Case Summary

On August 21st, 1917, Harry Davis and Morris (or George) Meyer stole 161 men's suits from Moon Clothing Co. in Onawa, Iowa. The duo stashed their stolen goods at the house of Frank Kellerman at 2636 Franklin Street in Omaha, Nebraska. While several men witnessed the pair of thieves store the boxes in the basement, no one knew what the two were scheming, and the burglars refused to disclose what they had in the boxes. Davis and Morris attempted to sell their products to Max Sundheiner, a local merchant; however, Sundheimer refused to purchase the goods as he was suspicious of how the suits had been acquired. He tipped off the police and distanced himself from the two men. Sometime between the heist and September 6th of the same year, Davis and Morris were caught by the Omaha police and detained under an arrest order issued by the Governor of Nebraska in compliance with a request from the Governor of Iowa. The two burglars each filed a petition for a writ of Habeas Corpus. Morris argued that he had not left Omaha, Nebraska, for over twenty years, which, in turn, would have made his involvement in the heist impossible. He also claimed that because the executive warrant for his arrest was issued without any prior investigation, his arrest was unconstitutional as both a Nebraska and US citizen. The judge, however, did not agree with his argument and denied his writ of Habeas Corpus. Meyer and his attorney attempted to appeal the case in the Supreme Court of Nebraska following their defeat. The appeal was permitted, and the petitioning party began to work on their case. They were granted an extension in March of 1918 to prepare and file Bill of Exceptions. Despite their efforts and nearly two years of being on trial, the Supreme Court of Nebraska ruled against Morris on April 15th, 1919, and affirmed the decision of the lower court. Morris remained in custody for his crime.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

• Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

• Burglary

Sites of significance

• Omaha City Jail (Omaha, Nebraska)

Outcome

Writ denied

Fate of bound party

Remained in 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. 667; Douglas County District Court, Omaha, NE, RG230: Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Reel 75: Doc. 19-611 to 19-708, Aug. 14, 1917 - Oct. 2, 1917, No. 19-667

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 41 and 50 pages

Related petitions

• In the matter of the application of Harry Davis for a writ of Habeas Corpus

Repository(s)

• Douglas County District Court (Omaha, Nebraska)

State

• Nebraska

Tag(s)

• Appeal

People

• Meyer, Morris (George Morris) (petitioner)
• Meyer, Morris (George Morris) (bound party)
• Monsky, Henry (petitioner attorney)
• Dempsey, Michael F. (responding party)
• Dempsey, Michael F. (holding party)
• Martin, George W. (responding party)
• Martin, George W. (holding party)
• Wakeley, Arthur C. (judge)
• Sears, Willis G. (judge)
• Dunn, Henry W. (responding party)
• Newby, Miles W. (responding party)

• Additional parties

  Harding, W. L. (Governor of Iowa)

  Davis, Harry (accused burglar)

  Neville, Keith (Governor of Nebraska)

  Levey, Ross (notary public)

  Danbaum, B. F. (city detective)

  Kellerman, Frank (witness)

  Gossick, Max (witness)

  Moon, Ole A. (burglary victim)

  Van Dusen, Chase (detective)

  Dunn, Jonathon (detective)

  Jolly, Pete (detective)

  Sundheiner, Max (merchant, witness)

  Elliott, J. M. (clerk)

  Anderson, J. M. (Iowa District Judge)

  Smith, Robert (clerk)

  Magney, George A. (county attorney)

  Sheere, Jr., Asel (deputy)

  Clark, Michael L. (sheriff)

  Welch, P. J. (deputy)

  Morrisey, Andrew M. (Chief Justice of Nebraska Supreme Court)

  Lindsay, H. B. (clerk)

  Greene, C. F. (deputy)