Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions. Collection is unprocessed but open for research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Lee County (Va.) Commonwealth Causes, 1880-1945. Local government records collection, Lee County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Lee County under accession 44298.

Historical Information

Lee County was named Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, governor of Virginia from 1791 to 1794. It was formed from Russell County in 1792. Part of Scott County was added in 1823. Its area is 438 square miles, and the county seat is Jonesville.

A significant number of loose records prior to 1860 including chancery and judgments are missing. They were probably destroyed when Union forces burned the courthouse in October 1863 during the Civil War. Most volumes including deed books, will books, and order books exist because a local judge removed them from the courthouse for safekeeping before the fire occurred.

Scope and Content

Lee County (Va.) Commonwealth Causes, 1880-1945, are criminal court cases and consist primarily of warrants, summons, and indictments handed down by grand juries and other legal authorities in order to prosecute individuals who violated the penal code. These offenses ranged in severity from assault and battery to larceny to murder.

Warrants were issued by grand juries, judges, and justices of the peace directing law enforcement officials to either arrest and imprison a person suspected of having committed a crime or to cause an individual to appear in court to answer accusations made against them. Peace warrants directing an offender to "keep the peace of the Commonwealth" or to restrain from any violent acts are commonly found in assault and battery cases.

Summonses were used to call a suspected person to appear in court. A summons could also be issued to direct witnesses or victims to come before the court in order to provide evidence or information deemed pertinent to a case.

An indictment is the official, written description of the crime that an accused individual is suspected of committing, which is approved by a grand jury and presented to a court in order to begin legal proceedings. Due to this process, indictments are often referred to as "presentments."

Related Material

Additional Lee County Court Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Lee County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans--History.
• Assault and battery--Virginia--Lee County.
• Crime--Virginia--Lee County.
• Criminals--Virginia--Lee County.
• Larceny--Virginia--Lee County.
• Libel and slander--Virginia--Lee County.
• Murder--Virginia--Lee County.
• Rape--Virginia--Lee County.
• Tax evasion--Virginia--Lee County.

Geographical Names:

• Lee County (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Indictments--Virginia--Lee County.
• Local government records--Virginia--Lee County.
• Summons--Virginia--Lee County.
• Verdicts--Virginia--Lee County.
• Warrants (Law)--Virginia--Lee County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data