The files of the Criminal Code Advisory Committee consist of minutes, correspondence, early files, bibliographies, general files, working files of Orrin Helstad and William Platz, and numerous drafts and revisions of committee reports. There is good documentation on the legal theory and philosophy behind the revision in the form of the committee minutes, as well as detailed material on the procedure followed by the technical staff and the drafting and editing of the various reports and recommendations. The bulk of the series consists of the actual revisions filed as chapter files and annotated draft copies of various reports. The chapter files are arranged numerically according to the chapter number of the 1953 code. The numbers on the papers within these files do not necessarily correspond to the chapter number of the 1953 code due to the many revisions. Published copies of the reports are available in the Government Documents section of the Society's Library.
The correspondence in the Helstad portion of the collection, which is scattered, dates from 1950 to 1955, predating the creation of the committee and continuing throughout its existence. The Platz correspondence is collected in chronological files dating from 1941 to 1958, and also reflects involvement in the revision process prior to the creation of the committee. Under the heading “general files” are early documents that appear to have been compiled as part of an early attempt at revision of the criminal code prior to 1946. Orrin Helstad, an advisor for the committee and a member of the technical staff responsible for the revision, retained a working file consisting of material on technical aspects of the code. The collection also includes drafts and annotated material on the 1959 to 1962 revisions to the jury instructions for criminal cases from the files of William Platz. Also in the general files are notes, bibliographies, papers and written comments dealing with the committee's work.
