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In re Application of Nora Dixson, on Behalf of David Moore, for a Writ of Habeas Corpus

April 18, 1912 - May 21, 1912

Petitioned on May 6, 1912

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

Case ID: hc.case.ne.1103

Case Summary

Nora Dixson filed this petition on 6 May 1912. The petition stated that David Moore was being unlawfully deprived of his liberty by John Briggs (Chief of Police), James Sheehan (Chief of Detectives), Joseph Clark (Jailor for South Omaha), and William Corrigan (Jailor for South Omaha). The petition stated that Moore had been confined in the jail without an order of commitment or other process authorizing such detention, no complaint had been filed against him charging him of a crime, and that the arrest had been made without warrant or other process. Judge Willis G. Sears ordered that the writ be allowed. Chief of Police John Briggs and Chief of Detectives James Sheehan filed a return which stated that on 19 April 1912 Martha Widdis, a teacher in the Lincoln School, was on her way home carrying a handbag containing a small sum of money and a watch. At 22nd and I streets, she was “accosted by a colored man who snatched her handbag and ran south through the alley.” The man was seen entering the alley by John Walliker, who claims that the party he saw is the defendant and that he was wearing a white hat, but Miss Widdis stated with equal certainty that the man who snatched her purse was wearing a black hat. Mrs. Anna Peterson also saw the man running through the alley and stated that he “had the appearance” of Moore, but could not positively identify him. William Sires saw the man further on in the alley, Sires stated that he saw him take the contents from the handbag and then throw the bag into a small ravine. Like Mrs. Peterson, Mr. Sires stated that he “had the appearance” of Moore but also could not identify him positively. John Wade saw him coming out of the ravine after throwing away the handbag, but also could not identify him. Someone by the surname Altman stated that he had seen Moore on 18 April 1912 in the vicinity of 22nd and I streets. Detective Sheehan investigated the case and on 1 May 1912, was informed that David Moore had been seen on the afternoon of 19 April 1912 taking a watch, fitting the description of the one stolen from Miss Widdis, from his pocket. After this, Moore was placed in custody and had been retained in the city jail at South Omaha since that time. No complaint had been filed because the South Omaha Police thought the evidence was not sufficiently conclusive as to Moore’s identity and guilt. He was being held “as a suspicious character awaiting further development in the case.” On 9 May 1912, Judge A. L. Sutton ordered that Moore be given a proper trial within three days or be discharged from custody.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

  • Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

  • Suspicious character

Sites of significance

Outcome

Writ allowed

Fate of bound party

Unknown

Case Citation

Douglas County (NE) Criminal Appearance Docket Books, Vol. 15: ca.Oct. 1911 - March 1913, p. 268; RG230 Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Roll 49: Doc. 15-261 to 15-367, Apr. 29, 1912 - Aug. 31, 1912, No. 15-268 (microfilm)

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 11 and 20 pages

Repository(s)

State

  • Nebraska

People

Citation

Katrina Jagodinsky, Cory Young, Andrew Varsanyi, Laura Weakly, Karin Dalziel, William Dewey, Erin Chambers, Greg Tunink. “In re Application of Nora Dixson, on Behalf of David Moore, for a Writ of Habeas Corpus.” Petitioning for Freedom: Habeas Corpus in the American West, 1812-1924, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Accessed November 21, 2024. https://petitioningforfreedom.unl.edu/cases/item/hc.case.ne.1103

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