Keeping the Peace: The Harris County Justice Court
Keeping the Peace: The Harris County Justice Court
Night Will Find You
by Julia Heaberline
Vivvy Bouchet saved a boy's life when she was a child, after a premonition. That boy is now a Texas police officer, who has always believed Vivvy is psychic. He convinces her to help him solve a high-profile cold case: three-year-old Lizzie Solomon disappeared in broad daylight from her home and a body was never found.
If we were to imagine that this book was set in the early 20th Century (or before), the main character, Vivvy, might have sought help from the local Justice of the Peace. Often referred to as the people’s courts, Justice of the Peace courts have served an important role in the judiciary in Texas in years past. Justice of the Peace courts were often the first courts for felony offenses which were then referred to the District Courts. Justices of the Peace presided over the justice court, acted as coroners, and conducted marriage ceremonies. The Harris County Archives has civil and criminal records of the Harris County Justice of the Peace court and coroner inquests.
Justice of the Peace - Criminal Court
The criminal records primarily involve traffic infractions after 1950. Prior to that date, the Justice of the Peace courts were often the first courts for felony offenses which were then referred to the District Courts. Of particular interest are the criminal docket books from oil boom towns in the early 20th century as law enforcement attempted to grapple with rapid population expansion, tent cities, and a “Wild West” atmosphere.
Justice of the Peace - Civil Court
The Civil Records, primarily concerned with collecting debts and evicting renters, document economic conditions and purchasing preferences. The earliest dockets from the 1870s contain repossessions of sewing machines which were deemed essential by many housewives and often bought on credit. When the payments fell in arrears, the machines were repossessed by the companies using the Justice of the Peace courts.
Justice of the Peace as Coroner
As coroners, Justices of the Peace conducted inquests to deaths occurring in specific circumstances as defined by the Constitution. Oftentimes these records include extensive, signed witness statements describing the context of the death and can become windows onto their times.
Early Justice Court Dockets
Until 1870 the Justices of the Peace delivered the most basic level of law and justice. The Justice Court Dockets contain the proceedings of the earliest justices of the peace in Texas.