Skip to main content

In the matter of application of Agnes Marshall for writ of Habeas Corpus

August 13, 1919 - January 30, 1920

Petitioned on August 13, 1919

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

Case ID: hc.case.ne.1252

Case Summary

On August 9, 1919, Agnes Marshall was arrested without a warrant at No. 1613 North 16th Street, where she says she was working caring for a woman named Mrs. Ashmore. She was taken to the city jail until she paid a bail of $300. After she did, the police judge demanded that she be released, but the head matron at the detention home where she was being held, Alta Burger, refused to let her go until she had been tested for venereal disease. This indicates that Marshall was originally arrested for prostitution, despite it not being explicitly said in the case. However, Marshall refused to be tested unless her doctor was present. Therefore, on August 13, 1919, Marshall filed a writ of habeas corpus against Burger. While the petition was allowed, the case was eventually dismissed for want of prosecution on January 30, 1920, with Marshall responsible for paying all costs. Newspaper coverage indicates Marshall was arrested for vagrancy and applied for habeas along with Mamie Allen and Ruth Mathews.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

  • Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

  • Vagrancy
  • Inmate of ill-governed house

Sites of significance

Outcome

Writ allowed

Fate of bound party

Dismissed

Case Citation

Douglas County District Court, Omaha, NE, RG230: Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series: Criminal Appearance Docket Books, Vol. 21: ca. 1919, p. 471; Douglas County District Court, Omaha, NE, RG230: Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Reel 85: Doc. 21-342 to 21-471, Jun. 26, 1919 - Aug. 13, 1919, No. 21-471

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 6 and 10 pages

Related petitions

Repository(s)

State

  • Nebraska

Tag(s)

  • Prostitution
  • Institutionalization

People

Citation

Katrina Jagodinsky, Cory Young, Andrew Varsanyi, Laura Weakly, Karin Dalziel, William Dewey, Erin Chambers, Greg Tunink. “In the matter of application of Agnes Marshall for 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.1252

Back to top