Case Summary

Lem You held the three bound parties in addition to 40-50 other Chinese women, all of whom he intended to sell. Wah Kim claimed that You was wrongfully imprisoning these three girls and filed a habeas petition on their behalf. Writ was granted for girls to be released "forthwith." You denied every allegation, even denying that the girls concerned were those that Wah Lee claimed. He claimed that the girls were in Omaha for the Trans-Mississippi Exposition to show Chinese customs. Witnesses were called. It appears that the three girls were placed into the sheriff's custody and designated to the care of a Dr. Wycoff. Unknown final result.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

• Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

• Prostitution

Outcome

Writ allowed

Fate of bound party

Unknown

Case Citation

RG230 Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 4: Criminal Appearance Docket Books, 1855-1900, Vol. 3: Pages 1-399, Nov. 1897 - Nov. 1898, p. 199 (microfilm); RG230 Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Box 7: Doc. 3-146 to 3-244, 1898-99, No. 3-199

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 21 and 30 pages

Related petitions

• In the matter of the application of Andrew J. Sawyer, United States District Attorney, for the District of Nebraska, Mee Lee Wah Village Company, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, Chin Tu Ling, Lee Shun and Look Fung, citizens of China, for a Writ of Habeas Corpus

Repository(s)

• History Nebraska (Lincoln, Nebraska)

State

• Nebraska

Tag(s)

• Children

People

• Rich, Edson (petitioner attorney)
• Fung, Look (Lun Yuk) (bound party)
• Tu Ling, Chin (Lun Teu) (bound party)
• Shun, Lee (Lun Kim) (bound party)
• You, Lem (holding party)
• You, Lem (respondent)
• Lee, Wah (petitioner)
• Hall, Richard Smith (respondent attorney)
• McCulloch, James H. (respondent attorney)

• Additional parties

  Soon, Yee (witness)

  Wong, Aloy (witness)

  McDonald, John H. (sherriff)

  Frank, Albyn L. (clerk)

  Miller, Geo L. (witness)

  Wyckoff, Mrs. Dr. L. J. (witness)

  Yu, Leo (witness)

  Loy, Wah (witness)

  Funke, Oscar F. (witness)

  Kin, Ah (witness)

  Rankin, Miss Lou (witness)

  Fong, Yung (witness)

  Wye Jim (witness)

  Fong, Ah (witness)

  Sling, Hong (witness)

  Sum, Lee (witness)

  Ling, Chin So (witness)

  Stryker, Geo B. (witness)

  You, Lem (witness)

  Wing, Lee (witness)