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In the matter of the application of Thomas A. Jenkins, Edward W. Latchem, E. F. Dicks, Henry Biddiscombe, Henry Harris, Simon Hendrickson, Carl Jacobs, George Vinski, Walter Wolski for a writ of Habeas Corpus

December 1, 1917 - October 1, 1918

Petitioned on August 30, 1918

Filed before the US District Court for the Omaha Division of the District of Nebraska (Omaha, Nebraska)

Case ID: hc.case.ne.1512

Case Summary

In December 1917, several dozen people were accused of having conspired to violate the Espionage Act earlier that year and jailed to await a grand jury hearing the following April. Bail was set at $5,000. In August 1918, nine individuals petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that they were still being detained despite never having been indicted. The respondents countered that the April 1918 term of the court was still ongoing and therefore the confinement was legal, adding that none of them had posted bail. After hearing the evidence, the writ was denied and the nine petitioners remanded to the custody of their jailers.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

  • Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

  • Conspiracy to violate the espionage act

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: Law Dockets, 1912-1938, Vol. 3: Sep 7, 1916 - May 6, 1919, p. 200; 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: Law Case Files, 1912-1938, No. 700

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 11 and 20 pages

Repository(s)

State

  • Nebraska

Point(s) of law cited

Section 37 Code of the Revised Statutes of the United States (Espionage Act)

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 Thomas A. Jenkins, Edward W. Latchem, E. F. Dicks, Henry Biddiscombe, Henry Harris, Simon Hendrickson, Carl Jacobs, George Vinski, Walter Wolski for a 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.1512

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