HISTORY BOOK PROJECT
No legal history of the United States would be complete without
a careful review of Texas civil jurisprudence, and yet, nothing
substantive has been written about the Texas Supreme Court
after 1890. Over 115 years of legal history are virtually
unknown. The Texas Supreme Court Historical Society has undertaken
a multi-year research and writing project to fill that gap.
Three volumes will be published in the series:
Volume One:
The first volume will narrate the Supreme
Court’s history, beginning with an overview of the Spanish
and Mexican courts in Texas, followed by thirteen chapters
written by ten contributing authors and covering the period
1836 to 1972. Each chapter will address the trends and patterns
of the judicial cases, the personalities and interaction of
the justices, and administrative changes that affected the
court. Photographs, charts and diagrams will occupy a few
pages in the center of the book.
Volume Two:
One hundred sixty judicial biographies,
one for every chief justice, associate justice and commissioner
who served on the court from 1836 to 1972, will constitute
volume two. Each chief justice will have a detailed biographical
essay written by a noteworthy legal historian. A genealogist
will correct persistent errors by verifying critical dates
through official records and documents. Each biography will
include an image of the judge or commissioner, a list of important
cases, and a bibliography of sources.
Volume Three:
This volume will offer eight to ten essays that
explore in greater depth related topics in the court’s history,
such as the creation of the intermediate appellate courts,
the construction and renovation of the judicial complex, the
role of court clerks and court reporters, and the increasing
reliance on briefing and staff attorneys. Most will be original
essays written especially for this volume; a select number
will be reprinted essays and law review articles of enduring
interest and quality.
Judicial Oral History Project
The Texas Supreme
Court Historical Society established the Judicial Oral History
Project (JOHP) to gather and preserve information of historical
interest about the Texas judicial system by means of oral interviews.
These interviews are conducted with persons who are or were
either directly associated with the court or had special
knowledge about the judicial officers, the courts or its operations.
Once recorded, the interview is transcribed onto paper, reviewed,
corrected and printed in final form. The interview subject
is asked to donate the interview to the Society by signing
a Deed of Gift, whereby it becomes part of the Society’s archive
collection available for academic and educational research
and public dissemination.
Statue and Plaza Project – on hold
Under
the guidance of the Supreme Court of Texas and other courts,
the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society proposed to assist
in the renovation of the existing eastside plaza of the Capitol
Judicial Complex to include the installation of a statue representing
Justice standing before a glass screen and flanked on each
side by emblematic lamps. Each aspect of the statue and plaza
would be designed to enhance the appearance of the existing
Supreme Court building, convey the purpose and importance of
the building, provide a focal point for the capitol grounds,
and offer visually rewarding images for use by the court system
in its print and online presentations.
This project was placed on hold by the Board of Trustees in
October 2006.
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