The Code of Criminal Procedure of the State of New York (New York Field Codes, 1850-1865)

Volume II of the New York Field Codes Series. These five volumes contain the complete texts of the law codes drafted for New York State by David Dudley Field and his colleagues during the years 1847 to 1865. They include Field's two procedural codes and three substantive codes. In 1847 the New York state legislature established two committees, one to "reduce into a written and systematic code the whole body of the law of this state," another to "revise, reform,simplify and abridge the rules and practice, pleadings, forms, and proceedings of the courts of record of this State." Both included David Dudley Field, a leading proponent of codification. These committees produced codes of civil and criminal procedure in 1850, a political code in 1860 and civil and penal codes in 1865. All of these were written for the most part by Field. Popularly known as the Field Codes, they were very influential, both in the United States and internationally.