Sierra County CA Archives History - Books .....The Courts And Judiciary 1882
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com January 18, 2006, 10:36 pm

Book Title: Illustrated History Of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

THE COURTS AND JUDICIARY. 
DISTRICT COURT.

   Under the law of 1850, Yuba county, of which Sierra was then a part, was in
the eighth judicial district, and the first term of the court was commenced at
Marysville June 3, 1850, by Hon. William R. Turner. The jurisdiction of this
court was very large, including chancery, civil, and criminal cases. In 1851 the
legislature formed Yuba, Nevada, and Sutter counties into the tenth judicial
district, and Hon. Gordon N. Mott was appointed by the governor to fill the
vacancy caused by the removal of Judge Turner to another district. At the
opening of the district court, October 10, 1851, Hon. W. T. Barbour was present,
with a commission from the governor as district uidge. He desired an interview
with Judge Mott before making the formal demand for the office, and the court
was adjourned until two o'clock in the afternoon. During the recess Judges Mott
and Barbour, together with the members of the bar, held a consultation together.
Judge Barbour stated that he had a commission from the governor, given in
consequence of his election to the judgeship by the people at the last general
election, and that he had taken the constitutional oath of office. Judge Mott
stated that he also had a commission from the governor as district judge, and
claimed that, as his commission was given to fill a vacancy in the office
occasioned by the failure of the legislature to elect, and as it did not mention
the term for which he was to hold office, it would hold until the election of
district judges in 1852. The constitution provided for the filling of such
vacancies "at the next election by the people," and the question of right lay on
the interpretation of these words—whether they meant the next election, or the
next regular election for the office to be filled. Upon the assembling of the
court in the afternoon, Mr. Barbour appeared and demanded the office and
records, and then the court adjourned to allow the matter to be carried to the
supreme court. There it was decided that Mr. Barbour was the rightful claimant
to the position, and he took his seat without further interruption.

   In 1853 Sierra county, having been organized the year previous, was placed in
the tenth judicial district, with Yuba, Nevada, and Sutter counties. The first
session of the district court was held in Downieville, July 5, 1853, with Judge
William T. Barbour on the bench. In 1855 Nevada, Sierra, and Plumas counties
were united as the fourteenth district, and the Hon. Niles Searles of Nevada
City became judge. In 1857 Plumas was detached, the district being too large.
Two years after, in 1859, Sierra was joined to the seventeenth district,
consisting of Sierra and Plumas counties, to the judgeship of which Peter Van
Clief of Downieville was appointed by Governor Weller. He served on the bench
one year. At the fall election of 1859 Hon. Robert H. Taylor was elected
district judge. He was a resident of Downieville, and two years previous, when
Sierra was a part of the fourteenth district, had been nominated for judge, but
did not succeed at the election. In 1859 he was the nominee of the Douglas wing
of the democratic party, and as such defeated Judge Van Clief, the regular
democratic nominee. He resigned the position in May, 1862, and Hon. L. E Pratt
of Sierra county received from the governor the appointment as his successor.
Judge Pratt served out Taylor's term, and in April, 1863, Sierra county was
added to the tenth judicial district, which consisted of Yuba, Sutter, Colusa,
and Sierra counties.

   Hon. I. S. Belcher of Marysville was elected judge that fall, and held the
position until 1869, when Judge Phil W. Keyser of Sutter county was elected to
the position, and held it until the adoption of the new constitution in 1879, at
which time the district courts of California were abolished and superseded by
the superior courts.

COURT OF SESSIONS.

   Owing to the loss of the earliest minutes of the court of sessions, the date
of the first meeting of that body cannot be definitely ascertained. Judge McCann
organized the court some time in July, and appointed as his associates H. G.
Brown and A. S. McMillen. The first proceedings on the records we quote:

"MINITS OF THE COURT OF SESSIONS.

   "At a special term of the court of sessions, held August 19, 1852, present,
Hon. Ferdinand J. McCann, judge; H. G. Brown, associate judge; Wm. J. Ford,
sheriff; J. Webb Nicholson, clerk. It is ordered by the court that the sheriff
shall collect fifty cents on every hundred dollars, for the purpose of county
taxes. It is further ordered that the petition of J. W. Dunn for auctioneer be
granted for the sale of auction goods in the town of Downieville, on the plaza.
It is also ordered that the petition of E. H. Martin be rejected on account of
its not complying with the requirements of the statutes.

   "It is ordered that the petition of Henry Kingsley be granted for inn-keeping
in Sierra county. It is further ordered that this court adjourn until Monday,
28th August, 1852."

   The next meeting did not occur until the thirtieth of August, at which time
the sheriff was instructed to be at Goodyear's bar on the fifteenth of
September, for the purpose of collecting taxes, and he was allowed one week in
each election precinct for such purpose. Licenses were then granted to Samuel
Aston and James Golden to sell wares and liquors, and to R. H. Martin for
auctioneering.

   The first grand jury for the court of sessions was drawn at the regular term
in October. Twenty-one names were drawn by the sheriff, but on the eighteenth
only seventeen were sworn as a grand jury. Their names are G. B. Bope, Samuel
Walker, Charles H. Cummings, Louis Day, Charles Simmons, Richard Hobbs, Adam
Young, F. M. Proctor, Thomas Clement, G. M. Lechtenberger, James W. Hamilton,
Benjamin Green, George Pierson, Malcom S. Scott, N. R. Shaw, Daniel Shepp,
Barnabus Hallett. C. H. Cummings was elected foreman, and Thaddeus Purdy
delivered the charge to the jury. The first indictments found by this body were
against Frederick Ketzler, Charles Ketzler, and James McKibben, for assault with
deadly weapons on Alanson Smith; against John Carter, for assault with intent to
kill on H. Kelly; against George Richardson, James Richardson, and Albert T.
Turner, for constructing unlawful bridges; and against William Taylor and James
Taylor for murder.

   The court of sessions continued to transact the business of the county now
done by the board of supervisors until the supervisor system was adopted in the
state in May, 1855, when it became merely a criminal court, subordinate to the
district court. In 1863 it was abolished altogether, Judge S. B. Davidson being
then on the bench. The judges who presided over the court of sessions during its
existence were Ferdinand J. McCann, S. J. Pettibone, P. C. Shaffer, Alanson
Smith, William Campbell, and S. B. Davidson. Those who sat as associate justices
before the establishment of the board of supervisors are as follows: H. G.
Brown, A. S. McMillen, L. B. Graham, Daniel F. Finley, Charles Stanwood, George
A. Booth, J. H. Marshall, S. J. Pettibone, C. D. Aiken, H. McNulty, C. L.
Thomasson, Louis Bartlett, William Patterson, A. J. Howe, and G. Harris.

COUNTY COURT.

   The county court for Sierra county held its first session in Downieville
March 7, 1853. Sheriff William J. Ford pronounced, in stentorian tones, the "Oh,
yes! Oh, yes!" that summoned the bar and spectators to the tribunal of justice;
while the Hon. Ferdinand J. McCann sat upon the bench, and J. Webb Nicholson
transcribed in a clerkly hand the proceedings. The court-room was on the second
floor of John Craycroft's mammoth saloon, the fortunate location being very
conducive to frequent adjournments for refreshment. In 1855 the board of
supervisors having accepted the new court-house, the court was transferred to
the classic precincts of Durgan flat, where it continued to be held until the
adoption of the new constitution, in 1879, which did away entirely with it.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

San Francisco: Fariss & Smith
(1882)


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