New York State Court of Appeals Rough Minutes

Entries are chronological by date of court session.

By virtue of the Judiciary Article added to the State Constitution in 1869, business of the original State Court of Appeals (1847-1870) which was pending as of January 1, 1869 was completed by the temporary Commission of Appeals, which functioned from July of 1870 to June of 1875. All remittiturs (transfers of jurisdiction over cases back to the court of original jurisdiction) in cases determined by the commission, once certified, were to be transmitted from the new Court of Appeals, as reconstituted under the Judiciary Article of 1869. All minutes of the proceedings, decisions, and orders of the commission were to be deposited and remain of record in the office of the clerk of the new Court of Appeals.

This series consists of manuscript rough minutes compiled by the clerk of the original Court of Appeals during the period from July 1847 to June of 1870. Also included are rough minutes compiled by the clerk of the temporary Commission of Appeals during the period from July of 1870 to June of 1875. The minutes document the commencement of business in the newly created Court of Appeals in 1847 and contain the original twenty-seven rules governing practice in the court. Daily business recorded includes names of judges and judges ex officio present in court, followed by motions, arguments (references to, rather than transcripts of), decisions, and orders rendered in each case taken up by the court.

Each volume contains an alphabetical index to first party named in each case.

The Court of Appeals placed these records on deposit at the Historical Documents Collection, Queens College, from 1973-1982.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.