870 and 1905.

 Prior to 1904, the Department kept recipient-specifi c letter books 

for correspondence sent to members of the executive, legislative, and 

judicial branches of the government, including specifi c books of letters 

sent to judges, clerks, and marshals. Most of the letters sent to judges 

and clerks pertain to lesser issues, such as leaves of absence or requests 

for documents, although some letters concern complaints of judicial 

misconduct, statutory interpretation, appointments and resignations, or 

the need for new legislation.
Chapter 12. Records of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice 137

 The Department of Justice inherited the Department of the Interior’s correspondence related to judicial accounts and kept that correspondence, along with its own judiciary-related correspondence, in several distinct series within its general records. Incoming correspondence 

(1849–1889) is organized by state, then judicial district, and thereunder 

chronologically. Copies of outgoing letters (1849–1884), which are kept 

in letter books, are organized chronologically. These collections of correspondence document the executive branch’s oversight of the judiciary’s 

fi nances in the second half of the nineteenth century, dealing with such 

issues as the rental of courtrooms and offi ce space, requests by judicial 

offi cers for extra funds, jury and witness expenses, the counterfeiting of 

U.S. currency, and requests for copies of laws or blank forms. Some letters 

also transmitted the bonds of court offi cers, the reports of prison inspectors, reports by special agents of the Interior Department on the condition of court meeting places, court records and opinions, instructions and 

circulars, and the accounts of jurors and legal assistants. Correspondents 

include judges, clerks of court, U.S. marshals and attorneys, members of 

Congress, various Cabinet members, jurors, and private citizens.

 Judicial District Administration Files (1912–1938) contain correspondence between the Department of Justice and court offi cials relating 

to legal, political, and administrative matters in each judicial district. 

These fi les, which are organized by a subject–numeric system devised 

by the Department, include letters, memorandums, reports, transcriptions of conversations, and other documents related to numerous courtrelated topics, such as actions by the courts, caseload statistics, leaves 

of absence, fi scal requests, psychiatric services, and instructions to U.S. 

marshals and attorneys.

 The Justice Department’s subject fi les relate to investigations, litigation, and other activities in which the Department participated. Many of 

these fi les, which span the entire twentieth century, can only be accessed 

through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. These subject 

fi les cover a broad spectrum of the Department’s work. Topics related 

to civil rights include voting rights, peonage, desegregation in public 

accommodations and schools, discrimination in employment and jury 

service, and the activities of the Ku Klux Klan. Many fi les relate to the violation of federal laws, including liquor violations, mail fraud, theft from 

interstate commerce, food and drug prosecutions, crime on the high 

seas, antitrust violations, customs violations, bribery, perjury, offences 

against public justice, and the killing or assaulting of federal offi cers. 

Other fi les have to do with war-related matters, patents and copyrights, 
138 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

elections and political activity, bankruptcy, public lands, immigration, 

and claims against the United States.

2. Records of Offi cials and Organizational Units

Record Group 60 includes subgroups of records created or collected by 

the various offi cers, offi ces, and divisions of the Department of Justice. 

These administrative records are organized by the collecting offi cial or 

division and include correspondence, speeches, judicial records, appointment fi les, subject fi les, court decisions, records related to other 

federal agencies, and other miscellaneous papers. This section of the 

guide only describes the records of offi ces or divisions within the Department of Justice whose work related to the federal judiciary.

 The post-1870 records of the Attorney General include correspondence, subject fi les, reports, personal papers, and miscellaneous records. 

The correspondence fi les include copies of the Attorney General’s confi -

dential letters to the President, Congress, federal judges, court offi cers, 

and departmental agents relating to litigation, appointments, proposed 

legislation, and the enforcement of federal laws. Separate correspondence 

fi les include copies of letters sent by the Attorney General’s private secretary, records relating to requests from the public for information, and the 

personal papers of several Justice Department attorneys. Other records 

include a series of subject fi les, speeches, and miscellaneous records.

 The records of the deputy attorney general (1930–1972) relate primarily to the appointment of federal judges. An appointment fi le for 

U.S. Supreme Court justices includes correspondence supporting or opposing nominees, copies of oaths of offi ce and resignations, correspondence and memorandums relating to the justices, and newspaper clippings. The deputy’s records include a separate fi le of endorsements for 

Supreme Court nominees who were not confi rmed by the Senate. Federal Judgeship Candidate Files, which date back to 1960, include correspondence, FBI character reports, personal data questionnaires, bar 

association reports, newspaper clippings, and notes regarding persons 

who had been considered by the President for federal judicial positions 

but were either not nominated or not confi rmed.

 The records of the Solicitor General—to date these records are quite 

limited—include copies of outgoing correspondence (1909–1910) related to appointments, legislation, Supreme Court cases, and other matters. The records of the Solicitor General also contain an assistant attorney general’s desk fi le (1918) that includes papers related to cases before 

the Supreme Court.
Chapter 12. Records of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice 139

 The records of the Administrative Division of the Department of 

Justice include the records of the chief and disbursing clerks, the general 

agent, the Division of Accounts, and the Statistical Section. The records 

of the chief clerk include correspondence (1882–1917) that reports on 

the work of the U.S. attorneys, marshals, and other court employees. 

The records of the disbursing clerk (1870–1924) include appropriation 

books, payrolls, records of vouchers and salary payments, and statements of accounts related to the fi nances of the judiciary. The records of 

the General Agent (1877–1923) include correspondence fi les, sets of instructions to examiners, reports, and other miscellaneous papers related 

to federal crimes, prisoners, and the Offi ce of Indian Affairs.

 The records of the Division of Accounts (1872–1939) include correspondence, examiners’ reports, circulars, administrative fi les, and other 

papers related to leases for courtrooms, court fees and expenses, and the 

accounts of U.S. marshals, attorneys, and clerks of court. Examiners’ 

reports may be of particular interest to historians of a particular judicial 

district as they provide detailed accounts—based on interviews and personal observations—of interactions between court offi cials, the use of 

courthouse space, record-keeping practices, litigation, possible fraud or 

misuse of funds, and other issues within the district.

 The records of the Statistical Section (1931–1939) include correspondence and reports related to the amount and type of business coming before the various federal courts. Summaries of this statistical information can be found in the Annual Report of the Attorney General of the 

United States.

 The records of the Department of Justice’s jurisdictional divisions 

represent the various types of work conducted by the Department since 

the early twentieth century. These records include case fi les, correspondence, the personal papers of attorneys and employees, dockets, exhibits, and other miscellaneous fi les. The records of the Antitrust Division 

pertain to the enforcement of federal antitrust laws before the Commerce Court, the district courts, the Interstate Commerce Commission, 

and the Supreme Court. The records of the Civil Division relate to all 

of the civil proceedings in which the federal government was involved 

except for specialized fi elds that were assigned to other divisions. The 

records of the Criminal Division concern the enforcement of all federal 

criminal laws except for those specifi cally assigned to other divisions. 

The work of other divisions deals with civil rights, taxes, the use of public lands, claims for or against the United States, cost of living, insular 
140 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

and territorial possessions of the United States, Prohibition, the U.S. 

Board of Parole, and various war-related issues.

E. Personnel Records

Record Group 60 includes records related to the appointment and service of federal judges, court offi cers, and U.S. attorneys and marshals. 

These records generally date back to 1853, when the Attorney General 

assumed oversight of the appointment of federal judges and U.S. attorneys and marshals. These records include correspondence, memorandums, orders, circulars, registers, lists, indexes, appointment fi les, and 

other miscellaneous documents. A few records, which date back to the 

1840s, were transferred to the Department of Justice from the Departments of State and the Interior.

 Most of the Department of Justice’s personnel records relate to appointments within the judicial districts and the Department of Justice. 

The Department maintained appointment and application fi les for 

judges, U.S. marshals and attorneys, clerks of court, and other court 

employees. In most instances these records are organized by type of 

court, with separate fi les for the Supreme Court, district courts, circuit 

courts, courts of appeals, and courts of special jurisdiction. Appointment fi les for U.S. district and circuit courts are arranged by state and 

thereunder by judicial district. Appointment fi les include letters seeking 

appointment, endorsements, protests, letters of acceptance, oaths of offi ce, resignations, and other related papers. The Department also maintained some separate fi les of correspondence, endorsements, and other 

papers related to appointments for various positions within the federal 

judiciary, including some collections related to nominees who were not 

confi rmed by the Senate.

 The Justice Department maintained many sets of lists, registers, and 

indexes that can be helpful for researchers who are seeking to know 

who served in various positions in specifi c judicial districts. These include lists of judges, marshals and deputy marshals, U.S. attorneys and 

assistant attorneys, clerks of court, and other judicial personnel. The 

registers also document applications, nominations, and endorsements 

for various positions in the Department and the federal judiciary.

F. Court of Claims Section

The 1855 act establishing the Court of Claims also created the position 

of Solicitor to represent the U.S. government in cases before the court. 
Chapter 12. Records of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice 141

In 1868, Congress transferred the Solicitor’s responsibilities to the Offi ce 

of the Attorney General, and in 1870 to the Department of Justice. See 

Chapter 5 for discussion of the Court of Claims records.

G. Offi ce of the Pardon Attorney

From 1789 to 1853, the Secretary of State and Attorney General jointly 

considered petitions for presidential clemency, making recommendations to the President regarding each case. Beginning in 1853, only the 

Attorney General received and reviewed the petitions and made recommendations to the President. In 1865, Congress authorized the Attorney 

General to employ a “pardon clerk” to assist in the Attorney General’s 

responsibilities relating to pardons. In 1891, Congress established the 

Offi ce of the Pardon Attorney to assist the Attorney General in pardonrelated matters.

 The records of the Attorney General related to pardons have been 

transferred to RG 204, Records of the Offi ce of the Pardon Attorney. The 

bulk of the Pardon Attorney’s records are case fi les, which date back to 

1853. Case fi les include applications for presidential clemency, letters of 

recommendation or protest, statements regarding the petitioner’s character, correspondence from politicians or lawyers who had participated in 

the prisoner’s trial, reports from judges and U.S. attorneys regarding the 

facts of the case (some reports include recommendations for or against 

pardon), statements from prison wardens and physicians regarding the 

applicant’s behavior and health, copies of court records from the trial, 

briefs, transcripts of testimony, and the reports and recommendations of 

the Pardon Attorney and Attorney General.

 Record Group 204 includes several series related to specifi c types 

of pardons, including pardons for political prisoners (1918–1933) and 

Utah polygamy cases (1882–1892). In addition, the Pardon Attorney 

kept copies of outgoing correspondence related to pardon cases, memorandums related to pardons, and miscellaneous papers. Researchers can 

locate particular cases, or cases from specifi c courts, using the dockets, 

record books, lists, and indexes included in RG 204.

 Pardon records from 1789–1853 are located in RG 59, the General 

Records of the Department of State (see Chapter 9). On some occasions, 

pardon records remain with the records of the trial court in RG 21, and 

may even consist of a simple notation by the President on the original 

criminal case fi le. RG 130, Records of the White House Offi ce, contains 

registers of presidential actions in pardon cases from 1869–1885 and 
142 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

1907–1913. Pardon records are also kept with several types of military 

records, including RG 94, Records of the Adjutant General’s Offi ce, and 

RG 153, Records of the Offi ce of the Judge Advocate General (Army). 

Most of these records concern civilians and military personnel who were 

tried before military courts during the Civil War and Reconstruction, 

although a few civilian court records are scattered in with them.

H. Federal Bureau of Investigation

In his 1907 Annual Report, the Attorney General described the Department of Justice’s need for a “permanent detective force.” Within a year 

the Attorney General appointed nine special agents and a chief examiner 

to supervise all departmental investigations “except those to be made 

by bank examiners, and in connection with the naturalization service.” 

In 1909, the chief examiner’s division was designated the Bureau of Investigation “for the purpose of collecting evidence for the use of the 

Government in cases pending or about to be commenced in the Federal 

courts, and also for the purpose of making such other examinations and 

investigations as the business of the department might require.” 

 In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 6166 established the Division of Investigation within the Department of Justice, 

combining the investigative responsibilities of the Bureau of Prohibition 

with those of the Bureau of Investigation. In 1935, Congress established 

the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) within the Department of Justice “[f]or the detection and prosecution of crimes against the United 

States”; to protect the President; for “the acquisition, collection, classifi cation, and preservation of identifi cation and other records”; for the “investigation of the offi cial acts, records, and accounts of marshals, attorneys, 

clerks of United States courts and Territorial courts, probation offi cers, 

and United States commissioners”; and for other investigative purposes.

 The records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are in Record 

Group 65 at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. In addition to the records of the FBI, Record Group 65 includes correspondence, reports, and investigative materials from the Bureau’s predecessor offi ces and agencies. Pre-1935 records include copies of letters 

sent by the chief examiner and the chief of the Bureau of Investigation 

(1907–1911), letters sent by the Attorney General regarding the Bureau 

of Investigation (1910–1912), the Bureau’s correspondence with special agents (1908–1910), applications for appointment as a special agent 

(1917–1918), subject fi les, annual reports, the daily reports of special 
Chapter 12. Records of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice 143

agents, memorandums, an index to federal court cases, and miscellaneous papers.

 The investigative records in Record Group 65 are arranged by topic 

into classes. Many of the classes pertain to federal criminal investigations 

while others have to do with war-related matters, domestic security, or 

other issues. Researchers will need to consult with an archivist to determine whether the records they would like to use are open to public 

research. Some records in RG 65 have been classifi ed by the executive 

branch of the federal government while others have been sealed by the 

federal courts.

 Record Group 65 also includes the records of the Bureau of Criminal Identifi cation (1896–1924) (most of those records have to do with 

fi ngerprinting); the records of the National Bureau of Criminal Identifi -

cation of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (1897–1924); 

and the records of the American Protective League (1917–1919).

 Researchers interested in federal investigative records may also wish 

to consult the records of the U.S. Secret Service in Record Group 87 (see 

Chapter 10), the records of the Bureau of Prisons in RG 129, the records 

of the Offi ce of Alien Property in RG 131, the records of the Drug Enforcement Administration in RG 170, and the records of the Bureau of 

Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in RG 436.

I. Published Records of the Attorney General and the 

Department of Justice

Between 1870 and 1939, and in several nonconsecutive years thereafter, the Attorney General published statistical information regarding the 

volume and types of cases in each federal court, the expenses incurred 

by the courts, the amounts of judgments and fi nes awarded in cases 

in which the United States was a party, and other aspects of the federal judicial business in the Annual Report of the Attorney General of the 

United States (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1870–1997). These volumes 

also contain summaries of reports by examiners and other Justice Department offi cials, as well as the Attorney General’s recommendations 

for new laws and improvements in judicial administration. Annual reports since 1994 are available at the Department of Justice’s website 

(http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/annualreports.html).

 The Department of Justice publishes the names of federal judges, 

clerks of court, U.S. attorneys, marshals, probation offi cers, and other 

offi cials serving in the various federal courts in the Register of the U.S. 
144 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

Department of Justice and the Federal Courts (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 

1978–) (previously titled Register of the Department of Justice and the Judicial Offi cers of the United States, 1871–1900; Register of the Department of 

Justice, 1902–1912; and Register of the Department of Justice and the Courts 

of the United States, 1912–1976). The registers also indicate the times 

and places each court was held, the names of the counties composing 

specifi c judicial districts, and the allotment of Supreme Court justices to 

specifi c circuits.

 Until recently, the legal opinions of the Attorneys General were 

published in Offi cial Opinions of the Attorneys General of the United States

(Washington, D.C.: Robert Farnham, 1852–1858; W.H. and O.H. Morrison, 1866–1870; G.P.O., 1873–1996). Recent opinions by the Attorneys General, and selected opinions of the Offi ce of Legal Counsel, are 

available in Opinions of the Offi ce of Legal Counsel of the Department of 

Justice (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1977–), as well as at the Department 

of Justice’s website (http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/opinions.htm).

J. Records of United States Marshals

1. Historical Note

In addition to their duties as law enforcement offi cers, United States 

marshals have played an important role in the administration of the federal courts. The Judiciary Act of 1789 directed the President to appoint 

a marshal to serve in each judicial district for a renewable term of four 

years. The act required marshals to attend the sessions of the district and 

circuit courts within their respective districts and to carry out all lawful 

orders issued to them under the authority of the United States. Marshals 

carried out the courts’ orders to make arrests, to provide for prisoners 

in federal custody, and to deliver summonses, subpoenas, and warrants. 

Under the provisions of the Judiciary Act of 1789, the marshal for the 

judicial district in which the Supreme Court of the United States sat was 

also responsible for serving the Court. A statute of 1867 authorized the 

Supreme Court to appoint its own marshal.

 Congress authorized the marshals to adjourn sessions of the district 

and circuit courts when the judge or judges of those courts were absent. Marshals also provided protection for federal judges, jurors, and 

witnesses. In 1792, Congress granted marshals the same authority in 

executing federal laws as sheriffs exercised in carrying out state laws. At 

the same time that the marshals carried out their principal responsibilities in the federal courts, Congress and the executive branch assigned to 
Chapter 12. Records of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice 145

them local administrative tasks, such as recording the census and receiving messages from foreign consuls resident in their district.

 The marshals’ administrative tasks within the courts arose out of 

their responsibility for the disbursal of all funds by the court, as provided by an act of 1791. They disbursed funds to pay the fees and traveling 

expenses of witnesses, jurors, U.S. attorneys, and clerks of court. Marshals also bought supplies for the judges and court offi cers, procured 

jail space for federal prisoners, hired bailiffs and court criers, and rented 

space for courtrooms.

 The fi nancial duties of the marshals required them to report to the 

Department of the Treasury all of the court’s expenses and receipts of 

fees. In 1861, Congress placed the marshals under the supervision of 

the Attorney General. In 1956, the Department of Justice established 

the Executive Offi ce for U.S. Marshals, and in 1969 the Department established the U.S. Marshals Service, with centralized authority over the 

marshals serving in the judicial districts.

 During the twentieth century, and particularly after the 1939 creation of the Administrative Offi ce of the United States Courts, the marshals’ administrative responsibilities within the courts decreased while 

their role as law enforcement offi cers expanded. The marshals and their 

deputies continue to provide protection to judges, witnesses, and jurors, 

and they continue to execute the lawful orders of the federal government 

in the judicial districts.

2. Archival Records

The records of the U.S. marshals are held in several different record 

groups at the various regional branches of the National Archives. Initially, the U.S. marshals’ records were grouped with the records of the 

U.S. attorneys in Record Group 118. Recently the National Archives created Record Group 527, Records of the United States Marshals Service, 

to hold the records of the U.S. Marshals Service as well as the pre-1969 

records of the U.S. marshals. Many of the regional branches of the National Archives have transferred the marshals’ records from RG 118 to 

RG 527, although a few branches still hold marshals’ records in RG 118. 

Researchers will need to consult with an archivist to determine which 

record groups hold the marshals’ records for particular judicial districts.

 The marshals’ records in Record Groups 118 and 527 are organized 

by judicial district. The earliest records date back to 1845, although 

most of the records date from between 1870 and 1920. Marshals’ records 

include correspondence, docket books, records related to the marshals’ 
146 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

fi scal responsibilities, appointment records, circulars, and subject fi les. 

Most of the outgoing letters in these records were written by U.S. marshals, although letters written by federal judges and U.S. attorneys are 

among these fi les. Some marshals also kept a separate collection of their 

correspondence with the Attorney General. Much of the correspondence 

in Record Groups 118 and 527 pertains to the capture of suspects, serving subpoenas, the progress of court cases, witnesses, federal prisons, 

and the marshals’ accounts.

 Many records related to the work of U.S. marshals are held with 

the records of the U.S. district and circuit courts in Record Group 21, 

although some of the regional facilities are moving these records from 

RG 21 to RG 527. Marshals’ records in RG 21 most often deal with prize 

cases, seized property, bankruptcy proceedings, and the custody of prisoners. During the nineteenth century, U.S. marshals often shared offi ce 

space with the clerk of court. For that reason, the offi cial correspondence of the marshals will also occasionally be found among the records 

of a clerk of court in Record Group 21.

 To date, very few marshals’ records have been accessioned into Record Groups 118 and 527 (NARA only holds marshals’ records from 

about a dozen of the ninety-four judicial districts in the United States). 

Many early records were lost or destroyed, and some offi cial papers have 

remained in private hands (see Chapter 16). Researchers interested in 

locating the records of the marshals in a particular judicial district will 

need to consult the National Archives’ online Guide to Federal Records

(at http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/) to see if such records are in the Archives’ holdings. In addition to the materials in Record 

Groups 21, 118, and 527, researchers will fi nd marshals’ correspondence 

and reports in the records of the executive branch departments described 

elsewhere in Part III. The records of the marshal of the Supreme Court of 

the United States, in Record Group 267, are described in Chapter 3.

 Researchers can consult the Historian of the U.S. Marshals Service at 

the Department of Justice regarding questions about particular judicial 

districts or individuals employed by the U.S. Marshals Service. The Historian maintains a fi le with information on more than 30,000 individuals who have served as marshals, deputy marshals, members of posses 

and guards, and other positions within the U.S. Marshals Service. The 

Historian can be reached by phone at 202-307-9114.
Chapter 12. Records of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice 147

K. Records of the United States Attorneys

1. Historical Note

The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided for the appointment in each judicial district of a person “learned in the law” to prosecute federal crimes 

and to represent the United States in all civil actions to which it was a 

party. Although the act did not specify who would appoint the attorneys, 

President Washington assumed the appointment power in September 

1789. The statute did not confer a title upon these local agents of federal 

authority, but subsequent statutes and court decisions referred to them 

most frequently as “district attorneys.” In 1948, the Judicial Code adopted the term “United States attorneys.”

 In 1820 Congress prescribed a term of four years for the attorneys, 

although it provided for their removal at the pleasure of the President. 

Until 1861, the U.S. attorneys received most of their direction from the 

Secretary of State, although the attorneys enjoyed a large degree of independence. An act of 1861 granted the Attorney General authority to 

supervise and direct the U.S. attorneys and required them to report their 

offi cial proceedings to the Attorney General. Congress, when it established the Department of Justice in 1870, gave the Attorney General 

supervisory authority over the accounts of the U.S. attorneys.

 The principal duty of the U.S. attorneys was to prosecute suits 

on behalf of the federal government. Like other offi cers of the federal 

courts, Congress occasionally gave the government’s attorneys specifi c 

responsibilities related to the administration and operation of the courts.

 No signifi cant changes were made regarding the offi ce of U.S. attorney in the twentieth century, but there was an increase in the degree of 

control exerted by the Attorney General and the Department of Justice 

over the conduct of U.S. attorneys in the fi eld and over the appointment 

of assistant U.S. attorneys, who, unlike the U.S. attorneys themselves, 

have not been limited to four-year terms. In 1953, an order of the Attorney General established the Executive Offi ce for United States Attorneys within the Department of Justice to serve as a liaison between the 

Department and the U.S. attorneys in the fi eld.

2. Archival Records

The records of the U.S. attorneys, which are organized by judicial district 

and held in Record Group 118 at the regional branches of the National 

Archives, are more voluminous than the records of the U.S. marshals, 

but they are still far from complete. U.S. attorneys’ papers have not sur-
148 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

vived from all states or judicial districts, and only a few districts have 

records from the nineteenth century. The records in RG 118 include 

incoming and outgoing correspondence, subject fi les, case fi les, criminal 

and civil dockets (with some pertaining to specifi c types of cases), grand 

jury records, and other miscellaneous records.

 Case fi les, which make up the largest portion of records in RG 118, 

generally include correspondence with the Department of Justice and 

other federal agencies, memorandums, copies of court records, materials from FBI investigations, the U.S. attorneys’ trial notes and working 

papers, newspaper clippings, exhibits, briefs, depositions, and miscellaneous materials. In some districts, U.S. attorneys maintained separate 

sets of “precedent” and “signifi cant” case fi les, as well as case fi les related 

to particular types of cases, such as selective service cases, or proceedings against organized crime.

 Grand jury records include transcripts of testimony, evidence obtained from wiretaps and other investigations, audio recordings, motion 

pictures, jury lists, witness lists, exhibits, and other types of material 

involved in grand jury proceedings. The grand jury records in RG 118 

include materials from cases that went to court as well as from cases that 

never went to trial.

 Records in RG 118 that are less than 75 years old must be screened 

by the National Archives before they can be made available to researchers. Recent U.S. attorneys’ records are subject to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request; however, grand jury materials are exempt from 

FOIA requests. Grand jury records that were not introduced into a case 

are perpetually closed until a judge orders them opened.

 Researchers interested in fi nding papers related to the U.S. attorneys 

in a particular judicial district should examine the records of the lower 

federal courts in RG 21 as well as the correspondence fi les of the executive branch departments. During the nineteenth century U.S. attorneys 

often shared offi ce space with clerks of court. As a result, the offi cial 

records of U.S. attorneys will occasionally be found among the records 

of a clerk in Record Group 21. Some early U.S. attorneys retained their 

offi cial papers at the end of their terms of service. Researchers can search 

for U.S. attorneys’ manuscript collections in repositories outside of the 

National Archives system, many of which include both personal correspondence and offi cial records (see Chapter 16).
149

Part IV. Records Related to Federal 

Courthouses

Introduction

From the inauguration of the federal government until the mid-nineteenth century, federal courts met in county courthouses, city halls, state 

capitols, and other public buildings, as well as in hotels, taverns, and 

attorneys’ offi ces. Only in the second half of the nineteenth century did 

the federal government provide dedicated space for federal courts to 

meet. From 1852 until 1939, the construction of most nonmilitary federal buildings, including courthouses, was under the direction of the 

Offi ce of the Supervising Architect in the Treasury Department. Before 

1852, most government building projects were for customhouses, warehouses, and marine hospitals—all facilities under the jurisdiction of the 

Treasury Department. In an effort to coordinate the growing number of 

federal building projects, Secretary of the Treasury Thomas Corwin, in 

March 1852, selected architect Ammi B. Young to manage the Department’s work in the construction and maintenance of public buildings. 

By the end of the year Young was known as the “Supervising Architect.” 

By 1863, the Supervising Architect had taken control of building projects under the authority of the Treasury Department. 

 In June 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive 

Order 6166, which changed the name of the Offi ce of the Supervising Architect to the Public Works Branch and transferred it to the new 

Procurement Division of the Department of the Treasury. The order divided the administrative responsibilities for the maintenance of public buildings among the Treasury Department, the Postal Service, and 

the National Park Service, each of which had supervisory control over 

the maintenance of different buildings in which the federal courts met. 

In 1936, the Public Works Branch was renamed the Public Buildings 

Branch.

 In 1939, Congress transferred the Public Buildings Branch from the 

Treasury Department to the Federal Works Agency, where it became part 

of the Public Buildings Administration. The former assistant director of 

the Procurement Division of the Treasury Department became the Commissioner of Public Buildings, and the Supervising Architect and Supervising Engineer served as his subordinates. Congress also transferred the 
150 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

National Park Service’s responsibilities for the administration of public 

buildings to the Public Works Administration.

 Congress, in the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 

1949, abolished the Federal Works Agency, the Public Buildings Administration, and the offi ces of the Commissioner of Public Buildings, the 

Federal Works Administrator, and the Assistant Federal Works Administrator, transferring their responsibilities to the newly established General 

Services Administration (GSA). 

 By 1950, the Public Buildings Service had been established within 

the GSA to select sites and acquire land for public buildings and to oversee the design, construction, extension, maintenance, and repair of public buildings. Since 1949, most public buildings have been designed by 

private architects, with the GSA providing administrative oversight of 

construction and maintenance of the buildings. In 1956, the title of Supervising Architect was changed to Assistant Commissioner for Design 

and Construction, a position that still exists.

 Researchers interested in further discussion of the history of public 

buildings in the United States should consult Antoinette J. Lee, Architects 

to the Nation: The Rise and Decline of the Supervising Architect’s Offi ce (New 

York: Oxford University Press, 2000). Part IV of this guide directs researchers to archival records and photographic images of court meeting 

places that are held at the National Archives, the Library of Congress, 

and other libraries and archival repositories.
151

Chapter 13. NARA Records Related to 

Federal Courthouses

Several record groups at the National Archives provide insight into the 

construction and maintenance of federal buildings and courthouses. 

The records of the executive branch departments that had administrative responsibilities over the judiciary include correspondence related 

to the design and construction of public buildings, the leasing of court 

space, funds for the improvement of federal buildings, and other related 

matters. Most of these records are Treasury-related, although the State, 

Interior, and Justice Departments also maintained such correspondence 

(see Part III). The largest quantity of records related to courthouses and 

court meeting places is available in the Records of the Public Buildings 

Service in Record Group 121.

A. Records of the Public Buildings Service

The records of the Public Buildings Service in Record Group 121 at the 

National Archives at College Park, Maryland, include correspondence, 

fi scal and design records, maps, motion pictures, photographs, and miscellaneous letters related to the construction of public buildings by the 

Offi ce of the Supervising Architect in the Department of the Treasury, as 

well as those constructed by the Public Buildings Service.

 Record Group 121 includes several series of outgoing correspondence, including letters sent by the Secretary of the Treasury related 

to public buildings (1851–1863), letters sent by the Supervising Architect and his staff (1862–1930), and letters sent from the offi ce of 

the architect of the federal building in Chicago (1896–1903). Much of 

this correspondence was sent to elected offi cials, the Attorney General, 

customs offi cials, architects, custodians, disbursing offi cers, contractors, 

and construction fi rms concerning the acquisition of sites, the construction or repair of public buildings, the sale of old buildings, maintenance 

issues, and other fi scal and contractual matters. Most of these correspondence fi les are organized chronologically; however, several duplicate sets 

of the outgoing correspondence are organized by place of construction. 

The Offi ce of the Supervising Architect also created indexes and registers 

of its outgoing correspondence, and researchers can use these indexes 

and registers to search for correspondence related to a specifi c building, 

city, or person.
152 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 The incoming correspondence of the Offi ce of the Supervising Architect includes two series of letters received. The fi rst series covers the 

period from 1843 to 1910, the second from 1910 to 1939. The correspondence in the 1843 to 1910 series is arranged alphabetically by city, 

then by building name, and thereunder by date. The records in the 1910 

to 1939 series are organized by state, then city, then building, and then 

chronologically. The records related to some cities or buildings comprise 

only a few folders, while those for some buildings fi ll more than twenty 

boxes. The correspondence for most buildings predates the construction 

of the building (except in cases where the building was completed prior 

to 1843) and extends through the use of the building by the federal government.

 The Offi ce of the Supervising Architect received much of its correspondence from members of Congress and other elected offi cials, local 

building commissions, construction companies, architects and architectural fi rms, custodians and other employees in federal buildings, and 

private individuals. Much of the correspondence relates to the acquisition of sites and the construction of new federal buildings, as well as 

to the alteration, maintenance, and repair of existing federal buildings. 

Letters from local offi cials often described their city’s or state’s need for a 

new public building. Clerks and other court offi cers often relayed their 

needs to the Supervising Architect as his offi ce was preparing plans for a 

new courthouse or public building.

 These incoming correspondence fi les include synopses of bids as 

well as the bids themselves, copies of congressional bills and laws related to the acquisition of sites and construction, reports on the condition 

of public buildings, correspondence related to construction or repairs, 

plats of sites offered and their prices, letters from winning bidders trying 

to renege on their contracts, letters from court offi cers enclosing receipts 

and bills, newspaper clippings, and other miscellaneous papers. Many 

letters also enclosed maps, blueprints, drawings, designs, and abstracts 

of titles to land.

 On occasion, the Supervising Architect sent questionnaires to local 

postmasters and custodians of public buildings. The responses to these 

questionnaires, which are fi led with the Supervising Architect’s incoming correspondence, include descriptions of judges’ chambers and court 

offi ces, as well as information about the number of people employed by 

each court offi cer. Some answers gave further demographic details about 

the employees in public buildings, such as how many women worked 

in particular facilities. The incoming correspondence fi les also include 
Chapter 13. NARA Records Related to Federal Courthouses 153

materials related to personnel disputes, such as complaints and explanations, sworn statements, and documentary evidence.

 A third series of letters received from 1933 to 1945 documents the 

operation and maintenance of courthouses and other federal buildings 

by the National Park Service (1933 to 1939) and the Public Buildings 

Administration (1939 to 1945). These fi les include correspondence, 

telegrams, memorandums, newspaper clippings, blueprints, maps, invitations for bids on various projects, building inspection reports, and 

miscellaneous documents. Correspondents include the National Park 

Service, the Federal Works Agency, the Public Buildings Administration, 

the Treasury Department’s Division of Disbursement, the Department of 

Justice, the Secretary of the Interior, and building managers and custodians. Subjects covered include building maintenance and repairs, personnel matters, operational expenses, fi res, art and murals painted under the Federal Works of Art Project (often with enclosed photographs), 

and requisitions for furniture and offi ce supplies.

 The Offi ce of the Supervising Architect annually compiled registers 

of the correspondence it received between 1857 and 1901. These registers include the dates that letters were sent and received, the name of the 

sender, and a brief description of the contents of the letter. Each volume 

is arranged alphabetically by city, then by correspondent or building, 

and thereunder chronologically. Researchers can use these registers to 

locate correspondence from particular persons or time periods, or to 

locate correspondence related to specifi c cities or buildings.

 The Supervising Architect’s Offi ce kept several series of drawings, 

plans, and specifi cations related to historic federal buildings, many of 

which had been sold or demolished. A specifi cations fi le (1840–1943)—

which is arranged alphabetically by state, then city, then building—details construction specifi cations for the plumbing, heating, painting, 

electrical wiring, and other repairs that had to be done to public buildings. The National Archives has consolidated the Offi ce’s drawings, tracings, blueprints, site plans, elevations, and plats into a “Consolidated 

File of Architectural Drawings of Public Buildings” (1833–1974), which 

is available in the Cartographic and Architectural Records Section of the 

National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

 Record Group 121 includes several series of miscellaneous records 

relating to the overall operations of the Offi ce of the Supervising Architect. These records, which date from 1854 to 1940, were retained as samples of the original records, most of which were destroyed at some point 

between the time that the government had fi nished using them and the 
154 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

time that they were organized by the National Archives. Included in these 

series are a register of proposals by contractors (1900–1902), a register of 

bonds of contractors performing work on public buildings (1889–1897), 

construction contracts (1854–1860), contract dockets (1882–1892), 

inspection fi les (1935–1940), miscellaneous ledgers (1816–1929), appointment books (1900–1902), and other assorted records.

 The records in RG 121 of the Fine Arts Section of the Public Buildings Administration, which had been established in the Treasury Department in 1934 and existed until 1943, include correspondence, reports, memorandums, case fi les, proposals, and miscellaneous materials 

related to the installation of murals, sculptures, and other artwork in 

federal buildings. The correspondence fi les include letters received from 

and copies of letters sent to artists, architects, elected offi cials, federal 

agencies, the heads and employees of the Fine Arts Section, and other 

individuals. Several other topical correspondence fi les include series 

of correspondence with artists concerning competitions and projects 

(1939–1942), artists’ answers to technical questionnaires (1936–1938), 

and letters received regarding completed works of art (1935–1942). The 

Fine Arts Section’s case fi les (1934–1943) include letters, memorandums, and other papers relating to the design and installation of artwork 

in public buildings.

 The photographic records of the Offi ce of the Supervising Architect 

and the Public Buildings Service are described in Chapter 15.

B. Records of the Department of the Treasury

Prior to the establishment of the Offi ce of the Supervising Architect and 

the later Public Buildings Service, federal courts rented offi ces and court 

space in the cities and towns in which they were authorized to meet. The 

records of the Treasury Department include correspondence and fi scal 

papers related to the rental of court space during the fi rst century of the 

federal judiciary’s existence.

 The General Records of the Department of the Treasury, in Record 

Group 56 at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, include 

several series of correspondence related to courthouses, the construction 

of public buildings, employees in federal buildings, and the rental of 

courtrooms and offi ce space for members of the judiciary. As described 

in Chapter 10, the Treasury Department organized its incoming and outgoing correspondence into lettered series according to the offi ce or department with which the Treasury Department was corresponding. Most 
Chapter 13. NARA Records Related to Federal Courthouses 155

of the Department’s correspondence fi les are arranged in chronological 

order, but the Department kept indexes and registers of its incoming and 

outgoing correspondence that researchers can use to locate correspondence with particular individuals.

 The “F” series, which includes letters sent to members of the judiciary (1829–1878) and correspondence received from members of the 

judiciary (1829–1848), includes incoming letters from judges, clerks, 

and marshals, and the Treasury Department’s responses, regarding the 

district and circuit courts’ need for adequate court space, the rental of 

courtrooms and offi ces for court personnel, and the purchase of furniture, offi ce supplies, and books. Much of the correspondence has to do 

with the purchase or repair of public buildings in the judicial districts, 

as well as requisitions for surplus money to cover unexpected expenses.

 The “M” series (1878–1916) in Record Group 56 consists of letters 

sent by the Offi ce of the Supervising Architect to members of the executive branch, Congress, construction companies, employees in federal 

buildings, and private individuals. Much of this correspondence pertains to the construction, maintenance, and repair of public buildings, 

including letters related to contracts and fi nancing, appropriations, and 

the hiring of custodial staff. The “P” series (1878–1910) includes similar 

types of correspondence sent from the Offi ce of the Chief Clerk and 

Superintendent of the Treasury Building.

 Many other series in Record Group 56 include correspondence and 

papers related to the construction, maintenance, repair, furnishing, 

and sale of public buildings. These include the “E” series (1806–1874), 

which consists of outgoing correspondence and reports sent to members 

of Congress; the “GB” series (1877–1878), which includes copies of outgoing letters sent to the disbursing agents and custodial staff of federal 

buildings throughout the United States; and the “K” series (1789–1878), 

which includes miscellaneous letters sent and received, some of which 

related to the construction and maintenance of public buildings. The 

“K” series also includes a subset of records related to the construction of 

customhouses and other federal structures (1833–1849), but only one 

building in this subseries (the customhouse in Wilmington, N.C.) served 

as a meeting place for the federal courts. The “QN” series, which consists 

of outgoing correspondence related to employees in public buildings 

(1871–1878), includes copies of letters sent to construction and custodial staff at federal buildings relating to personnel actions, repairs, maintenance, salaries, and other expenses. The “OR” series (1861–1878) 

includes correspondence that was sent to other Treasury Department 
156 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

offi cials regarding the repair of public buildings. Some letters sent by the 

Division of Appointments, in the “A” series (1878–1902), also dealt with 

the appointment of custodial personnel.

 The Secretary of the Treasury maintained several series of records, 

dating from 1853 to 1911, related to employment and personnel matters within the Offi ce of the Supervising Architect and at various construction sites. The Secretary’s correspondents included the Supervising 

Architect, applicants for positions, local politicians, members of Congress, construction fi rms, and other employees at construction sites. The 

Secretary also maintained lists, registers, and monthly reports related to 

employees in the Offi ce of the Supervising Architect and in various public buildings, as well as records of payments to custodians and janitors, 

and oaths of offi ce for persons employed in public buildings.

 The Treasury Department’s records include several other sets of correspondence that are not included in the lettered series, and some of 

these sets of correspondence relate to construction and maintenance expenses. These include several sets of letters received from other departments of the executive branch, letters received from members of Congress (1836–1910), and letters received from the Supervising Architect 

(1858–1910). Another series consists of letters received by the Superintendent of Construction (1903–1904). The Secretary also maintained 

a descriptive volume (1901–1918) relating to courthouses and other 

public buildings.

 The Records of the Accounting Offi cers of the Department of the 

Treasury, in Record Group 217 at the National Archives in Washington, 

D.C., include correspondence, contracts, reports, and other accounting 

records related to federal buildings and courthouses. The records of the 

Register of the Treasury include various ledgers (1840–1909) that show 

the expenses of disbursing offi cers at various public buildings, as well 

as of court offi cers in the various judicial districts. The records of the 

First Comptroller include proposals and contracts for the construction 

of public buildings (1852–1901). The Offi ce of the First Auditor kept a 

register of accounts for the rental of courtrooms (1892–1894), registers 

of accounts for public buildings (1870–1911), and a register of payments made on contracts for public buildings (1890–1894), as well as 

the settled accounts themselves and correspondence related to judiciary 

accounts and the use of public buildings.

 Several other collections of Treasury records contain materials related to court meeting places. The records of the Bureau of Accounts 

(Treasury) in Record Group 39 at the National Archives at College Park, 
Chapter 13. NARA Records Related to Federal Courthouses 157

Maryland, include appropriation ledgers for public buildings (1911–

1939), registers of expenditures for the construction and maintenance of 

public buildings (ca. 1800–1870), and lists of maintenance employees 

in federal buildings (ca. 1877–1881). The records of the Solicitor of the 

Treasury, in Record Group 206 at the National Archives at College Park, 

Maryland, include correspondence and other materials related to cases 

in which the federal government was defrauded during the construction 

of public buildings.

 The records of the Treasury Department are more fully described in 

Chapter 10 of this guide.

C. Records of the General Services Administration

To date, few records related to federal courthouses have been accessioned 

from the General Services Administration into Record Group 269. Many 

of the records in RG 269 are “undescribed,” meaning that they are available to researchers at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, 

but they have not yet been described in a preliminary inventory or in the 

National Archives’ Archival Research Catalog (ARC). In order to locate 

relevant records, researchers must read through NARA’s master location 

register for the record group, which is available in the research room at 

the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

 Record Group 269 includes fi les related to federal buildings and 

properties, the general subject fi les of the GSA administrators, the central fi les of the Offi ce of the Administrator, issuance case fi les, liquidation records that were transferred from the Reconstruction Finance 

Corporation, records related to the fi nancial and administrative management of federal buildings, congressional correspondence, inventory 

listings of property owned by the United States, and the records of the 

Federal Building Fund of the Public Buildings Service.

 The Offi ce of the Administrator’s subject fi les and central fi les include memorandums, as well as copies of incoming and outgoing correspondence between the GSA and the executive branch departments, the 

courts, Congress, architects, and other parties; this correspondence is 

related to the construction, maintenance, repair, and disposal of federal 

buildings and property, personnel and employment matters, supplies 

and equipment, budgets and appropriations, security matters, and other 

relevant issues.

 The GSA’s records relating to fi nancial and administrative management include the fi les of the Administrator and other GSA employees, 
158 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

as well as a Public Buildings Service fi le that includes correspondence, 

training materials for new employees, copies of reports, and published 

guidelines for the design and construction of public buildings. Letters in 

the congressional correspondence fi le (1970–1973) pertain to, among 

other things, the construction and repair of federal buildings and courthouses within the congress member’s state or district. The records of the 

Federal Building Fund of the Operations Division of the Public Buildings Service include legal fi les, correspondence, and memorandums related to the purchase, contracting, and construction of public buildings 

and lands between 1972 and 1979.

D. Other Records at the National Archives

The records of the Department of the Interior in Record Group 48 include letters, drawings, plats, fi nancial papers, and other documents 

related to the purchase of the Charleston Club House, in Charleston, 

South Carolina, for use as a courthouse. These papers date from 1867 

to 1895. The forty-two volumes of letters that the Department of the Interior sent concerning the judiciary (1854–1869), which are more fully 

described in Chapter 11, also include information regarding the rental, 

purchase, repair, and fi tting out of courtrooms and court offi ce space.

 The records of the Administrative Offi ce of the United States Courts, 

in Record Group 116 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., include a fi le of “Records Relating to Site and Facilities, 1940–1958.” This 

fi le, which is arranged in reverse chronological order, includes incoming 

and outgoing correspondence, memorandums, reports, and other assorted papers related to the use of space in federal courthouses, needed 

repairs, and other related subjects. Much of the correspondence in this 

fi le pertains to maintenance work required for the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.

 Researchers should be aware of several other record groups related 

to public building projects, although these record groups do not include 

many records related specifi cally to federal courthouses: RG 28, the Records of the Post Offi ce Department; RG 79, the Records of the National 

Park Service; RG 135, the Records of the Public Works Administration; 

RG 162, the General Records of the Federal Works Agency; and RG 

515, the Records of the American Engineering Record Division, which 

includes the records of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS, 

described in Chapters 14 and 15). Most of the materials in these record 

groups are available at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
159

Chapter 14. Other Federal Resources 

for Research on Courthouses

This chapter directs researchers to resources outside of the National Archives system that may be useful for conducting research on the historic 

meeting places of the federal courts or on the history of a particular 

courthouse.

A. Historic American Buildings Survey

The Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division houses the 

reports of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). HABS is a 

project of the National Park Service and the Library of Congress that 

documents American architectural achievements. Begun in 1933, the 

program has made reports on more than 38,000 structures in the United 

States, including many federal buildings and courthouses.

 HABS reports vary greatly in the information they include. Generally, HABS reports include data pages with construction dates (and 

date razed, when applicable), architects’ names, dates of alterations and 

extensions, lists of owners, names of contracting fi rms, the building’s location, and a brief survey of its historical and architectural signifi cance. 

Many HABS reports include interior and exterior photographs of each 

building, captions to accompany the photographs, and sketches of the 

fl oor plans and exterior of the building. HABS reports also include bibliographies of primary and secondary resources that researchers can use 

to locate other materials related to the site.

 The Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress has digitized most of its collection of HABS reports and placed 

it online through both the Prints and Photographs Division catalog 

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/) and the Library’s “American Memory” 

website (http://memory.loc.gov/). Researchers interested in a courthouse, post offi ce, or other building in which the federal courts met can 

search these sites by keyword to locate photographs, data pages, and 

architectural drawings.

 Researchers interested in further background information on the 

HABS program can visit the related websites of the Library of Congress 

(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/) and the National Park Service (http://www.nps.gov/history/hdp/). The administrative 
160 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

records of the HABS program are available in Record Group 515 at the 

National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

B. National Register of Historic Places

In 1966, Congress authorized the Secretary of the Interior to “expand 

and maintain a national register of districts, sites, buildings, structures, 

and objects signifi cant in American history, architecture, archeology, and 

culture.” The National Register of Historic Places maintains an archive 

of nominations, photographs, correspondence, maps, and blueprints related to buildings and sites that have been nominated for the National 

Register.

 Nomination forms and correspondence describe the historical and 

architectural signifi cance of the buildings and sites. Information in 

nomination fi les includes the various historic names and uses of each 

building, its address and owner, descriptions of its current and historical 

physical appearances, and details about signifi cant events that transpired 

at the site. Nomination forms also include bibliographies of primary and 

secondary sources that can direct researchers toward other materials that 

can assist them in their research.

 The National Register is in the process of digitizing much of its holdings. Researchers can search for information and images related to particular courthouses at http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/.

 Researchers interested in using the National Register’s archive in 

Washington, D.C., must fi rst make an appointment by calling 202-354-

2226. Further information about the archive is available at the National 

Register’s website (http://www.nps.gov/nr/).

 Several publications offer historical and architectural information 

on federal courthouses and other public buildings. In 1901, the Department of the Treasury published A History of Public Buildings under 

the Control of the Treasury Department (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1901), 

which includes photographs and historical descriptions of more than 

300 public buildings, including courthouses, customhouses, post offi ces, federal offi ce buildings, and other types of facilities. The description 

for each building includes information relating to appropriations and 

construction dates, as well as details regarding which departments of the 

government occupied the various rooms of the building. The images in 

the History of Public Buildings are drawn from the collections of the Public 

Building Service in Record Group 121 at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
Chapter 14. Other Federal Resources for Research on Courthouses 161

 Between 1867 and 1920, the Supervising Architect published an 

annual report that provided information on each public building under 

control of the Supervising Architect’s Offi ce, including completed buildings, projects in the middle of construction, and buildings that had been 

authorized by Congress but for which work had not yet begun. The annual reports list the name of each building, when land was purchased 

or acquired through donation, any statutes or appropriations related to 

the building, whether the building was ever leased or rented, the date 

the building was occupied, the names of contractors, and other miscellaneous information. A few of the earlier volumes also detail when construction was begun and completed.

 Several of the reports include architectural drawings of selected 

buildings. These renderings often differ substantially in appearance 

from the completed buildings. Renderings for some buildings also appear in multiple reports, revealing how designs for buildings sometimes 

changed over time, which was most often the case upon the accession of 

a new Supervising Architect. Most of the drawings show exterior views, 

although a few renderings of courtrooms were printed in the 1895 report 

(published in 1896). Many of the drawings also include small sketches 

of the fl oor plan of the building, showing courtrooms, jury rooms, and 

judges’ chambers.

 The most useful report for fi nding general information about pre1920 federal buildings is the Annual Report of the Supervising Architect of 

the Treasury Department for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30[,] 1920 (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1920). This volume includes a 461-page table that 

lists each public building, alphabetically by city, with most of the previously mentioned historical and architectural information.

 The annual reports of the heads of the Treasury, Interior, and Justice 

Departments for the periods during which those departments oversaw 

the administration of the federal courts (see Part III) give details regarding the appropriations and expenses of the federal judiciary, including 

some information about the rental of court space and the construction 

of public buildings. In the nineteenth century, these reports were published as pamphlets or books, and also as documents in the United States 

Congressional Serial Set. The annual reports of the Secretary of the Treasury also contained the annual report of the Supervising Architect.

 Researchers interested in locating congressional statutes related to 

the construction of historic federal courthouses should fi rst consult the 

annual reports of the Supervising Architect (1867–1920) and the Treasury Department’s History of Public Buildings (1901). These volumes list 
162 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

each of the statutes and appropriations related to individual buildings 

and give a brief description of the purpose of each statute. Researchers 

can then locate the original legislation in the United States Statutes at 

Large. Congressional legislation may pertain to multiple federal buildings, but Congress also often passed laws related to individual buildings. 
163

Chapter 15. Images of Federal 

Courthouses

Researchers interested in locating images of federal courthouses should 

fi rst consult the Federal Judicial Center’s online collection of about 600 

images of historic courthouses. The collection is available at the Center’s 

website (http://www.fjc.gov/). Researchers can browse by state and then 

city to locate selected images of various historic courthouses, as well as a 

brief historical description of each building’s construction and use. The 

photographs in this collection derive from a number of sources, including the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the General Services 

Administration, the Department of the Interior, and a few published 

sources.

A. National Archives and Records Administration

Most of the images included in the Federal Judicial Center’s database 

were gathered from Record Group 121 (Records of the Public Buildings 

Service) at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. The photographs in RG 121 are organized into series, fi ve of which have particularly rich holdings of photographs of federal buildings and courthouses.

• RG 121-BA. Photographs of Federal and Other Buildings, 

1857–1942 (24 boxes)

• RG 121-BCP. Photographs of Construction of Federal Buildings, 

1885–1954 (157 boxes)

• RG 121-BS. Completion Photographs of Federal Buildings, 

1900–1967 (107 boxes)

• RG 121-C. Construction of Post Offi ces, Custom Houses, and 

Courthouses, 1876–1939 (40 boxes)

• RG 121-M. Miscellaneous Public Buildings, 1870–1894 (9 boxes)

Of these fi ve series, RG 121-BCP offers the most complete photographic 

record of the construction and remodeling of federal courthouses. The 

series includes multiple photographs of many individual buildings, including images of construction sites prior to the beginning of the projects, photographs that document each stage of construction or alteration, 

and completion photographs of the front and back of each building.
164 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 Record Group 121 includes other series that may also be of interest 

to researchers studying federal courthouses. These include:

• RG 121-A. Photographs of Architectural Ornamentation, 1928–

1936 (1 box)

• RG 121-CA. Construction Photographs of the U.S. Court of Appeals and Post Offi ce in San Francisco, California, 1901–1909 

(1 box)

• RG 121-CMS. Completed Murals and Sculptures in United 

States Post Offi ces and Other Federal Buildings, 1935–1943 (8 

boxes)

• RG 121-FES. Sketches Submitted in the “48 States Competition” for Murals to be Placed in Post Offi ces, 1939 (10 boxes)

• RG 121-GA. Paintings and Sculptures Commissioned by the 

Section of Fine Arts, 1934–1943 (65 boxes)

• RG 121-LSA. Glass Lantern Slides: Paintings, Murals and Sculptures, 1933–1943 (7 boxes)

• RG 121-LSB. Glass Lantern Slides: Buildings in the United States 

and Other Countries, 1927–1936 (6 boxes)

• RG 121-MS. Prints and Negatives: Murals, Paintings, and Sculptures in Competitions Sponsored by the Section of Fine Arts, 

1934–1943 (113 boxes)

• RG 121-PST. Negatives: Paintings and Sculptures Commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts, 1934–1943 (70 boxes)

• RG 121-PWAP-PWD. Public Works of Art Project, 1933–1934 

(42 boxes)

• RG 121-SB. Photographs of Post Offi ce Building Sites, 1900–

1939 (5 boxes)

Researchers can access photographs from Record Group 121, as well as 

photographs in other record groups, at the Still Pictures Reference Room 

at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

 Other record groups at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, may also have images that will be of interest to those researching 

federal court meeting sites. The General Records of the Federal Works 

Agency in Record Group 162 include a series of photographs that illustrate the activities of the Public Building Administration, from 1939 

to 1943 (RG 162-PBA). These photographs show construction and 

completion photographs of several buildings that served as courthouses 

(including post offi ce buildings). The Records of the Post Offi ce Department in Record Group 28 include photographs of postal facilities 
Chapter 15. Images of Federal Courthouses 165

from 1931 to 1959 (RG 28-F). Some of these photographs, which are 

organized by state and then by city, show federal buildings that served 

as both post offi ces and courthouses. This series includes interior and 

exterior views of the buildings, although the interior images only show 

the postal facilities.

B. Library of Congress

The collections of the Prints and Photographs Division at the Library 

of Congress include many images of federal buildings and courthouses, 

some of which can be found online. Researchers can locate digital images of public buildings by executing a keyword search of the Prints and 

Photographs Division’s online catalog (http://www.loc.gov/pictures/) 

or the Library’s “American Memory” website (http://memory.loc.gov/). 

These websites also provide access to the photographs and drawings 

that have been digitized from the Historic American Buildings Survey 

(HABS) reports (see Chapter 14).

 In addition to using the online catalog, researchers at the Library of 

Congress can search the card catalog and vertical fi les in the Prints and 

Photographs Division’s reading room for other images that have not yet 

been digitized, including stereoviews (three dimensional photographs, 

ca. 1860–1920), postcards, 8x10 black and white glossy prints, and 

large architectural drawings from the Offi ce of the Supervising Architect 

(ca. 1856–1874). Original copies of the HABS reports are also available in the open stacks of the Prints and Photographs Division’s reading 

room.

C. National Register of Historic Places

The nomination fi les in the National Register of Historic Places archive often include photographs of the interior and exterior of the 

historic buildings at a site. The National Register is in the process of 

digitizing the nomination fi les in its collection. Researchers can search 

http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/ for digitized records and images related to 

particular courthouses.

 Researchers interested in using the archive of the National Register 

in Washington, D.C., must fi rst make an appointment by calling 202-

354-2226. Further information about the archive is available at the National Register’s website (http://www.nps.gov/nr/).
166 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

D. Center for Historic Buildings

The General Services Administration (GSA) maintains the Center for 

Historic Buildings to provide “technical and strategic expertise to promote the viability, reuse, and integrity of historic buildings GSA owns, 

leases, and has the opportunity to acquire.” The GSA maintains a “Historic Federal Building Database” at its website (http://www.gsa.gov/), 

through which researchers can search for photographs, as well as historical and architectural information related to the buildings that the 

GSA owns or leases.

E. Local Repositories

Many local and regional archival repositories maintain photographic archives that include images of federal courthouses. Researchers interested 

in locating images of local court meeting places should contact historical societies, public libraries, universities, newspapers, county archives, 

state archives, and state historical commissions to determine whether 

their photographic collections have any photographic records of interest.
167

Part V. Research Collections

169

Chapter 16. Personal Records

A. Introduction

To further their research, researchers in federal judicial history can use 

the personal papers of judges, court personnel, members of Congress, 

executive branch offi cers, lawyers, journalists, and parties in court cases. 

Collections of personal papers complement the offi cial government records held by the National Archives and Records Administration. As 

noted in Parts I and III, only a few private manuscript collections are 

held by the National Archives. Most personal research collections available to researchers are maintained by libraries and archival repositories 

throughout the United States.

 The following sections describe some of the types of collections that 

researchers in federal judicial history may wish to consult.

B. Federal Judges

The personal manuscript collections of federal judges often include 

private correspondence, diaries, journals, newspaper clippings fi les, 

speeches, awards, invitations, photographs, and other assorted materials. 

Many manuscript collections also include the judge’s chambers papers, 

such as the judge’s notes on oral arguments, memorandums sent to or 

received from law clerks, bench memorandums, voting memorandums, 

correspondence with other judges, draft opinions and orders, opinion 

galleys with handwritten revisions, slip opinions, correspondence with 

the public, conference notes, scrapbooks, and other assorted papers. 

Recent “manuscript” collections may also include electronic fi les, such 

as emails, digital photographs, audio and video recordings, and wordprocessing fi les.

 The Federal Judicial History Offi ce maintains within the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges information related to research collections of judges, as well to the manuscript collections of persons with 

whom federal judges corresponded. Researchers can locate relevant archival material by searching for particular judges in the Biographical 

Directory of Federal Judges at http://www.fjc.gov/ and by selecting the 

link for “Research Collections,” which is located at the bottom of the 

biography of each judge for whom a collection is available.
170 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 Published editions of judges’ personal papers can be an easily accessible and useful resource for the history of a particular judge or court. 

In some cases, judges’ papers have been published as a book or series of 

volumes; other judges’ collections have been excerpted or abridged and 

published as articles in historical journals and magazines. Researchers 

can access bibliographic information for published primary sources related to federal judges by selecting the “Bibliography” link at the bottom 

of a judge’s biography in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. 

The Bibliography link directs researchers to available secondary sources 

related to the judge.

 The Biographical Directory of Federal Judges also directs researchers to oral histories that have been conducted with federal judges. Oral 

histories may include an audio or video recording as well as an edited 

transcript.

C. Court Offi cers

The private papers of U.S. attorneys, marshals, clerks of court, and other 

court offi cers can be useful when writing about the history of the federal 

judiciary. As noted in Chapter 12, many of the early U.S. marshals and 

U.S. attorneys retained their offi cial papers as personal property at the 

end of their terms of service. As a consequence, manuscript collections 

of court offi cers may be composed of both personal papers and offi cial 

records. The personal research collections of court offi cers may include 

personal papers, such as private correspondence, journals and diaries, 

newspaper clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks, as well as offi cial 

records, such as case papers, dockets, fi nancial records, warrants, ledgers, and offi cial correspondence.

 Most manuscript collections of court offi cers that are available for 

public research are held in private repositories and can be located by 

searching archival research databases (described below). In a few rare 

instances, the personal papers of court offi cers were transferred to the 

National Archives along with the offi cial records of the U.S. district and 

circuit courts they served (see Chapter 1).

D. Supreme Court Reporters

The papers of the early Supreme Court reporters are readily available and 

may offer some insight into the functions of the Court. The Historical 

Society of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, holds the family papers of both 

Alexander J. Dallas and Richard Peters, Jr. Temple University also has a 
Chapter 16. Personal Records 171

large collection of Dallas’s correspondence. Benjamin Chew Howard’s 

family papers are held at the Maryland Historical Society, in Baltimore. 

The Jeremiah S. Black Papers, at the Library of Congress, have been 

microfi lmed and are available through Interlibrary Loan (microfi lm reels 

17–20 cover the years 1861 and 1862, when Black served as reporter 

for the Court). The papers of Henry Wheaton and John William Wallace 

are held by their alma mater, Brown University. The research collections 

of the Court’s second reporter, William Cranch, who also served as a 

judge on the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia, are listed under 

his biography in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges at http://

www.fjc.gov/.

E. Members of Congress

The manuscript collections of members of Congress may provide insight 

into the relationship between the legislative and judicial branches of the 

federal government, particularly as Congress shaped legislation related 

to the judiciary and as senators considered judicial nominations. The 

personal papers of members of Congress often include correspondence 

with or about federal judges. Constituents also frequently corresponded 

with their senators and representatives regarding the organization and 

jurisdiction of the federal courts, the need for additional judgeships or 

judicial districts, and pending judicial nominations. Researchers can locate congressional papers through the Congressional Biographical Directory, which is available online at http://bioguide.congress.gov/.

F. Presidents and Executive Branch Offi cials

The manuscript collections of Presidents and Cabinet members often include correspondence with and about members of the federal judiciary. 

The personal papers of the early Presidents, Attorneys General, and Secretaries of State also often include papers and correspondence related to 

presidential nominations, as well as correspondence regarding litigation 

in the federal courts or needed reforms in the judicial system.

 Much of the personal and offi cial correspondence of the early Presidents and executive branch offi cers has been published in documentary 

editions, many of which draw from both personal manuscript collections and offi cial government records at the National Archives. In recent years, several presidential manuscript collections have also been 

digitized and made available on the Internet. Researchers can use these 

published and digitized collections to locate information about judicial 
172 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

nominations and appointments, proposed legislation affecting the judiciary, and the personal interactions between members of the judiciary 

and the executive branch of the federal government.

 The National Archives and Records Administration maintains 

presidential libraries for every President since Herbert Hoover. Presidential libraries house the presidential papers of the Presidents and 

their administrations as well as the personal research collections of 

the Presidents and some of their associates. Researchers can access 

archival and electronic materials at presidential libraries subject to 

the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The National Archives and the presidential libraries have also placed a number of historical documents, fi nding aids, and other resources online. Links to the websites of the presidential libraries are available at 

http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/.

 Several archival repositories patterned after the presidential libraries 

have been established for pre-Hoover Presidents, including Abraham 

Lincoln and Rutherford B. Hayes. Many early presidential research collections are housed at the Library of Congress, as well as at numerous 

other libraries and archival repositories. As noted in Chapter 12, the 

offi cial papers of the early Attorneys General were often retained as personal property at the end of each presidential administration and may be 

included with the Attorneys General’s personal papers at archival repositories outside of the National Archives.

G. A Note on the Papers of Lawyers and Law Firms

The private papers of attorneys and law fi rms can sometimes be used 

for historical research, but these papers may be restricted because of 

attorney–client privilege. Attorney–client privilege protects confi dential 

communications between lawyers and their clients from being disclosed 

until consent for release has been given by the client. Lawyers’ papers 

that have been donated to a library or archive may have restricted access because of this privilege. Some libraries open such records to researchers after each person involved in the attorney–client relationship 

is deceased, or after a set period of time. Other lawyers’ fi les have been 

closed to researchers for more than a century because the client never 

granted permission to have them opened (and the client had no heirs 

who could grant that permission). Researchers who locate papers held 

by libraries or archives, law fi rms, or the lawyers themselves must be 
Chapter 16. Personal Records 173

aware that some lawyers’ papers may be privileged and confi dential, and 

as a consequence unavailable for research and publication.

H. Locating Archival Resources

Researchers can use a number of resources to locate the personal research 

collections of federal judges and other persons who have impacted the 

federal judiciary. Since 1959, the Library of Congress has cataloged archival collections in the United States in the National Union Catalog of 

Manuscript Collections (NUCMC). Several subscription databases, including ArchivesUSA (http://archives.chadwyck.com/) and FirstSearch 

(http://www.oclc.org/), allow researchers to search the listings in NUCMC by title, keyword, or subject heading. The Library of Congress 

provides free access to the NUCMC listings on FirstSearch through the 

Library’s website (http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/index.html).

 Other websites and books can also be useful for locating archival 

collections related to the federal judiciary. The American Historical Association recently created an “Archives Wiki” that allows researchers 

to search for information about archival repositories around the world 

(http://archiveswiki.historians.org/). The National Historical Publications and Records Commission has compiled a thorough list of archival 

repositories in its Directory of Archives and Manuscript Repositories in the 

United States, second edition (Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1988).

I. Finding Aids

Most libraries and archival repositories prepare fi nding aids to help 

make their collections accessible to researchers. The content and shape 

of these research tools varies widely from institution to institution. Some 

libraries create fi nding aids that describe the libraries’ collections down 

to the box, folder, or item level. Other libraries provide only general 

descriptions of their collections.

 Libraries are increasingly putting their fi nding aids online so that 

researchers can locate relevant archival collections prior to visiting the 

archive. If such information is not available through a repository’s website, researchers can contact the library to fi nd out whether fi nding aids 

have been prepared for the particular collections they wish to use.

175

Appendices

Appendix A. Resources Available Through the Federal Judicial 

History Offi ce

Appendix B. Preliminary Inventories and Finding Aids for 

Judiciary-Related Records at the National Archives

Appendix C. Court Records at the National Archives (by record 

group)

Appendix D. Locations of Federal Court Records at the National 

Archives (by state or by type of court)

Appendix E. National Archives Locations

Appendix F. Court Records Held Outside of the National 

Archives

177

Appendix A. Resources Available 

Through the Federal Judicial History 

Offi ce

The Federal Judicial History Offi ce has created a number of resources 

that will be of use to researchers interested in federal judicial history. All 

of these resources are available through the “History of the Federal Judiciary” section of the Federal Judicial Center’s website (http://www.fjc.

gov/). Each of the following subheadings describes the resources available at a particular section of the History of the Federal Judiciary site. 

Researchers can contact the Federal Judicial History Offi ce by phone at 

202-502-4180, or by email at history@fjc.gov.

Judges of the United States Courts

The Federal Judicial History Offi ce has compiled and maintains a biographical directory of all life-tenured judges who have served on the 

federal bench from 1789 to the present. Each directory listing includes 

the judge’s birth and death dates, places of birth and death, educational 

background, professional career, nomination and confi rmation dates, 

and service on the federal bench. Where available, the directory lists 

manuscript collections that contain correspondence of the judge, a bibliography of secondary works about the judge, a listing of oral history 

interviews given by the judge, links to websites devoted to the judge’s 

career, and information on portraits or photographs of the judge. Researchers can search the directory by name, court, court type, nominating President, party of nominating President, nomination date, confi rmation date, commission date, senior status date, termination date, 

reason for termination, race or ethnicity, and gender. Researchers can 

also limit their queries to sitting judges or judges for whom the directory 

lists reference sources.

 The section of the website on judges also includes historical information on bankruptcy and magistrate judgeships, judicial salaries, impeachments, and milestones of judicial service.

Courts of the Federal Judiciary

The History Offi ce’s website provides researchers with a brief historical 

sketch of each type of federal court, a listing of congressional legislation 
178 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

related to individual courts, a list of judges who served on the court, a 

list of the cities in which the court met, a bibliography of books and articles about the court, and a listing of which National Archives facilities 

hold the court’s offi cial records.

Teaching Judicial History: Notable Federal Trials

The Federal Judicial History Offi ce has compiled a series of teaching 

units on notable federal trials. The stories of historic federal trials offer 

an opportunity to explore the role of the judiciary in the public life of the 

nation. The Federal Judicial Center developed this educational program 

to provide educators and students with accessible information about the 

history of the federal courts and to facilitate the use of court-related materials in classrooms.

 Each unit in the program focuses on a notable case that refl ects important topics examined in history and government courses at the high 

school and college levels. Each unit includes extensive background on 

the case and related historical documents. Curriculum strategies allow 

teachers to incorporate the unit materials in their courses and provide 

suggestions for judges that support the use of historical materials in civic 

education outreach.

Talking Points on Judicial History

The Federal Judicial History Offi ce has assembled a series of talking 

points on several important aspects of judicial history, including the 

constitutional origins of the federal courts, judicial independence, and 

the establishment of the federal judiciary. Each unit also includes discussion questions, primary historical documents, a bibliography, and a 

PowerPointTM presentation.

Historic Federal Courthouses

The Federal Judicial Center has compiled and presented online nearly 

600 images of historic federal courthouses and other meeting places of 

federal courts. Researchers can browse by state and then city to locate selected images of various historic courthouses as well as a brief historical 

sketch of each building. The photographs online derive from a number 

of sources, including the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the 

General Services Administration, the Department of the Interior, and 

a few published sources. Courthouse images on the Center’s website 
Appendix A 179

are in the public domain and can be downloaded and reproduced free 

of charge. Researchers interested in locating additional images of court 

meeting places should consult Part IV of this guide.

Judicial Administration

The Federal Judicial Center’s “History of the Federal Judiciary” website 

provides historical information about the administration of the federal 

courts since their establishment in 1789. The site includes brief descriptions of types of offi cers and staff who have worked in the federal courts, 

as well as descriptions of the Offi ce of the Chief Justice, the Judicial 

Conference of the United States, the Administrative Offi ce of the United 

States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the executive branch departments that were responsible for 

the administration of the federal judiciary prior to the creation of the 

Administrative Offi ce in 1939. In addition, the site lists the directors 

of the Administrative Offi ce, the directors and Board members of the 

Federal Judicial Center, the members of the Judicial Conference, and the 

chairs of the judiciary committees in the House of Representatives and 

Senate from 1813 and 1816, respectively, to the present. This section of 

the website also includes brief histories (with citations to relevant statutes) related to the organization of the judicial circuits.

Landmark Judicial Legislation

This section of the Center’s website provides researchers with a historical sketch and the text (or an excerpt from the text) of legislation that 

affected the size, scope, organization, or administration of the federal 

judiciary, beginning with Article III of the U.S. Constitution (1787) and 

the Judiciary Act of 1789. Researchers interested in legislation related 

to individual courts can locate citations to that legislation under the 

“Courts of the Federal Judiciary” section of the website.

Federal Court Historical Programs

This section of the Federal Judicial Center’s website provides researchers 

with links to the websites of federal court history programs, sites, and 

societies. It also includes a bibliography of recently published histories 

of federal courts.

 Persons interested in starting a court historical program can download a PDF version of Initiating a Court Historical Program (Washington, 
180 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

D.C.: Federal Judicial Center, 2004). This section of the website also 

provides resources and information for persons interested in conducting 

oral history interviews.

Publications

The following is a list of recent publications by the Federal Judicial History Offi ce. Researchers can download PDF versions of Federal Judicial 

Center publications from the Center’s website (http://www.fjc.gov/).

A Guide to the Preservation of Federal Judges’ Papers, 2nd edition. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center, 2009.

Initiating a Court Historical Program. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial 

Center, 2004.

Messinger, I. Scott. Order in the Courts: A History of the Federal Court 

Clerk’s Offi ce. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center, 2002.

Wheeler, Russell R., and Cynthia Harrison. Creating the Federal Judicial 

System, 3rd edition. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center, 2005.
181

Appendix B. Preliminary Inventories 

and Finding Aids for Judiciary-Related 

Records at the National Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration has created preliminary inventories and fi nding aids for many of its holdings. Many of these 

inventories have been published and are available at libraries outside 

of the National Archives system. Others—including most of the inventories for the records of the federal courts in Record Groups 21, 276, 

and 527—are unpublished documents that are only available onsite at 

the branch of the National Archives where the records are held. Older 

preliminary inventories may not accurately refl ect the current scope and 

organization of a record group. Still, they can be a useful tool for determining the types of materials included in a collection.

 At various times, private companies and universities have microfi lmed records held at the National Archives. Many of these microfi lm 

editions include fi nding aids that are useful for accessing the original 

records at the National Archives. Several federal departments and agencies have also created fi nding aids for their offi cial records.

 The following bibliography lists preliminary inventories and fi nding 

aids that have been created by the National Archives, by other federal 

departments or agencies, and by nongovernmental organizations. The 

materials listed in this appendix do not include the pamphlets or other 

prefatory materials that accompany NARA microfi lm that are described 

in this guide’s Introduction.

Congress

Coren, Robert W., Mary Rephlo, David Kepley, and Charles South, 

comps. Guide to the Records of the United States Senate at the National Archives, 1789–1989: Bicentennial Edition. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Senate, 

1989.

Hufford, Harold E., and Watson G. Caudill, comps. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United States Senate. Washington, D.C.: National 

Archives, 1950.
182 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

Perros, George P., James C. Brown, and Jacqueline A. Wood, comps. Papers of the United States Senate Relating to Presidential Nominations, 1789–

1901. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1964.

Rowland, Buford, Handy B. Fant, and Harold E. Huford, comps. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United States House of Representatives, 

1789–1946. 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records 

Service, 1959.

Rowland, Buford, Jose D. Lizardo, and George P. Perros, comps. Printed 

Hearings of the House of Representatives Found Among Its Committee Records in the National Archives of the United States, 1824–1958. Washington, 

D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1974.

Schamel, Charles E., Mary Rephlo, Rodney Ross, David Kepley, Robert 

W. Coren, and James Gregory Bradsher, comps. Guide to the Records of the 

United States House of Representatives at the National Archives, 1789–1989: 

Bicentennial Edition. Washington, D.C.: U.S. House of Representatives, 

1989.

Department of State

Department of State. Calendar of the Correspondence of James Madison. 

Washington, D.C.: Department of State, 1894.

______. Calendar of the Correspondence of Thomas Jefferson. 3 vols. Washington, D.C.: Department of State, 1894–1903.

______. Calendar of the Miscellaneous Letters Received by the Department 

of State, from the Organization of the Government to 1820. Washington, 

D.C.: G.P.O., 1897.

Hunt, Gaillard, comp. Calendar of Applications and Recommendations for 

Offi ce during the Presidency of George Washington, Prepared from the Files 

of the Bureau of Appointments, Department of State. Washington, D.C.: 

G.P.O., 1901.

Staff of the Diplomatic Branch, Department of State, comps. Inventory of 

the General Records of the Department of State: Record Group 59, microfi lm 

ed. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 

1992.
Appendix B 183

Department of the Interior

Hill, Edward E., and Renee Jaussaud, comps. Inventory of the Records of 

the Department of the Interior: Record Group 48. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1987.

Rowland, Catherine M., comp. Index to Appropriation Ledgers in the Records of the Offi ce of the Secretary of the Interior, Division of Finance, 1853–

1923 (Record Group 48). Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1963.

Department of Justice

Johnson, Marion M., comp. Preliminary Inventory of the General Records 

of the Department of Justice: Record Group 60. Washington, D.C.: National 

Archives and Records Service, 1981.

Johnson, Marion M., comp. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the 

United States Attorneys and Marshals (Record Group 118). Washington, 

D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1964.

Kerner, Gaiselle, comp. Preliminary Inventory of the Offi ce of the Pardon 

Attorney (Record Group 204). Washington, D.C.: National Archives and 

Records Service, 1955.

Lester, Robert E., comp. A Guide to the Microfi lm Edition of Federal Bureau 

of Investigation Confi dential Files: The U.S. Supreme Court and Federal Judges Subject Files. Bethesda, Md.: Univesity Publications of America, 1991.

Lewis, Daniel, comp. Letters Received by the Attorney General, 1809–1870: 

Southern Law and Order. Bethesda, Md.: LexisNexis, 2001.

Schipper, Martin, comp. Letters Received by the Attorney General, 1809–

1870: Western Law and Order. Bethesda, Md.: LexisNexis, 1996.

______. Letters Received by the Attorney General, 1871–1884: Western Law 

and Order. Bethesda, Md.: LexisNexis, 2003.

Short, Justin Owen, and Alice Chen, comp. Letters Received by the Attorney General, 1871–1884: Southern Law and Order. Bethesda, Md.: LexisNexis, 2005.
184 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

Taynor, Kristen M., comp. Letters Received by the Attorney General, 1809–

1870: Federal Government Correspondence. Bethesda, Md.: LexisNexis, 

2007.

______. Letters Received by the Attorney General, 1809–1870: Northern 

Law and Order. Bethesda, Md.: LexisNexis, 2003.

Department of the Treasury

Holverstott, Lyle J., comp. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United States Secret Service. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1949.

King, Donald L., and William F. Sherman, comps. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Accounts (Treasury) (Record Group 39). 

Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1963.

Ryan, Carmelita S., and Hope K. Holdcamper, comps. Preliminary Inventory of the General Records of the Department of the Treasury: Record Group 

56. Washington, D.C., National Archives and Records Service, 1977.

Sherman, William F., and Craig R. Scott, comps. Records of the Accounting 

Offi cers of the Department of the Treasury: Inventory 14 (Revised). Lovettsville, Va.: Willow Bend Books, 1997.

Ulibarri, George S., comp. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury (Record Group 206). Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1968.

Van Neste, W. Lane, and Virgil E. Baugh, comps. Preliminary Inventory 

of the Records of the Public Buildings Service. Washington, D.C.: National 

Archives and Records Service, 1958.

Federal Courts

Allen, Hardee, and Janet Weiner, comps. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United States Commerce Court. Washington, D.C.: National 

Archives and Records Service, 1962.

Johnson, Marion M., comp. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the 

Supreme Court of the United States. Washington, D.C.: National Archives 

and Records Service, 1962, rev. ed., 1973, microfi lm supplement, 1985.
Appendix B 185

Johnson, Marion M., Elaine C. Everly, and Toussaint L. Prince, comps. 

Index to the Manuscript and Revised Printed Opinions of the Supreme Court 

of the United States in the National Archives, 1808–73. Washington, D.C.: 

National Archives and Records Service, 1965.

Johnson, Marion M., Mary Jo Grotenrath, and Henry T. Ulasek, comps. 

Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United States District Court for 

the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Record Group 21). Washington, D.C.: 

National Archives and Records Service, 1960.

Kerner, Gaiselle, comp. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United 

States Court of Claims. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records 

Service, 1953.

National Archives and Records Administration. Federal Court Records: 

A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfi lm Publications. Washington, 

D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1987.

Robinton, Madeline Russell. An Introduction to the Papers of the New York 

Prize Court, 1861–1865. New York: Columbia University Press, 1945.

Ulasek, Henry T., and Marion Johnson, comps. Preliminary Inventory of 

the Records of the United States District Court for the Southern District of 

New York (Record Group 21). Washington, D.C.: National Archives and 

Records Service, 1959.

Weinert, Janet, comp. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United 

States District Court for the District of Columbia. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1964.

187

Appendix C. Court Records at the 

National Archives (by record group)

Record Group 21: Records of District Courts [and Circuit Courts] of the 

United States

Record Group 116: Records of the Administrative Offi ce of the United States 

Courts

Record Group 123: Records of the United States Court of Claims

Record Group 172: Records of the United States Commerce Court

Record Group 267: Records of the Supreme Court of the United States

Record Group 276: Records of the United States Courts of Appeals

Record Group 308: Records of the U.S. Tax Court

Record Group 321: Records of the U.S. Court of International Trade

Record Group 477: Records of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 

Court

Record Group 482: Records of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation

Record Group 502: Records of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Record Group 503: Records of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals

Record Group 504: Records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal 

Circuit

Record Group 516: Records of the Federal Judicial Center

Record Group 521: Records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Record Group 539: Records of the United States Sentencing Commission

Record Group 578: Records of the United States Bankruptcy Courts

189

Appendix D. Locations of Federal 

Court Records at the National Archives 

(by state or by type of court)

Supreme Court of the United States

The records of the Supreme Court of the United States are held in Record Group 267 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Nontextual records are held at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

U.S. Courts of Appeals

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit are included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives at Boston.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit are included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives at New York 

City.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit are included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives at Philadelphia.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit are included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives at Philadelphia.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit are included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives at Fort Worth.
190 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit are included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives at Chicago.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit are 

included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives at Chicago.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit are included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives at Kansas 

City.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit are included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives at San Francisco.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit are included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives at Denver.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit are 

included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives at Atlanta.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 

Circuit are included among Record Group 276 at the National Archives 

in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

The records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have not 

yet been accessioned by the National Archives and Records Administration. Once accessioned, these records will make up Record Group 504 

at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. 
Appendix D 191

U.S. District and Circuit Courts (by state)

Alabama

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Alabama are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Atlanta.

Alaska

The records of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at Anchorage.

Arizona

The records of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona are 

included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at Riverside.

Arkansas

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Arkansas are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Fort Worth.

California

The records of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, 1850–1866, and 1886 to the present, are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at San Francisco.

The general records of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of 

California, 1850–1866, are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at Riverside. The case records of the U.S. District Court 

for the Southern District of California, 1850–1866, are included among 

Record Group 21 at the National Archives at San Francisco. The records 

of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, since 

1886, are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives 

at Riverside, with the exception of the records of the Southern District, 

Northern Division, 1900–1966, which are included among Record 

Group 21 at the National Archives at San Francisco.

The records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the California Circuit, 1855–

1863, are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at 

San Francisco.
192 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

The records of the U.S. Circuit Courts for the Northern and Southern 

Districts of California, 1863–1866, are included among Record Group 

21 at the National Archives at San Francisco.

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of California, 1866–1886, are included among Record Group 21 

at the National Archives at San Francisco.

The records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Northern District of California, 1886–1911, are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at San Francisco.

The records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of California, 1886–1911, are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Riverside.

The records of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at 

Riverside.

The records of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at 

San Francisco.

Colorado

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Colorado are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Denver.

Connecticut

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of Connecticut are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at Boston.

Delaware

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Delaware are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Philadelphia.

District of Columbia

Minutes of the District Court for the District of Potomac, 1801–1802, 

are included in Record Group 21 at the National Archives in Wash-
Appendix D 193

ington, D.C., as well as among the records of Arlington County at the 

Library of Virginia, in Richmond.

The records of the Washington County term of the U.S. Circuit Court 

of the District of Columbia are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives in Washington, D.C.

The records of the Alexandria County term of the U.S. Circuit Court of 

the District of Columbia are held at the Library of Virginia, in Richmond.

The records of the Criminal Court of the District of Columbia are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives in Washington, 

D.C.

The records of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives in Washington, 

D.C.

The records of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia are 

included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Florida

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Florida are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Atlanta.

Georgia

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Georgia are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Atlanta.

Hawaii

The records of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii are included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at San Francisco.

Idaho

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of Idaho are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Seattle.
194 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

Illinois

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Illinois are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Chicago.

Indiana

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Indiana are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Chicago.

Iowa

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Iowa are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Kansas City.

Kansas

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of Kansas are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Kansas City.

Kentucky

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Kentucky are included among Record Group 21 at 

the National Archives at Atlanta.

Louisiana

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Louisiana are included among Record Group 21 at 

the National Archives at Fort Worth.

Maine

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of Maine are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Boston.

Maryland

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Maryland are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Philadelphia.
Appendix D 195

Massachusetts

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of Massachusetts are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Boston.

Michigan

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Michigan are included among Record Group 21 at 

the National Archives at Chicago.

Minnesota

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Minnesota are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Chicago.

Mississippi

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Mississippi are included among Record Group 21 at 

the National Archives at Atlanta.

Missouri

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Missouri are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Kansas City.

Montana

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Montana are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Denver.

Nebraska

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Nebraska are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Kansas City.

Nevada

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of Nevada (except for the Las Vegas sessions of the former) are 

included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at San Francisco.
196 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

The records of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada (Las Vegas sessions only) are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Riverside.

New Hampshire

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of New Hampshire are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Boston.

New Jersey

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

judicial districts of New Jersey are included among Record Group 21 at 

the National Archives at New York City.

New Mexico

The records of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico are 

included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at Denver.

New York

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of New York are included among Record Group 21 at 

the National Archives at New York City.

North Carolina

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of North Carolina are included among Record Group 21 

at the National Archives at Atlanta.

North Dakota

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of North Dakota are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Denver.

Ohio

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Ohio are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Chicago.
Appendix D 197

Oklahoma

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Oklahoma are included among Record Group 21 at 

the National Archives at Fort Worth.

Oregon

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of Oregon are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Seattle.

Pennsylvania

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Pennsylvania are included among Record Group 21 

at the National Archives at Philadelphia.

Puerto Rico

The records of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico are 

included among Record Group 21 at the National Archives at New York 

City.

Rhode Island

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of Rhode Island are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Boston.

South Carolina

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

judicial districts of South Carolina are included among Record Group 21 

at the National Archives at Atlanta.

South Dakota

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of South Dakota are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Denver.

Tennessee

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Tennessee are included among Record Group 21 at 

the National Archives at Atlanta.
198 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

Texas

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Texas are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Fort Worth.

Utah

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the 

District of Utah are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Denver.

Vermont

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Vermont are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Boston.

Virginia

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Virginia are included among Record Group 21 at the 

National Archives at Philadelphia.

Washington

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Washington are included among Record Group 21 at 

the National Archives at Seattle.

West Virginia

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of West Virginia are included among Record Group 21 

at the National Archives at Philadelphia.

Wisconsin

The records of the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Circuit Courts for the 

judicial districts of Wisconsin are included among Record Group 21 at 

the National Archives at Chicago.

Wyoming

The records of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Wyoming are included among Record Group 21 at the National 

Archives at Denver.
Appendix D 199

Federal Courts of Special Jurisdiction

Court of Claims

The records of the Court of Claims are held in Record Group 123 at the 

National Archives in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Court of Federal Claims

The records of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims have not yet been accessioned by the National Archives and Records Administration. Once accessioned, these records will make up Record Group 502 at the National 

Archives in Washington, D.C. 

U.S. Court of International Trade

The records of the U.S. Court of International Trade, and its predecessors, the U.S. Customs Court and the Board of General Appraisers are 

included among Record Group 321. The records of the Board of General 

Appraisers and the U.S. Customs Court are held at the National Archives 

at New York City. The records of the U.S. Court of International Trade 

are still maintained by the court, pending their accession by the National 

Archives.

U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals

The records of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals were 

transferred to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1982. 

Some of the court’s early records have since been accessioned by the National Archives and Records Administration and are organized as Record 

Group 503 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Commerce Court

The records of the Commerce Court are held in Record Group 172 at the 

National Archives in Washington, D.C. 

Emergency Court of Appeals

Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals

The records of the Emergency Court of Appeals and the Temporary 

Emergency Court of Appeals are included with the Records of the U.S. 

Courts of Appeals in Record Group 276. The records of the Emergency 

Court of Appeals are held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. 

The records of the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals are available 
200 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

to researchers at the Washington National Records Center in Suitland, 

Maryland, pending their transfer to the National Archives.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

The records of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court remain classifi ed and have not been accessioned by the National Archives and Records Administration. Upon accession, they will make up Record Group 

477.
201

Appendix E. National Archives 

Locations 

This appendix provides a list of National Archives research facilities 

throughout the United States. The list does not include regional records 

centers, affi liated archives, the National Personnel Records Center, or the 

presidential libraries. For a complete list of National Archives facilities, 

see http://www.archives.gov/locations/. When contacting a regional NARA 

facility by email, researchers are requested to include their name, mailing 

address, phone number, and email address in the body of the email.

Anchorage

National Archives at Anchorage

654 West Third Avenue

Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2145

Telephone: 907-261-7820

Email: alaska.archives@nara.gov

Atlanta

National Archives at Atlanta

5780 Jonesboro Road

Morrow, Georgia 30260

Telephone: 770-968-2100

Email: atlanta.archives@nara.gov

Boston

National Archives at Boston

Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center

380 Trapelo Road

Waltham, Massachusetts 02452-6399

Telephone: 781-663-0130

Email: waltham.archives@nara.gov

Chicago

National Archives at Chicago

7358 South Pulaski Road

Chicago, Illinois 60629-5898

Telephone: 773-948-9001

Email: chicago.archives@nara.gov
202 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

College Park, MD

National Archives at College Park, MD

8601 Adelphi Road

College Park, Maryland 20740-6001

Telephone: 301-837-2000

Customer Service Center Telephone: 866-272-6272

Denver

National Archives at Denver

Buildings 46 and 48

Denver Federal Center

West 6th Avenue and Kipling Street

Denver, Colorado 80225

Telephone: 303-407-5740

Email: denver.archives@nara.gov

Fort Worth

National Archives at Fort Worth

501 West Felix Street

Building 1

Fort Worth, Texas 76115-3405

Telephone: 817-831-5620

Email: ftworth.archives@nara.gov

Kansas City

National Archives at Kansas City

400 West Pershing Road

Kansas City, Missouri 64108

Telephone: 816-268-8000

Email: kansascity.archives@nara.gov

New York City

National Archives at New York City

201 Varick Street

12th Floor

New York, New York 10014

Entrance on Houston Street, between Varick and Hudson.

Telephone: 866-840-1752 or 212-401-1620

Email: newyork.archives@nara.gov
Appendix E 203

Philadelphia

National Archives at Philadelphia

900 Market Street

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107-4292

Entrance on Chestnut Street, between 9th and 10th Streets.

Telephone: 215-606-0100

Email: philadelphia.archives@nara.gov

Riverside

National Archives at Riverside

23123 Cajalco Road

Perris, California 92570-7298

Telephone: 951-965-2000

Email: riverside.archives@nara.gov

San Francisco

National Archives at San Francisco

1000 Commodore Drive

San Bruno, California 94066-2350

Telephone: 650-238-3501

Email: sanbruno.archives@nara.gov

Seattle

National Archives at Seattle

6125 Sand Point Way NE

Seattle, Washington 98115-7999

Telephone: 206-336-5115

Email: seattle.archives@nara.gov

Washington, D.C.

National Archives Building in Washington

700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, District of Columbia 20408-0001

Telephone: 202-357-5000

Customer Service Center Telephone: 866-325-7208

205

Appendix F. Court Records Held 

Outside of the National Archives

Although the National Archives and Records Administration is the offi -

cial custodian of the “permanently valuable records” of the United States 

government, some federal records are held outside of the National Archives system. Prior to the establishment of the National Archives in 

1934, the federal government had no uniform system for the maintenance and preservation of offi cial government records. Federal records 

were often stored in courthouses, post offi ces, customhouses, federal offi ce buildings, and other locations throughout the United States. (In a few 

instances, federal courts still have their historic court records.) Between 

1789 and the mid-twentieth century, many historic federal records were 

also transferred to nonfederal libraries and archival institutions.

 Most of the historic records that had been accessioned by repositories outside of the federal government have since been transferred to the 

National Archives. However, a few collections of federal court records 

still exist outside of the NARA system. Below is a list of collections of 

historic court records that are held outside of the federal government.

 The following list is based on keyword searches conducted in archival research databases. This list excludes microfi lmed and photocopied 

records of originals held at the National Archives, trial and hearing transcripts, territorial court records, exhibits and case papers that were used 

by the litigants in court proceedings, copies of court records that were 

produced for use outside of the federal court system, and the offi cial 

records of court offi cers, such as marshals and U.S. attorneys, that are 

held in personal research collections.

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas

Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla.

 Correspondence (1872–1903)

U.S. Courts of California

U.S. Circuit Courts for the Judicial Districts of California

University of California, Berkeley, Calif.

 Minutes (1855–1911)

 Minutes of court sessions held at Los Angeles (1857–1861)

 Judgment record books (1855–1864)
206 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

 Judgment record book in admiralty cases (1855–1861)

 Equity degree register (1855–1861)

 Judgment record in equity (1860–1863)

 Judgment record at common law (1856–1862)

 Rule book (1854–1911)

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

University of California, Berkeley, Calif.

 Private land claim cases, on loan from the court (ca. 1854–1861)

 Notes from minute and decree books in private land cases (original 

records missing)

 Records relating to land cases (1856–1905)

 Case records from Martin v. Crane (1861)

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

University of California, Berkeley, Calif.

 Statement of expenditures (ca. 1850s)

Courts of the District of Columbia

Circuit Court of the District of Columbia (Alexandria sessions)

Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

 Liber A (copies of indictments and case papers) (1801–1802)

 Fee book (1807, 1846)

 Volume of fi nes, penalties, and forfeitures (1801–1846)

 Index to judgments (1801–1813)

 Minute books (1801–1843)

 Orders (1801–1827)

 Docket of witnesses (1801–1817)

 Record of actions in which the United States was the plaintiff (1836–

1846)

 Record of executions issued on judgment (1801–1807)

 Rule book (1817–1819)

 Trial dockets (1802–1822, with gaps)

 Abstract of reports of aliens (1801–1830)

District Court for the District of Potomac

Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

 Minutes (1801–1802)
Appendix F 207

District Court for the District of Columbia (Alexandria sessions)

Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

 Admiralty court orders (1803–1827)

 Admiralty court records (1806–1830)

 Bankruptcy proceedings (1802–1821)

Criminal Court of the District of Columbia (Alexandria sessions)

Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

 Minute book (1838–1846)

Justices of the Peace of the District of Columbia (Alexandria sessions)

Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

 Record of executions issued on judgment (1802–1807, 1816–1819)

 Record of judgments (1824–1827)

Levy Court of the District of Columbia (Alexandria sessions)

Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

 Minute book (1801–1827)

Orphans’ Court of the District of Columbia (Alexandria sessions)

Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

 Records (1801–1830, with gaps)

 Minute book (1842–1847)

U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern Illinois

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfi eld, Ill.

 Clerk of court’s account book (1860–1861)

U.S. District Court for the District of Kentucky

Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Ky.

 Memorandum book (1799–1801)

 Order book (1799–1801)

 Reports of cases (1795, 1798–1800)

 Legal opinions (1795–1806)
208 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

 Case record (1840)

U.S. Courts of New York 

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

New York Historical Society, New York City

 Minute book (1872)

U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York

New-York Historical Society, New York City

 New York State Legal Papers Collection (ca. 1779–1890)

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla.

 Stenographers’ notebooks (1893–1910)

 Books of statutes, cases, and rules of procedure (1873–1912)

 U.S. marshal’s records (1890–1912)

 Clerk of court’s records (1892–1921)

 Ledgers (1898–1935)

 Correspondence of the clerk of court and U.S. marshal (1894–1926)

 Photographs

U.S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Texas

Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Tex.

 Minutes (1879)

 Correspondence (1881–1911)

U.S. Courts of Virginia

U.S. Circuit Courts for the District of Virginia and the Eastern 

District of Virginia

Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

 Ended cases (1790–1861)

 Order books (1790–1831)

 Record books (1791–1834)

 Fee book (1835–1843)

 Rule books (1790–1845)

 Miscellaneous volumes
Appendix F 209

U.S. District Courts for the District of Virginia and the Eastern 

District of Virginia

Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

 Ended cases (1790–1861)

 Confi scations (dates not determined)

 Executions (1858–1861)

 Bankruptcies (1842–1845, 1861)

 Order books (1797–1874)

 Record books (1790–1873) 

 Confi scations (1863–1869)

 Miscellaneous volumes and papers

 Miscellaneous indexes

U.S. District Court for the District of Wisconsin

Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisc.

 Judgment record book (1849–1859)

211

Index

administration, court, 10–12, 39–40, 46–48

administration, judicial branch: 73–81; Attorney General and, 131–35; Interior Department and, 127–29; Judiciary Department and, 135–40, 143–44; State Department 

and, 109–11; Treasury Department and, 113–17

Administrative Offi ce of the U.S. Courts: 75–76; circuit conferences and, 79; circuit 

councils and, 78; courthouses and meeting sites, 158; Federal Judicial Center Board 

and, 77; Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court reports, 70–71; history, 179; Judicial 

Conference and, 73–74; Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation records, 72; Supreme Court clerk records, 46 

admiralty jurisdiction: 20–23; appeals, 7, 33–34, 37; California court records, 206; civil 

docket and, 13; colonial courts, 83; Confederate courts, 84; District of Columbia 

courts, 55, 207; reports, 34

appellate jurisdiction: admiralty, 7, 21, 33–34; Board of General Appraisers, 64, 65, 121; 

circuit courts, 7, 8, 26, 33–34; Confederation courts, 83; criminal, 28–29; District of 

Columbia courts, 53–57; Emergency Court of Appeals, 68–70; habeas corpus, 16; 

rules, 35; Supreme Court, 43, 45; U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, 66–67; 

U.S. courts of appeals, 37–42 

appointments, judicial: Attorney General and, 131, 138; historical database of, 177; 

Justice Department and, 136, 140; presidential records of, 171–72; State Department 

and, 109, 110, 111–12, 182; Supreme Court, 50, 105; U.S. Senate, 99–100, 105, 

171, 182; U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 92, 98 

appropriations, judicial: congressional records, 95, 96, 103; executive branch records, 

91, 124, 128, 161 

Attorney General: 131–35, 138–44; congressional committees correspondence, 93; 

courthouse related correspondence, 151; executive branch correspondence, 115, 

116, 117, 119, 123, 128; Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court reports, 70–71; 

Judicial Conference reports, 75; marshals and, 145–46; opinions, 121, 125; records 

guides, 183–84; territorial courts, correspondence regarding, 84; U.S. attorneys and, 

147; U.S. Sentencing Commission membership, 80

bankruptcy: in District of Columbia courts, 55, 207; Justice Department and, 136, 137–

38; marshals and, 146; petitions regarding, 94; published decisions, 35; registers of 

appointments, 47; Treasury Department and, 114–15; in U.S. circuit courts, 27, 31, 

33; in U.S. district courts, 13, 14, 16–18, 110

Board of General Appraisers, 63–65, 66, 115, 120, 121. See also U.S. Customs Court, 

and U.S. Court of International Trade

caseloads, 76, 78, 91, 133, 137

chancery. See equity jurisdiction

Chief Justice of the United States: appointments made by, 47, 68–69, 70, 71, 75; Federal 

Judicial Center Board and, 77; Judicial Conference and, 73–74; law clerks’ correspondence, 44; offi ce of, 179; opinions related to Solicitor of the Treasury, 121 
212 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

China, U.S. Court for. See U.S. Court for China

circuit courts. See U.S. circuit courts

circuit judicial conferences, 79

circuit judicial councils, 73, 78

civil jurisdiction: District of Columbia courts, 55–56; Judicial Panel on Multidistrict 

Litigation, 71; Justice Department, 139; U.S. attorney case fi les, 147–48; U.S. circuit 

courts, 26–28, 33; U.S. commissioners and, 23; U.S. Court of International Trade, 64; 

U.S. district courts, 7, 12–14, 20. See also rules and procedures

Civil Service Commission, U.S., 85

clerks of courts: administrative records, 9, 10–12, 19, 25, 32; Congress, reports to, 

62, 93, 104; courts of appeals, 39–40; directories of, 143–44; Interior Department, 

correspondence with, 127; Justice Department, correspondence with, 136–37, 139, 

140; marshals, correspondence with, 145; records, non-federal, 207–08; Supervising Architect, correspondence with, 152, 155; Supreme Court, 46–47, 50; Treasury 

Department, correspondence with, 113, 114, 116–17, 188, 119–20, 122. See also

type of court

Commerce Court, 67–68, 139, 184

commissioners, 23–24, 25, 31–33, 142. See also magistrate judges

common law jurisdiction, 12–14, 26–28, 206

Confederate courts, 83–84

confi scations, 22–23, 121, 209

copyrights, 11, 13, 27, 36, 55, 110, 137

counterfeiting, 114, 119–20, 122–23, 124, 137

Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. See U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. See U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture, 83 

Court of Claims: 60–62; Attorney General and, 131, 133, 134, 136, 140–41; correspondence regarding, 116, 117–18, 127; fi nancial records, 128; guide to records, 185; 

published reports, 35; successor court, 63. See also U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. See U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals

Court of Federal Claims. See U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Court of International Trade. See U.S. Court of International Trade

courthouses, 95, 96, 128, 139, 149–66, 178

courts of appeals. See U.S. courts of appeals

criminal jurisdiction: commissioners and, 23–24; in District of Columbia courts, 53, 54, 

55–56, 193, 207; FBI and, 142–43; prosecutions, 110, 133, 135, 137, 139; rules, 35, 

46, 133; Secret Service and, 122–23; sentencing guidelines, 79–81; U.S. attorneys 

and, 147–48; in U.S. circuit courts, 7, 28–29, 33; in U.S. courts of appeals, 37; in U.S. 

district courts, 7, 14–15, 22, 32, 83 
Index 213

Customs Court. See U.S. Customs Court

district courts. See U.S. district courts

District of Columbia courts: 53–57; administration of, 128; court of appeals, 38, 66; 

guide to records, 85, 185; justices of the peace, 112; prisoners in, 127; records, 206–07

election supervisors, 11, 14, 25–26, 27, 32–33

Emergency Court of Appeals, 68–70

equity jurisdiction: California court records, 206; in District of Columbia courts, 55; 

rules, 44; in U.S. circuit courts, 26–28, 31; in U.S. Court of International Trade, 64; 

in U.S. district courts, 12–14

Federal Bureau of Investigation, 142–43, 183

Federal Cases, 34–35, 56 

Federal Judicial Center, 76–77, 177–80

Federal Reporter: 35; Commerce Court 68; Court of Claims reports, 62; District of Columbia courts, 57; Emergency Court of Appeals, 70; Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 

Court, 71; U.S. courts of appeals, 39, 41

Federal Supplement, 35, 57, 62, 65, 71, 72

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, 70–71

fugitive slave cases, 13, 23, 24–25, 27, 31–32, 55 

habeas corpus: in Confederate courts, 84, in District of Columbia courts, 55; in fugitive 

slave cases, 25, 32; in Supreme Court, 46; in U.S. circuit courts, 28, 29, 32; in U.S. 

district courts, 15–16, 24, 25 

impeachment: 100–01; hearings, 97; House Judiciary Committee records, 93; judicial 

impeachments, 177; petitions regarding, 94; published proceedings, 102–03; records 

restrictions, 89; Senate journal, 90

Interior, Department of: 127–29; courthouse related correspondence, 153, 158, 161; 

House Judiciary Committee, correspondence with, 93; judiciary accounts, 113; records guide, 183; records transferred, 132, 137, 140; Supreme Court marshal, correspondence with, 48; Treasury Department, correspondence with, 124, 128

judges’ papers, 169–70, 180

Judicial Conference of the United States, 71–72, 73–75, 77, 80, 179 

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, 35, 71–72

juries: expenses, 128, 137; fi ndings, 9, 15; grand juries, 9, 11, 36, 50, 148; instructions, 

10, 13, 27, 50; rooms, 161; selection and management, 9, 11, 15, 27, 28, 137 

Justice, Department of: 131–48; courthouse related correspondence, 151, 153, 161; 

fi nancial accounts, 124, 128; research guides, 183–84; Solicitor of the Treasury, correspondence with, 119, 121; Supreme Court Marshal, correspondence with, 48; Treasury Department, correspondence with, 113, 115–17

law cases, 12–14, 25, 26–28, 32, 55

magistrate judges, 23–24

maritime law. See admiralty jurisdiction
214 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

Marshal of the Supreme Court, 47–48

marshals, U.S.: 144–46; accounts, 93, 116, 128, 131, 137, 139, 142; appointment, 

111–12, 127, 132, 140, 143; Attorney General and Justice Department, correspondence with, 133–34, 136–37; Commerce Court and, 68; court administration duties, 

10, 11–12, 21–22; courthouse related correspondence, 155; fugitive slaves and, 25, 

32; Interior Department, correspondence with, 127–28; Oklahoma, Western District 

records, 208; personal records, 170; records guides, 183; State Department, correspondence with, 109–10; Treasury Department, correspondence with, 114, 118, 

119–20, 122

Merit Services Protection Board, 38 

naturalization, 11, 18–20, 29–31, 55, 95, 96

nominations, judicial. See appointments

pardons, 28, 110, 112, 123, 141–42, 183 

patents: appeals, 54, 55, 66–67; case fi les, 13, 27; congressional committees, 95–96; 

Court of Claims jurisdiction, 60; Justice Department fi les, 137–38; reports, 36

President of the United States: appointment authority, 7, 17, 54, 60, 67; appointments, 

administrative, 16, 64, 80, 118; appointments, records, 99–100, 111–12, 182; appropriations, judicial, 110; commissions, 111–12; correspondence, with Attorney 

General and Justice Department, 133–34, 136, 138; messages to Congress, 91, 103; 

papers, 171–72; pardons, 28, 112, 141–42. See also appointments, judicial

prize cases: 20–22; executive branch correspondence, 110, 117, 120, 128; marshals’ 

records, 146; pre-federal, 83; records guide, 185; reports, 34

Reporters, Supreme Court, 48–50 

rules and procedures: Administrative Offi ce of the U.S. Courts, 75–76; Attorney General, 133; circuit judicial councils, 78; courts of special jurisdiction, 59, 69, 71–72; 

Judicial Conference, 73; Supreme Court, 44, 46, 51; U.S. circuit courts, 9–11; U.S. 

courts of appeals, 39, 41–42; U.S. district courts, 9–11, 13–14, 20–21, 35; Virginia 

federal court records, 208

Secret Service, U.S., 122–23, 184

Sentencing Commission, U.S., 79–81, 179

Solicitor General of the United States, 132, 135, 138

Solicitor of the Court of Claims, 133, 134 

Solicitor of the Treasury, 115, 116, 118–22, 123, 134, 157

State, Department of, 84, 109–12, 132, 141, 182

Supervising Architect, Offi ce of the, 149–50, 151–56, 161, 165

Supreme Court of the United States: 43–51; accounts, 116, 128; Administrative Offi ce 

of the U.S. Courts and, 75; appointments, 138, 140; bankruptcy decisions, 35; building, 158; circuit allotments, 144; documentary histories, 104–05; Justice Department 

case fi les, 134, 135, 139; mandates, 34, 40; nontextual records, 43; records guides, 

183–85; reporters’ papers, 170–71; Solicitor of the Treasury and, 120; sound recordings, 43 
Index 215

Tax Court. See U.S. Tax Court

Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals, 68–70

territorial courts, 84–85, 116, 142

Treasurer of the United States, 124

Treasury, Department of the: 113–25; Attorney General, correspondence with, 134; 

Board of General Appraisers and, 64–65; confi scation records, 22; court accounts, 11, 

47; court of claims records, 61–62; courthouses and, 149, 151–57, 161; Interior Department ledgers, 128; marshals, correspondence with, 48, 145; records guides, 184

U.S. attorneys: 147–48; accounts, 93, 116, 127, 139, 145; appointment, 111–12, 127, 

140, 143; case fi les, 121; correspondence, 11, 109, 119–20, 122, 123, 133–34, 146; 

guide to records, 183; instructions, 110, 118, 136, 137; papers, 170; naturalization 

and, 19; reports, 125, 139, 141, 142

U.S. circuit courts: 7–12, 26–36; appeals from, 21, 37, 64–65; Board of General Appraisers and, 64–65, 120; caseload reports, 91, 133; commissioners, appointment, 

23; District of Columbia court, 53–56; personnel fi les, 140; records locations, 191–

98, 205–08

U.S. Congress, 87–105; appropriations, 128; courthouses, correspondence regarding, 

152, 155–56, 157–58, 161–62; Justice Department, correspondence with, 136–37, 

138; papers of members, 171; publication of laws, 109–10; records guides, 181–82; 

Treasury Department, correspondence with, 116, 120, 122. See also U.S. House of 

Representatives, and U.S. Senate

U.S. Court for China, 85

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 85

U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, 85 

U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, 64, 65, 66–67

U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 38, 60, 61, 63

U.S. Court of International Trade, 35, 38, 63–65, 73. See also Board of General Appraisers, and U.S. Customs Court

U.S. courts of appeals: 37–42; accounts, 116; bankruptcy decisions, 35; bankruptcy 

judges appointments, 17; Board of General Appraisers and, 64; caseload reports, 

76, 91; circuit court cases 8; Commerce Court and, 67; District of Columbia court, 

54–56; Federal Circuit court, 60, 66, 69; judicial governance and, 73, 78, 79; Justice 

Department case fi les, 135; legislative history, 105; personnel fi les, 140; records locations, 189–90

U.S. Customs Court, 63–65, 66. See also Board of General Appraisers, and U.S. Court 

of International Trade

U.S. district courts: 7–26; appeals from, 28, 33–34; bankruptcy returns, 110; caseload 

reports, 76, 91, 133, 137; chief judges’ reports, 79; Commerce Court cases in, 67–68; 

District of Columbia courts, 53, 55, 56–57; judges assigned to, 40; judges on U.S. 

courts of appeals, 38; Judicial Conference representation, 73; Justice Department case 

fi les, 135, 139; legislation, 92, 105; multidistrict litigation, 71; personnel records, 

140; records locations, 191–98, 205–09; reports, 34–36
216 Guide to Research in Federal Judicial History

U.S. House of Representatives, 87–98, 100–05, 179, 182

U.S. Provisional Court for the State of Louisiana, 83

U.S. Provisional Court of Puerto Rico, 83

U.S. Reports, 49–50

U.S. Senate, 87–105, 111–12, 138, 140, 179, 181–82

U.S. Tax Court, 85

unpublished opinions, 36, 41–42
The Federal Judicial Center

Board

The Chief Justice of the United States, Chair

Judge Susan H. Black, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Judge David O. Carter, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Judge James B. Haines, Jr., U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine

Judge Edward C. Prado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Judge Loretta A. Preska, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Judge Philip M. Pro, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada

James C. Duff, Director of the Administrative Offi ce of the U.S. Courts

Director

Judge Barbara J. Rothstein

Deputy Director

John S. Cooke

About the Federal Judicial Center

The Federal Judicial Center is the research and education agency of the federal judicial 

system. It was established by Congress in 1967 (28 U.S.C. §§ 620–629), on the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

 By statute, the Chief Justice of the United States chairs the Center’s Board, which also 

includes the director of the Administrative Offi ce of the U.S. Courts and seven judges 

elected by the Judicial Conference.

 The organization of the Center refl ects its primary statutory mandates. The Education 

Division plans and produces education and training programs for judges and court staff, 

including satellite broadcasts, video programs, publications, curriculum packages for incourt training, and Web-based programs and resources. The Research Division examines 

and evaluates current and alternative federal court practices and policies. This research 

assists Judicial Conference committees, who request most Center research, in developing policy recommendations. The Center’s research also contributes substantially to its 

educational programs. The two divisions work closely with two units of the Director’s 

Offi ce—the Systems Innovations & Development Offi ce and Communications Policy 

& Design Offi ce—in using print, broadcast, and online media to deliver education and 

training and to disseminate the results of Center research. The Federal Judicial History 

Offi ce helps courts and others study and preserve federal judicial history. The International Judicial Relations Offi ce provides information to judicial and legal offi cials from 

foreign countries and assesses how to inform federal judicial personnel of developments 

in international law and other court systems that may affect their work.