Courts

Abstract: These records include the original William Marsh Rice murder trial records, and the estate records of Rice, founder of Rice Institute, now Rice University. These records relate to the formation of the idea of the Rice Institute and the activities of its first Board of Trustees in the years before Mr. Rice’s death and to the Institute’s formative years just after his death. The outcomes of the legal proceedings documented in these records, which related to significant financial resources and...

Overview These records reflect the court proceedings of and alumni and public response to Rice Institute's Charter trial of 1964 and later appeals and judgments. The lawsuit was brought by the Rice Institute Trustees seeking to alter the Institute's original charter to allow admission of students of color and to enable the school to charge tuition. Additional changes to the charter in 1982 and 1998 relating to structure of the board of trustees and the university's legal ability to borrow money are also...