Case Summary

On May 31st, 1917, Mike Jamamovich was arrested for the illegal possession of intoxicating liquers in Omaha. Following his arrest, Perry McD. Wheeler "pretended" to file a complaint against him as the self-designated acting city prosecutor for Omaha. Not only this, but McD. Wheeler failed to even sign the complaint before handing it off to H. Glen Meran, the self-designated acting police magistrate for Omaha. The two acting officials held a trial for Jamamovich in which he was testified against by witnesses who had not been sworn in or subscribed to the filed complaint. The trial resulted in a sentence of sixty days in county jail, which, the petitioner's defense argued, was far more excessive than the crime he had been charged for. Additionally, because neither McD. Wheeler or Meran had been officially designated by the mayor of Omaha to serve in either of their self-designated roles, they had no authority to try and sentence Jamamovich. Jamamovich filed for a writ of Habeas Corpus and presented these facts to the court in hopes of his freedom. After being heard by Judge Willis G. Sears, he was granted a writ of Habeas Corpus and released from police custody on June 4th, 1917.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

• Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

• Unlawful possession of intoxicating liquor

Sites of significance

• Douglas County Jail (Omaha, Nebraska)

Outcome

Writ allowed

Fate of bound party

Released from custody

Case Citation

Douglas County District Court, Omaha, NE, RG230: Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series: Criminal Appearance Docket Books, Vol. 19: ca.1916-1917, p. 507; Douglas County District Court, Omaha, NE, RG230: Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Reel 74: Doc. 19-473 to 19-611, May 7, 1917 - Aug. 21, 1917, No. 19-507

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 11 and 20 pages

Repository(s)

• Douglas County District Court (Omaha, Nebraska)

State

• Nebraska

People

• Jamamovich, Mike (petitioner)
• Jamamovich, Mike (bound party)
• Hannen, Emmett (petitioner attorney)
• Leigh, E. R. (petitioner attorney)
• Clark, Michael L. (responding party)
• Clark, Michael L. (holding party)
• Clayton, Sherman (responding party)
• Clayton, Sherman (holding party)
• Sears, Willis G. (judge)
• McD. Wheeler, Perry (authority ordering detention)

• Additional parties

  Anheuser, Fred W. (city prosecutor)

  Meran, H. Glen (acting police magistrate)

  Fitzgerald, James M. (police magistrate)

  Shucham, James (witness)

  Sullwrim, Milo (witness)

  Gleminy, Ed (witness)

  Rehinlhi, Gud. (witness)

  Steere, Jr., Asel (deputy)

  Smith, Robert (clerk)

  Magney, George A. (county attorney)