Title: Marshfield (Wis.) Justice Court and Municipal Court Dockets
Inclusive Dates: 1887-1962

Creators:

• Marshfield (Wis.). Justice of the Peace
• Marshfield (Wis.). Municipal Court

Call Number: Wood Series 22; Wood Series 23

Quantity: 14.6 cubic feet (66 volumes)

Repository:

Housed at the Nelis R. Kampenga University Archives & Area Research Center, Learning Resources Center, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

UW-Stevens Point Library / Stevens Point Area Research Ctr. (Map)

See the catalog entries for information on possible additional materials and shelf locations: Wood Series 22, Wood Series 23

Abstract:

Dockets from the Marshfield Justice of the Peace and from the Municipal Court for both civil and criminal cases. Recorded are the names of plaintiff and defendant, attorneys, and judge; date; record of the complaints entered or charges filed, warrants issued, date of warrant's return; verdicts; costs incurred; and other information.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wood0022

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Laws controlling justice and municipal courts have undergone a number of revisions and amendments, to more closely define their jurisdiction, and to change the procedure by which judges are selected. (For background information read: County Government in Wisconsin, 1942, Vol. 2, pp. 418-462 and pp. 399-412).

The state constitution was amended in April 1966 to abolish the constitutional office of justice of the peace. Previously the jurisdiction of the justice of the peace extended throughout the county. Civil jurisdiction was limited to actions involving 200 dollars or less. The justices in later years no longer had jurisdiction over forfeitures, recovery of personal property, unlawful detainer and matters of garnishment, and attachment. Criminal jurisdiction during this period was limited to battery and disorderly conduct. Justices were elected for a 2-year term in all towns, villages, and cities in the state except the city of Milwaukee.

Municipal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over actions for the violation of ordinances in the town, village, or city where they are located. These courts have the same civil jurisdiction as justice of the peace and in addition, they have jurisdiction for actions to recover property up to 200 dollars, unlawful detainer, and to recover penalties and forfeitures up to 200 dollars. Criminal jurisdiction is limited to crimes for which the penalty does not exceed 200 dollars, or 6 months in jail, or both, and to cases relating to preservation of the peace. The municipal justice is elected for a 2-year term.

The Justice Court Dockets (Wood Series 22) are primarily civil cases. There are some criminal cases recorded, without any obvious effort to note them as distinct from civil cases. The overwhelming amount of material deals with a plaintiff taking the defendant to court for debts. This is especially true of the earlier records. The later records (those after 1950) contain more violations relating to the automobile. Examples of this type may be: driving while intoxicated, failure to stop at stop signs, driving without a license, driving without registration on vehicle, and speeding. Other types of crimes recurring throughout the dockets are paternity suits, abandonment, illegal trapping and shooting of animals, assault and battery, thievery, indecent exposure, swearing in public, public intoxication, selling alcohol to minors, illegally producing alcohol, and destruction of property.

The Municipal Court Dockets (Wood Series 23) are divided into three subgroups. Civil cases relate to those volumes that record action taken between individuals or corporations for debts due. Criminal cases are divided into two categories. Some criminal cases relate to violations of state statutes and are called state criminal cases. The other type of criminal case involves a violation of a city ordinance and is known as a city criminal case. Civil cases span the years 1887-1961, state criminal cases, 1900-1962, and city criminal cases, the years 1896-1934.

Typical crimes found in state criminal cases may include driving without registering the vehicle, assault and battery, breaking and entering, manufacturing food items that do not comply with state regulations (manufacturing cheese with too high water content in it), fornication without being married, thievery, destruction of property, abandonment, vagrancy, and writing checks without sufficient funds.

Violation of city ordinances may include public drunkenness, disorderly conduct, public obscenities, speeding, driving while intoxicated, and other automobile related offenses.

There is one docket in the Justice Court series labelled “Marathon County.” Part of the City of Marshfield lies in Marathon County. This volume records both civil cases (the plaintiff in most cases being Bonded Collections of Marshfield, Inc.--a collection agency), and city criminal cases against the city ordinances of Spencer, Wisconsin. Many pages in this volume register just the date, and when the summons is issued returnable.

Justice court dockets and municipal court dockets consistently record the same types of information, which includes names of plaintiff and defendant, date, name of the judge and courts, names of the attorneys involved, charges filed (or the city ordinance which is violated), whether a warrant is issued and to whom issued, date of the warrant return, judgment or sentence, names of witnesses, verdicts, fines levied, and court costs.

Both series are arranged chronologically. The earlier volumes of the two series often have an index in the beginning or the end of the volume, which is an alphabetical listing of the defendants.

Wood Series 22	Series: Justice of the Peace: Justice Court Dockets, 1887-1961 Physical Description: 8.2 cubic feet (28 volumes)
Volume   1	1887-1889
Volume   2	1894-1898
Volume   3	1901-1904
Volume   4	1911-1914
Volume   5	1914-1917
Volume   6	1917-1920
Volume   7	1920-1923
Volume   8	1923-1925
Volume   9	1925-1929
Volume   10	1928-1931
Volume   11	1929-1935
Volume   12	1931-1934
Volume   13	1933-1938
Volume   14	1937-1945
Volume   15	1937-1946
Volume   16	1938-1941
Volume   17	1941-1949
Volume   18	1946-1950
Volume   19	1950-1953
Volume   20	1953-1955
Volume   21	1954-1955
Volume   22	1955-1957
Volume   23	1955-1958
Volume   24	1957-1960
Volume   25	1958-1960
Volume   26	, 1958-1961 Marathon County
Volume   27	1959-1961
Volume   28	1960-1961
Wood Series 23	Series: Municipal Court: Municipal Court Dockets, 1887-1962 Physical Description: 6.4 cubic feet (38 volumes)	⇧
	Civil Cases, 1887-1961
Volume   1	1887-1894
Volume   2	1903-1914
Volume   3	1914-1925
Volume   4	1925-1928
Volume   5	1928-1935
Volume   6	1935-1953
Volume   7	1953-1961
	Criminal Cases (State), 1900-1962
Volume   8	1900-1903
Volume   9	1903-1911
Volume   10	1912-1914
Volume   11	1914-1918
Volume   12	1918-1921
Volume   13	1921-1924
Volume   14	1924-1926
Volume   15	1926-1928
Volume   16	1928-1929
Volume   17	1929-1930
Volume   18	1930-1932
Volume   19	1931-1932
Volume   20	1932-1936
Volume   21	1936-1938
Volume   22	1938-1940
Volume   23	1940-1943
Volume   24	1943-1950
Volume   25	1950-1953
Volume   26	1953-1959
Volume   27	1959-1962
Volume   28	1896-1912
	Criminal Cases (City Ordinances), 1896-1934
Volume   29	1913-1915
Volume   30	1916-1918
Volume   31	1918-1921
Volume   32	1921-1924
Volume   33	1924-1926
Volume   34	1926-1927
Volume   35	1927-1928
Volume   36	1928-1929
Volume   37	1929-1931
Volume   38	1931-1934