Case Summary
In December 1903, W. L. Lafferty, an employee of the Kansas City-based L. B. Price Mercantile Company, was fined $50 for violating a Fremont, Nebraska city ordinance against peddling samples without first paying a fee to the city treasurer. When he did not pay, he was confined to the Dodge County jail. Lafferty petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court, arguing that his right to conduct interstate commerce had been violated. The City of Fremont responded that Lafferty erred in filing in federal court since he had not exhausted his remedies in state court, namely appeal. After hearing the evidence, Lafferty was remanded to the custody of his jailer.
Case Information
Petition type(s)
Petition subtype(s)
- Peddling without a license
- Refusal or inability to pay fine
- Municipal violation
Sites of significance
Outcome
Writ denied
Fate of bound party
Remained in custody
Case Citation
Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685 - 2009, U.S. District Court for the Omaha Division of the District of Nebraska, Series: Criminal Dockets, 1867-1959, Vol. N, p. 363; Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685 - 2009, U.S. District Court for the Omaha Division of the District of Nebraska. (2/27/1907- ), Series: Criminal Case Files, 1867-1983, Box 6, No. N-363
Source material(s)
Docket |
Case File
Length of case file
Between 31 and 40 pages
Repository(s)
State
Point(s) of law cited
Ex parte Royal, 117 U.S. 241|New York v. Eno, 155 U.S. 89|Pepke v. Cronin, 155 U.S. 100|In Re Wood, 140 U.S. 278|In Re Wood, 146, U.S. 241|Markuson v. Boucher, 175 U.S. 184|In Re Huse, 79 Fed. 305|Eaton v. State of West Virginia, 91 Fed. 760|United States v. McAleese, 95 Fed. 656|Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution|Ordinance No. 433 of the City of Fremont, Nebraska
