The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 2, July 1898 - April, 1899 Page: 35

Development of the Texas Judicial System. 35
.of Coahuila and Texas, as published authoritatively in Texas in
1839, appears this title:
"DECREE NO. 39.
"LAW FOR THE REGULATION OF JUSTICE."
Neither text nor date appears. The next preceding decree is
dated June 20, 1827, and the next succeeding June 22, 1827. Ref-
erences to this decree in other portions of the laws of Cooahuila
show it to have been an enactment of some length, evidently de-
signed to meet the conditions in the Mexican portion of the State
rather than in Texas.
On April 13, 1834, was passed Decree No. 277, commonly known
as the "Chambers Jury Law." It comprised an hundred and forty
articles, extending from page 254 to page 270 of the Laws and
Decrees of Coahuila and Texas. It is extremely interesting and in-
structive, but its length forbids its reproduction. Its title and
preamble are -as follows:
"DECREE NO. 277.
"The Constitutional Congress of the free, independent and sov-
ereign State of Coahuila and Tlexas, desirous to provide for the
happiness and prosperity of their constituents, and to comply 'with
the obligation imposed upon them by the 192nd article -of the con-
stitution, decree the following:
"A plan for the better regulation of the administration of justice
in Texas."
The article of the Constitution referred to is the one quoted
above.
'This act was to be operative in connection with 'the constitution,
and the courts provided by it were to be subordinate to the Su-
preme Court. So the Texas system, after its passage, consisted of
the Supreme Court of Coahuila and 'Texas, as created by the Con-
stitution and statutory courts provided for by this act.
These statutory courts consisted of, first, a superior court 'of
Texas, to be presided over by a superior judge, with a circuit com-