Case Summary

Mike Oumpo was an immigrant from Russia, having entered the United States in 1913. In 1917 Weber joined the IWW, a union organization. On January 16th, 1918, Tom Weber was arrested under a warrant issued by the U.S. Secretary of Labor, William B. Wilson, and was held for multiple months while his case was pending. The charges alleged were that he was an alien, he advocated for and taught the unlawful destruction of property, and that upon entering the country he was a likely public charge. On December 2nd, 1918, a petition for a writ of Habeas Corpus was filed stating among other things that he joined the IWW because he was told he would not obtain a job if he did not, that he had never destroyed property, and that a transcript of his hearing was never given to him. A return from the attorneys for the respondent states that the application does not include facts sufficient for a cause of action, does not show entitlement to relief, and that the court had no jurisdiction as the Secretary of Labor was yet to rule on the case. The fate of the petition is unknown, but the bound party was released from custody according to a hearing on deportation cases.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

• Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

• Immigration
• Advocating or teaching the unlawful destruction of property
• Violation of immigration act of 1917
• Public charge

Outcome

Unknown

Fate of bound party

Released from custody

Case Citation

RG21 US District Courts, Western District of Washington, Seattle, Records of the Northern Division, Case Files, 1890-1972, No. 4406

Source material(s)

Case File

Length of case file

Between 11 and 20 pages

Related petitions

• In the matter of the application of Frank Sulak, for a writ of Habeas Corpus

Repository(s)

• National Archives and Records Administration, Seattle Branch, Washington (Seattle, WA) (Seattle, Washington)

State

• Washington

Point(s) of law cited

U.S. Const. amend. V.

Tag(s)

• Labor organization
• I.w.w

People

• Oumpu, Mike (petitioner)
• Oumpu, Mike (bound party)
• White, Henry M. (holding party)
• White, Henry M. (respondent)
• Pierce, Ralph S. (petitioner attorney)
• Vanderveer, George F. (George T. Vanderveer) (petitioner attorney)
• Saunders, Robert C. (respondent attorney)
• Saunders, Robert C. (responding party)
• Moore, Ben L. (respondent attorney)
• Moore, Ben L. (responding party)
• Folsom Jr., H. D. (respondent attorney)
• Folsom Jr., H. D. (responding party)
• Neterer, Jeremiah (judge)

• Additional parties

  Harshberger, F. M. (Clerk); Leitch, D. E. (Deputy Clerk)