Case Summary

Carrie Schastale filed this petition asserting that Sister Florida was being unlawfully deprived of her liberty by Sister Holdwig And St. Joseph Hospital in Douglas County, NE. “Sister Florida,” whose real name was unknown, was 14 or 15 years old at the time of the petition. She entered the institution for short-term care but was being held against her will for over a year, she was being deprived of her natural rights to “go and come” from the institution. Schastale filed the petition on behalf of “Sister Florida” because she was detained and unable to apply for the writ on her own. On 16 July 1914, Judge Sutton ordered that the writ be allowed.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

• Institutional

Petition subtype(s)

• Child custody

Sites of significance

• St. Joseph Hospital (Omaha, Nebraska)

Outcome

Writ allowed

Fate of bound party

Unknown

Case Citation

Douglas County District Court, Criminal Appearance Docket Books, Vol. 17: ca.1914-1915, p. 207; Douglas County District Court, RG230 Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Roll 59: Doc. 117-146 to 17-254, Jun. 4, 1914 - Aug. 31, 1914, No. 17-207 (microfilm)

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 6 and 10 pages

Repository(s)

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

State

• Nebraska

Tag(s)

• Children

People

• Schastale, Carrie (petitioner)
• Florida, Sister (bound party)
• Holdwig, Sister (holding party)
• Magney, George A. (respondent attorney)
• Fitch, F. W. (petitioner attorney)
• Sutton, Abraham L. (judge)

• Additional parties

  McShane, Felix J. (Sheriff)

  Cassidy, Ed L. (Deputy Sheriff)

  Smith, Robert (Clerk)

  Fitch, F. W. (Notary Public)