Description

Admin History:

Magistrates courts are the lowest level of courts in Enlgand, and is where almost all criminal proceedings start. Hull was first granted the right to appoint its own magistrates, also known as Justices of the Peace (JPs), to deal with the summary cases, in 1440. More serious offences or indictable crimes would be passed to the quarter sessions or to the county assize, for capital cases. Despite the abolition of the old municipal corporation in 1836, the reformed borough was still able to select its own magistrates and hold its own courts, sometimes also known as police courts or petty sessions. This system continued until the reforms of the 1971 Courts Act, where the magistrate’s courts remained at lowest level, with the quarter sessions replaced by crown courts. The magistrate’s courts could also hear some civil cases, when county courts were established under the County Court Act 1846. They had jurisdiction over the recovery of debts and civil actions up to certain financial limits, including bankruptcy.

Description:

Includes minute books, materials relating to Licensing, papers regarding court cases, bankruptcy registers, court registers, various committee minutes books and various cause books.