About This Collection
Images of a record of appellate cases in the Supreme Court, Western District. Cases deal with issues under the Court's mandatory and discretionary jurisdiction. Cases falling within the Court's mandatory jurisdiction dealt with capital punishment, questions of constitutionality, finance and revenue, elections, and others. Cases falling within the Court's discretionary jurisdiction included cases where two intermediate courts had opposing decisions or cases that posed open questions of law, among others. Entries for each case list: the plaintiff (appellant) and defendant (appellee); the names of the attorneys appearing for the parties; the county and the lower courts from which the appellate cases arose; a chronological listing of the documents filed and proceedings held in the case; and the Court's subsequent decision or orders. Justices delivering the opinions are often noted, and from 1795 to 1836, the name of the prothonotary recording the case is entered. During the period 1894-1919, many of the dockets contain statistical summaries concerning the number and types of cases processed, and from 1930 to 1965, penciled notations are found that refer to the published cases and opinions of the Supreme Court in the Pennsylvania State Reports. A reference number that indicates when the case was recorded as having been argued in the Court Minute Books appears from 1935 onwards. Docket sheets dating after 2000 were printed from an electronic database and may contain a report date postdating the docket date. Dockets postdating 2000 may also be found online through the Administrative Offices of the Pennsylvania Courts' website. Disclaimer: Not all records in this collection are digitized. Visit the PA State Archives to see the rest of the collection.