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In the matter of the application of Martin D. Reilly and Christy Reilly for a writ of Habeas Corpus

April 24, 1924 - January 27, 1925

Petitioned on April 24, 1924

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

Case ID: hc.case.ne.1467

Case Summary

Martin D. Reilly and Christy Reilly, the petitioners, adopted Ruth Reilly in October of 1920 with a decree from the Juvenile Divison of the Circuit Court of New Madrid County, Missouri. Ruth Reilly was then unlawfully detained by Mrs. Elizabeth Reilly, Martin's mother, and Mrs. Ellen Dennett, his sister. Martin and Christy Reilly then filed a writ of Habeas Corpus is issued so they could possess sole custody of Ruth. Judge Leslie ordered the writ of Habeas Corpus to be allowed, and Martin and Christy Reilly were issued custody of Ruth in 1922. In 1923, Judge Day oversaw the case and approved the writ of Habeas Corpus, ordering Ruth to be returned to the custody of Martin and Christy Reilly. In 1924 the case is dismissed for want of prosecution. In 1924, Martin and Christy Reilly filed another petition before Judge Day and then Judge Fitzgerald stating that Elizabeth Reilly and Ellen Dennett continue to refuse to comply with the previous orders. Elizabeth Reilly and Ellen Dennett tell the court that they deny that the other Reillys' are the lawful parents of Ruth. Ellen and Elizabeth then claimed that they asked the other Reillys' to procure the adoption on their behalf and expected to have the exclusive custody of Ruth. Further, Ellen and Elizabeth claimed that the previous petitions in 1922 and 1923 were rejected and stated that they should continue to have exclusive custody of Ruth. In 1925 the cause was dismissed, and Ruth is living with her adoptive parents in the 1930 census.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

  • Interpersonal

Petition subtype(s)

  • Child custody

Outcome

Writ dismissed

Fate of bound party

Unknown

Case Citation

Douglas County (NE) Criminal Appearance Docket Books, Vol. 27: ca. Jan. 1924 - Jan. 1925, p. 152; RG230 Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Roll 120: 27-66 to 27-195, Feb. 20, 1924 - May 15, 1924, No. 27-152 (microfilm)

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 11 and 20 pages

Related petitions

Repository(s)

State

  • Nebraska

Tag(s)

  • Children

People

Citation

Katrina Jagodinsky, Cory Young, Andrew Varsanyi, Laura Weakly, Karin Dalziel, William Dewey, Erin Chambers, Greg Tunink. “In the matter of the application of Martin D. Reilly and Christy Reilly for a writ of Habeas Corpus.” Petitioning for Freedom: Habeas Corpus in the American West, 1812-1924, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://petitioningforfreedom.unl.edu/cases/item/hc.case.ne.1467

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