Civil Case Files, 1938 - 1987

Level of Description:

• Series

Type(s) of Archival Materials:

• Textual Records

The creator compiled or maintained the series between:

1938 - 1987

Date Note:

The bulk of case files cover 1938-1969. Only selected case files are extant from 1970-1987.

Function and Use:

These files were maintained by the court as a permanent record of the various proceedings in civil litigation.

General Note(s):

• By an act of Congress dated June 19, 1934 (48 Stat. 1064), the Supreme Court could, at any time, unite the general rules prescribed by it for cases in equity with those in actions at law so as to secure one form of civil action and procedure for both. The Supreme Court issued such an order on December 20, 1937 and this order took effect in the regular session of the District Court on January 3, 1938. In 1966, admiralty cases were also consolidated with civil action cases. Starting in 1970, only civil cases terminated during or after a trial were retained permanently.

Arrangement:

Arranged numerically by case number, 1 through 4964 and 43C1 through 87C6904.

Access Restriction(s):

• Restricted - Partly
  Specific Access Restriction: Other
  Note: A small number of case files were sealed by the court. Specific documents within a case file also may be sealed.

Use Restriction(s):

• Unrestricted
  

Finding Aid Type:

Index

Finding Aid Note:

This series of "Civil Case Files" is indexed for cases from 1938 through 1978 by the series "Index to Civil and Criminal Cases, 1932-1978" (ARC Identifier 5635106).

Finding Aid Source:

U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN (CHICAGO) DIVISION OF THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

Subjects Represented in the Archival Material(s):

• affidavits
  
• Chicago (Cook county, Illinois, United States, North and Central America) inhabited place
  
• Civil procedure
  
• decisions
  
• decrees
  
• depositions
  
• Illinois (United States, North and Central America) state
  
• mandates
  
• orders (court)
  
• petitions
  
• pleas
  
• transcripts
  
• writs
  

This series contains papers filed in civil litigation regarding persons, organizations, and companies in Chicago and northeastern Illinois. A case file about a civil proceeding may include petitions, a bill of complaint, transcripts of testimony, transcripts of the U.S. District Court record, writs, answers, depositions, exhibits, motions, court orders, decrees, findings of fact and conclusions of law, cross-petitions, affidavits, decisions, writs of error, notices, summonses, mandates, pleas, praecipes, subpoenas, and other related papers. Copies of records from federal agencies or other levels of courts, such as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Appeals Board or a state court, may be filed in civil case files if a dispute was appealed from a federal administrative law decision or removed from a state court because of diversity of citizenship. If a U.S. District Court case were appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court, then information and papers relating to the appellate proceedings might be found in the U.S. District Court case file.

ARC Identifier:

585321

Inventory Entry Number:

Entry 17-55A
Entry 17-55A is the entry number for an unpublished draft version of an inventory of the records of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of the Northern District of Illinois.

Copy 1:

Preservation-Reproduction-Reference

Extent (Size):

6,632 linear feet

Contact(s):

• NARA's Great Lakes Region (Chicago) (NRDA), 7358 South Pulaski Road
  Chicago, IL 60629-5898
  Phone: 773-948-9001
  Fax: 773-948-9050
  Email: chicago.archives@nara.gov

Count:

• FRC Carton, Standard 2086.0
• Legal Archives Box, Records Center 10639.0
• Legal Archives Box, Standard 734.0
• Index Card Box, 8 x 5 9.0
• Flat Storage Box, No Hinge 8.0
• Flat Storage Box, No Hinge, E 3.0
• Flat Storage Box 55 6.0

Copy 1 Media Information:

• Specific Media Type: Paper

• Specific Media Type: Audio Cassette

• Specific Media Type: Photographic Print

• Specific Media Type: Photomechanical Print