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Matter of Application of Emma Clifton for Habeas Corpus

November 16, 1892 - December 2, 1892

Petitioned on December 1, 1892

Filed before the Douglas County District Court (Omaha, Nebraska)

Case ID: hc.case.ne.0866

Case Summary

Petitioner Emma Clifton asserts that her children (Charles, Roy, and Clarice) were being unlawfully restrained of their liberty by Charles Clifton, Sr. in Douglas County. She explained that a court order from 16 November 1892, modified on 28 November 1892, assigned custody of the aformentioned children to her and that Charles Clifton refused to uphold this decree. Because of this, she asked for a writ of habeas corpus so that the children can be “discharged from said unlawful imprisonment.” The custody agreement was attatched to the court files as Exhibit A. This document finalized the divorce of Charles and Emma Clifton, concluded that Charles must pay allimony, and that the custody of the children shoul be assigned to Emma. Judge Scott ordered that the writ be allowed. On 2 December 1892, Judge Scott stated that the children were being unlawfully restrained and ordered that they be discharged from the custody of Charles Clifton.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

  • Interpersonal

Petition subtype(s)

  • Child custody

Outcome

Writ allowed

Fate of bound party

Released from custody

State

  • Nebraska

Tag(s)

  • Children

People

Source Materials

To acquire the complete case file, contact the repository via email and provide the case citation to request a print copy or digital scan of the original file. Reproduction service fees vary by repository. Tribal members, descendants of enslaved petitioners, and community constituents without professional or academic affiliation may contact Katrina Jagodinsky for assistance in securing case file scans.

Repository(s)

Case citation

History Nebraska, RG230 Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 2: General Index Books & Court Journals, Vol. 16: Oct. 31, 1892 - Dec. 14, 1892, pp. 586-7, 612; Douglas County District Court, Civil Appearance Docket Files, Project No. 45, Roll 491: Doc. 34-228 to 34-274, No. 34-274

If you are teaching, publishing, or presenting from this work, please cite this page.

Type of source(s)

Journal | Case File

Length of case file

Between 21 and 30 pages

Cite this page

If you are teaching, publishing, or presenting from this work, please cite this page as:

Katrina Jagodinsky, Cory Young, Andrew Varsanyi, Laura Weakly, Karin Dalziel, William Dewey, Erin Chambers, Greg Tunink. “Matter of Application of Emma Clifton for Habeas Corpus.” Petitioning for Freedom: Habeas Corpus in the American West, 1812-1924, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Accessed April 4, 2025. https://petitioningforfreedom.unl.edu/cases/item/hc.case.ne.0866

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