Case Summary

Bound parties Thomas Combs and Charles Ross were arrested for unlawfully collecting and removing garbage without a contract with the City of Omaha in 1901. They were ordered to pay a fine of $5, refused, and were detained; then, Henry Combs filed an application for Habeas Corpus on their behalf. When the case was heard in April of 1901, Judge Dickinson found that they were indeed legally confined as they violated the 4462 Ordinance, yet the first section of the Ordinance is void because it seeks to enforce a civil contract upon the City by the exercise of a criminal ordinance. Therefore, their writ for Habeas Corpus is approved, and while a bill of exceptions is filed the Nebraska Supreme Court affirms the judgment.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

• Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

• Unlawfully collecting and removing garbage, ashes, filth, and other refuse matter without a contract

Sites of significance

• Omaha City Jail (Omaha, Nebraska)

Outcome

Writ allowed

Fate of bound party

Released from custody

Case Citation

Douglas County District Court, Criminal Appearance Docket Books, Vol. 5: ca.1900 - 1901, p. 252; Douglas County District Court, RG230 Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Roll 6: Doc. 5-243 to 5-298, Apr. 23, 1901 - Oct. 24, 1901, No. 5-252 (microfilm)

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 51 and 75 pages

Related petitions

• In the matter of the application of James Nelson for a Writ of Habeas Corpus

Repository(s)

• History Nebraska (Lincoln, Nebraska)
• Douglas County District Court (Omaha, Nebraska)

State

• Nebraska

Point(s) of law cited

Ordinance 4462 of the City of Omaha, Sections 1, 3, & 11

Tag(s)

• Monopoly

People

• Iler, Daniel W. (holding party)
• Iler, Daniel W. (responding party)
• Combs, Henry (petitioner)
• Dickinson, Charles T. (judge)
• Ross, Charles (petitioner)
• Combs, Thomas (bound party)
• Dunn, Ignatius J. (respondent attorney)
• Keller , Charles B. (respondent attorney)

• Additional parties

  Burgner, Joshua D. (notary public)

  Broadwell, Frank A. (clerk)

  Steere, A. Jr. (deputy)

  Crawford, Bryce (police judge)

  Slabaugh, W. W. (signed as judge)