Crime and violence in frontier Houston: a study of the criminal district court of Harris County, 1872-1876

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dc.contributor.advisorHyman, Harold M.en_US
dc.creatorBrooks, Victoria Lynneen_US
dc.date.accessioned2018-12-18T21:27:33Zen_US
dc.date.available2018-12-18T21:27:33Zen_US
dc.date.issued1974en_US
dc.description.abstractHarris County in the 187’s had a sophisticated system of criminal jurisprudence, but its people were unwilling to utilize its full capacities as an instrument of social control. The disparity between potentials offered by statutory provisions and the actual operation of judicial machineries was great, and remained so as long as the frontier exerted an influence on criminal and law-abiding elements of the population. This thesis relies on traditional historical methods of quantitative techniques. Statistical information gleaned from a four-year study of years 1872-1876 of the Harris County Criminal District Court facilitates analyses of the history and administrative structure of Harris County judicial departments, state penal codes and criminal procedures, and the personnel and machineries of the Criminal District Court itself. The picture which emerges is one of a burgeoning urban community's attempts to cope with crime through its primary legal institution, the Criminal District Court. Statistical information placed in historiographical and bibliographical context, yields insight into the character and effectiveness of the entire range of criminal court procedures. Moreover, statistical information compiled from documents generated by and materials referring to the Criminal District Court provide foundation for more general conclusions about nineteenth-century urban frontier society. As example, only about 3% of the recorded population of Harris County received indictments during the period from 1872 to 1876. Only 2% of those indicted appeared in census roles, city directories, or newspapers. Only 8.7% of indictments were eventually dismissed for lack of sufficient evidence. Defendants before the Criminal District Court pleaded not guilty in two-thirds of the cases, but slightly more than two-thirds of pleaded cases were adjudged guilty. From the beginning of the judicial process only one-half of prosecuted cases received conviction.en_US
dc.format.digitalOriginreformatted digitalen_US
dc.format.extent134 ppen_US
dc.identifier.callnoThesis Hist. 1974 Brooksen_US
dc.identifier.citationBrooks, Victoria Lynne. "Crime and violence in frontier Houston: a study of the criminal district court of Harris County, 1872-1876." (1974) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/104645">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/104645</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.digitalRICE2281en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/104645en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.titleCrime and violence in frontier Houston: a study of the criminal district court of Harris County, 1872-1876en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentHistoryen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineHumanitiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen_US
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