Court of Criminal Appeals

*Notes in this research guide were derived from the resources listed on the Historical Resources page of this guide and The Greenbook: Texas Rules of Form, 14th edition.

Brief History on the Court of Criminal Appeals (formerly the Court of Appeals, 1876-1892)

The Court of Appeals was created by the 1876 Constitution to relieve the Supreme Court of some of its caseload. When it was created, it had appellate jurisdiction in all criminal cases and in civil cases tried by the county courts. However, only the opinions in the criminal cases were officially reported. In 1891, a constitutional amendment removed its civil jurisdiction and renamed it to the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Case Reporters for the Court of Criminal Appeals

1876-1892 — Texas Court of Appeals Reports (continued by Texas Criminal Reports)
Access: Available online. Also available in print at the State Law Library.
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Notes: In 1891, this set was replaced by Texas Criminal Reports, but the numbering is continuous between the two sets.
1876-1892 — White & Willson: Condensed reports of decisions in civil causes in the Court of Appeals
Access: Available in print at the State Law Library.
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Notes: The few civil cases decided by the old Texas Court of Appeals were never reported in full, but they were privately reported. Abridged versions of the cases are found in this 4-volume set. They are referred to collectively as "White & Willson", even though White only helped edit the first volume.
1892-1962 — Texas Criminal Reports (continues Texas Court of Appeals Reports)
Access: Available online (to 1922). Full set available in print at the State Law Library.
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Notes: The official reporter, Texas Court of Appeals Reports was renamed the Texas Criminal Reports, when the Court was changed to the Court of Criminal Appeals, but the volumes continued in the same numerical sequence, beginning with Vol. 31. Cases from Vol. 22 on also appear in the South Western Reporter. Texas Criminal Reports ceased publication in 1962.
1886-present — South Western Reporter
Access: Available in print at the State Law Library. Many cases from the South Western Reporter can be found in the online case law databases Fastcase (remote access), Westlaw, or Lexis Advance (in-library access only).
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Notes: Texas Court of Appeals Reports V.22 et seq. as well as Texas Reports V.66 et seq. are repeated in the South Western Reporter. Texas Cases Reported in South Western Reporter is published by Thomson-Reuters as a separate set which is available at the library up to the present.