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Seattle Municipal Archives Guide

Record Group: Municipal Court

Record Series: Police Court Docket Record of Liquor Cases

1917 -1926

10 volumes

Prohibition in Washington State began in 1916, three years before the U.S. Constitution was amended to outlaw the man ufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol on a national level. The state law was less draconian - county auditors we re allowed to grant permits to import limited amounts of alcohol - but was still widely violated. Bootleggers and rumrunners did a thr iving business supplying Washingtonians with illegal liquor, and many people built stills to manufacture their own. Unti l Prohibition was repealed in 1933, Seattle civic leaders cracked down on this activity to varying degrees. Mayor Hiram Gill was among the more severe, establishing a widely criticized "Dry Squad" to raid businesses and homes suspected of violating the b an. Separate Police Court docket summarizing cases related to illegal possession of alcohol prosecuted under municipal and s tate prohibition laws. Volumes contain information on both court cases and search warrants. Case information includes ca se number, blotter number, defendant name and address, defense attorney, bail, date and details of complaint, plea, and judgment. S earch warrant information includes date issued, date returned, officer's name, and items seized. Requests for search war rants seem to have decreased in the later years of this series.

Location:
Seattle Municipal Archives

Finding Aids:
Volume List
EAD Guide to the Seattle Police Court Liquor Records 1916-1926

Corporate Name Subjects:
Washington (State). Municipal Court (Seattle).

Topical Subjects:
Prohibition -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
Criminal Offenses
Law Enforcement

Geographical Subjects:
Seattle (Wash.)
Seattle