Case Summary
Ella Cammenzind, a prisoner in the Douglas County Jail, filed a writ of habeas corpus on January 3, 1919 against the Omaha chief of police, Marshall Eberstein, and the chief of detectives, John Dunn. However, when her attorney, J.B. Randolph, approached John Dunn in order to sign the writ of habeas corpus and talk about the case, he refused to meet with Randolph. Willis G. Sears granted her writ of habeas corpus, and Cammenzind was released on a $100 bail on January 4. An Omaha Daily Bee article indicates that she was accused of kidnapping her 16-year old stepdaughter, Mary Cammenzind, after which she sued for divorce, as well as a $20,000 alimony, against her husband, Charles, a Sioux County rancher. She had taken Mary from her home in Harrison, NE to Omaha on November 7. Ella alleged that Charles abused her and the child, but Charles and Mary said nothing about the matter. On April 1, 1919, district judge A.C. Troup refused to grant Ella's suit for divorce. During the trial, Charles alleged that Ella was the one who had physically intimidated him, and he had only retaliated. Charles also alleged that their marriage was invalid on religious grounds, since Ella had misrepresented herself as a widow when she was, in fact, divorced. If the Catholic Cammenzind had known this, he claimed, he would never have married her.
Case Information
Petition type(s)
Petition subtype(s)
Sites of significance
Outcome
Writ allowed
Fate of bound party
Released on bail
Case Citation
Douglas County District Court, Omaha, NE, RG230: Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series: Criminal Appearance Docket Books, Vol. 20: ca.1917-1919, p. 598; Douglas County District Court, Omaha, NE, RG230: Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Reel 81: Doc. 20-543 to 20-702, Jan. 2, 1919 - Jan. 29, 1919, No. 20-598
Source material(s)
Docket |
Case File
Length of case file
Between 6 and 10 pages
Repository(s)
State
