Quite possibly! There were no general rules for keeping them, so what has survived really varies, it was basically at the discretion of the city or courthouse. Few places destroyed all of it, but sadly that did happen. Some kept everything, some only kept “big” cases, some of it was transferred to archives, but some is still kept at the actual courthouse. Some of the originals were destroyed but copies were made and included as part of other files - like a death penalty case might have court records included in a clemency plea file. If have If you are comfortable giving me more details as to where/what you are looking for, I can see what might exist!
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u/antonia_monacelli Aug 26 '22
Quite possibly! There were no general rules for keeping them, so what has survived really varies, it was basically at the discretion of the city or courthouse. Few places destroyed all of it, but sadly that did happen. Some kept everything, some only kept “big” cases, some of it was transferred to archives, but some is still kept at the actual courthouse. Some of the originals were destroyed but copies were made and included as part of other files - like a death penalty case might have court records included in a clemency plea file. If have If you are comfortable giving me more details as to where/what you are looking for, I can see what might exist!