n.a legal action to recover property, including public records, that has been improperly or illegally taken from the owning or custodial entityNorton 1945, 8Another legal aspect of archives is the power of replevin. All governments have laws permitting the seizure of public records found in private hands.O’Neill 1979, 26However, when the property involved consists of manuscripts with significant historical or monetary value, and certainly when such an action is brought by a government, replevin can become a matter of concern for librarians and archivists.Bain 1983, 162REPLEVIN. The statutes or code gives the state authority for legally recovering a public record unlawfully out of the public custody.Behrnd-Klodt 2008, 168Replevin is a type of legal action employed to recover personal property from one who has taken it wrongfully or who holds it unlawfully.Behrnd-Klodt 2008, 168The process [of replevin] is used most frequently by individuals to recover personal property; however, interest in and increased awareness of the value of historical records has encouraged state and federal public archives and government agencies to use replevin when applicable to recover missing public records.CSA 2010California’s Replevin Law (Gov’t. Code Section 6204) enables state and local government agencies to recover public records that are “in the possession of a person, organization, or institution not authorized by law to possess that record” and authorizes the State Archivist and Secretary of State to take specified actions to recover records. “Replevin” means an action for recovering goods wrongfully taken or detained.Danielson 2010, 256The archives will need to assert ownership over records illegally removed from its holdings. Replevin actions, as they are know, can be contentious.
