Series 1407
District Court (Second District : Weber County) Minutes
Dates: i 1896-
68 microfilm reels
These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.
Scope and Content
This series is made up of minute books which record the official acts and proceedings of the Second District Court while sitting in Ogden, Weber County, Utah. These records were created and maintained by the court clerk, who is required by state statute to keep a minute book (Utah Code Annotated, 1953, 17-20-2).
The minutes are a daily record of documents filed and actions taken with regard to every matter brought before each session of the court, largely regarding documents submitted, appearances before the court, and orders issued. A typical case spans multiple dates. Minutes are not transcripts, but do include a brief description of the hearing, including the title of case, case number, names of attorneys, date of each development in the case, record of witnesses and evidence introduced, what pleadings, petitions, or motions were made and by whom, and summaries of injunctions, rules, orders, verdicts, and judgments. Administrative details and meeting logistics (such as the court site, officers present, the selection and dismissal of jurors, and scheduling and assigning cases) are noted.
The minutes encompass criminal and civil cases, including probate matters such as estates, guardianship, and adoption. Petitions for divorce, alimony, and child support are a predominant type of civil action. Suits to recover money are also common. These actions arise out of failure to honor promissory notes or other contract terms and non-payment of rent, lease payments, and court-ordered judgments. Attempts to recover medical costs and lost income arising out of personal injury cases resulting from alleged carelessness or neglect appear frequently. These include traffic mishaps or accidents involving neighbors, employees, or business customers. Property cases include disputed ownership, damage, and contested improvements. Other legal actions include naturalization of aliens, voluntary withdrawal or dissolution of corporations, and petitions for a writ of habeas corpus (a court order requiring that a prisoner be brought before a judge to decide the legality of his detention or imprisonment). Criminal matters may involve larceny, trespass, burglary, robbery, assault, battery, rape, prostitution, sodomy, child abuse, gambling, narcotics, riot, perjury, or murder.
According to statute, the district court has jurisdiction in all matters not excepted by the state constitution and not prohibited by law. During each calendar year the court is required to hold at least three terms at the county seat of each county within the district. The county clerk in each county serves as ex-officio clerk to the court and is responsible for maintaining the minute book for actions arising in that county. While sitting in Ogden, the Second District Court is restricted to adjudication of actions involving real property located within Weber County, those in which the defendant resides in Weber County, and those involving incidents occurring in Weber County.
These minute books document the legal process and the administration of justice in conjunction with civil and criminal cases. A certificate of authenticity signed by Judge Henry Herman Rolapp attesting to accuracy of the minutes is found at back of first six volumes. The first two volumes are handwritten while subsequent volumes are typewritten.
Arrangement
Chronological by court date
With the addition of a second judge in 1911, a department designation is used to distinguish daily entries for each. A third judge (department) was added in 1951. Separate volumes are arranged in numerical order.
Related Records
Minute books from the District Court (Fourth District), Series 5062, record minutes of district court sessions conducted in Weber County during the territorial period.
Civil registers of actions from the District Court (Second District : Weber County), Series 17661, documents the proceedings of each case.
Index to civil actions from the District Court (Second District : Weber County), Series 26957, documents the proceedings of each case.
Criminal registers of action from the District Court (Second District : Weber County), Series 26958, contains brief minute book entries for court proceedings on any given day.
Custody History
The Weber County Clerk serves as ex-officio clerk of Second District Court in and for Weber County. These minute books were created and maintained by the clerk of the Second District Court in Ogden, Utah, until their transfer to the Utah State Archives.
Additional Forms
This series is available on microfilm.
Access Restrictions
This series is primarily classified as Public: Public with the exception of adoptions, which are sealed for 100 years.. The secondary classification is Private: Adoptions are sealed for 100 years..
Preferred Citation
Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.
Processing Note
The Utah Judicial Council has determined that minutes are permanent records. Microfilming and destruction of the original records was authorized by the court clerk (RDR dated 15 February 1963 and approved March 1963). Archival processing of the minute books in the custody of the state archives (volumes 1-67 and covering the period from 7 January 1896 to 7 July 1961) was completed in April 1999 by W. Glen Fairclough, Jr. Microfilming of these volumes was completed in 2002.
Finding Aids
Other: a research guide on court records is available for patron use. Indexes: series 21933, civil case index, includes name indices to plaintiffs and defendants, covering from 1897 thru 1916, and from 456 thru 5449.
Indexing Terms
- Citizenship--Utah--Weber County.
- Corporate divestiture--Utah--Weber County.
- Actions and defenses--Utah--Weber County.
- Criminal courts--Utah--Weber County.
- Probate records--Utah--Weber County.
- Civil procedure--Utah--Weber County.
- Court records--Utah--Weber County.
Container List
| REEL | VOLUME | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1896-1897 |
| 1 | 2 | 1897-1898 |
| 2 | 2 | 1898-1899 |
| 2 | 3 | 1899-1900 |
| 3 | 4 | 1900-1902 |
| 4 | 5 | 1902-1903 |
| 5 | 6 | 1904-1905 |
| 6 | 7 | 1904-1905 |
| 7 | 8 | 1905 |
| 8 | 9 | 1906-1907 |
| 9 | 10 | 1907-1908 |
| 10 | 11 | 1908-1909 |
| 11 | 12 | 1910 |
| 12 | 13 | 1910 |
| 13 | 14 | 1910-1911 |
| 14 | 15 | 1911-1912 |
| 15 | 16 | 1912 |
| 16 | 17 | 1912-1913 |
| 17 | 18 | 1913-1914 |
| 18 | 19 | 1914 |
| 19 | 20 | 1914-1915 |
| 20 | 21 | 1915-1916 |
| 21 | 22 | 1916 |
| 22 | 23 | 1916-1917 |
| 23 | 24 | 1917-1918 |
| 24 | 25 | 1918-1919 |
| 25 | 26 | 1919 |
| 26 | 27 | 1919-1920 |
| 27 | 28 | 1920-1921 |
| 28 | 29 | 1921 |
| 29 | 30 | 1921-1922 |
| 30 | 31 | 1922-1923 |
| 31 | 32 | 1923 |
| 32 | 33 | 1923-1924 |
| 33 | 34 | 1924-1925 |
| 34 | 35 | 1926-1927 |
| 35 | 36 | 1926-1927 |
| 36 | 37 | 1928-1929 |
| 37 | 38 | 1928-1929 |
| 38 | 39 | 1930-1931 |
| 39 | 40 | 1930-1931 |
| 40 | 41 | 1931-1932 |
| 41 | 42 | 1932-1933 |
| 42 | 43 | 1933-1934 |
| 43 | 44 | 1934-1936 |
| 44 | 45 | 1937-1938 |
| 45 | 46 | 1938-1939 |
| 46 | 47 | 1939-1940 |
| 47 | 48 | 1939-1940 |
| 48 | 49 | 1940-1942 |
| 49 | 50 | 1942-1943 |
| 50 | 51 | 1943-1944 |
| 51 | 52 | 1944-1945 |
| 52 | 53 | 1945-1946 |
| 53 | 54 | 1946-1947 |
| 54 | 55 | 1948-1949 |
| 55 | 56 | 1948-1949 |
| 56 | 57 | 1950-1951 |
| 57 | 58 | 1950-1951 |
| 58 | 59 | 1951-1952 |
| 59 | 60 | 1952-1953 |
| 60 | 61 | 1953-1954 |
| 61 | 62 | 1954-1956 |
| 62 | 63 | 1956-1957 |
| 63 | 64 | 1957-1958 |
| 64 | 65 | 1958-1959 |
| 65 | 66 | 1959-1960 |
| 66 | 67 | 1960-1961 |