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Dennis H. Cronin, U. S. Marshal, et al., Appellants, vs. Mary Pierce

June 17, 1924 - February 18, 1926

Petitioned on November 19, 1924

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

Filed before the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Omaha, Nebraska)

Case ID: hc.case.ne.1538

Case Summary

On July 9, 1924, Mary Pierce was sentenced by Judge John McGee to 6 months in the Dodge County Jail for violating the National Prohibition Act after selling alcohol at a restaurant (the address was 1004 South 13th Street, Omaha, Nebraska). On November 19, 1924, she filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and argued that she should be discharged after serving three months because the cumulative sentences imposed upon her did not specify the order in which she needed to serve them. On November 24, 1924, the writ was allowed, and the judge ordered her release from police custody on November 28, 1924. On April 9, 1925, the respondent’s application to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit was approved. On January 30, 1926, the decision of the lower court was reversed, and Chief Justice William Taft remanded Mary to the custody of the respondents. The higher court also referred to the Cronin vs. William J. Fox decision.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

  • Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

  • Unlawful sale of intoxicating liquor

Sites of significance

Outcome

Writ denied

Fate of bound party

Remained in custody

Case Citation

National Archives at Kansas City, 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. 8: Oct 10, 1924-Dec 17, 1925, pp. 43-44; National Archives at Kansas City, 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. 1672

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 31 and 40 pages

Related petitions

Repository(s)

State

  • Nebraska

Point(s) of law cited

U.S. Const. amend. V.|No. 6921, Cronin, U.S. Marshal, et al., vs. William J. Fox|National Prohibition Act|No. 3522 Criminal, United States of America, Plaintiff, vs. Mary Pierce, Defendant

Tag(s)

  • Appeal

People

Citation

Katrina Jagodinsky, Cory Young, Andrew Varsanyi, Laura Weakly, Karin Dalziel, William Dewey, Erin Chambers, Greg Tunink. “Dennis H. Cronin, U. S. Marshal, et al., Appellants, vs. Mary Pierce.” 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.1538

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