Cases
Habeas petitions described a broad range of carceral, institutional, and interpersonal confinement over the long nineteenth century, including those used to demand due process, resist enslavement, challenge child removal and reservation confinement, avoid deportation, present child custody claims and protest child marriage, and to challenge institutionalization and detention in private and state institutions. As a legal mechanism borrowed from British common law and guaranteed as a civil right in US federal and state constitutions, habeas provides a lens on a diverse community of legal actors.
Our encoding practice allows us to identify petitions in these three categories and to indicate where those categories overlap. In addition to these three general categories, our team has identified the specific carceral charge being challenged as well as the particular forms of institutional and interpersonal confinements being questioned.
You may also browse or search petitions by location and/or jurisdiction to learn more about the myriad complaints petitioners brought before judges in Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, and Washington between 1812 and 1924. Each case entry includes a full citation, a summary, links to people with a role in the case, a list of other people named, and any sites of significance. Visitors wanting access to full case files can contact the cited repository for information about obtaining copies. Those without institutional affiliations may request image scans from Dr. Jagodinsky directly. The Glossary defines the attributes used to structure data from the habeas petitions. The Code Book explains the relational structure of the data and functionality of the database website.
Featured story: The Habeas Corpus and Divorce Proceedings of Katie Mayes
Basic Search
Simply enter the word you wish to find and the search engine will search for every instance of the word in the journals. For example: Fight. All instances of the use of the word fight will show up on the results page.
Wildcard Searches
Using an asterisk (*) will increase the odds of finding the results you are seeking. For example: Fight*. The search results will display every instance of fight, fights, fighting, etc. More than one wildcard may be used. For example: *ricar*. This search will return most references to the Aricara tribe, including Ricara, Ricares, Aricaris, Ricaries, Ricaree, Ricareis, and Ricarra. Using a question mark (?) instead of an asterisk (*) will allow you to search for a single character. For example, r?n will find all instances of ran and run, but will not find rain or ruin.
Capitalization
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Phrase Search
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Subsequent Searches
Because of the creative spellings used by the journalists, it may be necessary to try your search multiple times. For example: P?ro*. This search brings up numerous variant spellings of the French word pirogue, "a large dugout canoe or open boat." Searching for P?*r*og?* will bring up other variant spellings. Searching for canoe or boat also may be helpful.
Filter by:
Petition Subtype
- Carceral: municipal violation 5
- Carceral: peddling without a license 4
- Carceral: refusal or inability to pay fine 2
- Carceral: contempt of court 1
- Carceral: selling samples without a license 1
Court Name
- Us District Court For The Omaha Division Of The District Of Nebraska (Omaha Nebraska) 2
- Douglas County District Court (Omaha Nebraska) 1
- Nebraska Supreme Court (Lincoln Nebraska) 1
- Us Circuit Court For The Omaha Division Of The District Of Nebraska (Omaha Nebraska) 1
- Us District Court For The North Platte Division Of The District Of Nebraska (North Platte Nebraska) 1
Points of Law Cited
- Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution 1
- Chapter 21 of the Revised Ordinances of the Village of Bayard, Nebraska, passed and approved June 26, 1917 1
- Eaton v. State of West Virginia, 91 Fed. 760 1
- Ex parte Royal, 117 U.S. 241 1
- In Re Huse, 79 Fed. 305 1
- In Re Wood, 140 U.S. 278 1
- In Re Wood, 146, U.S. 241 1
- Markuson v. Boucher, 175 U.S. 184 1
- New York v. Eno, 155 U.S. 89 1
- Ordinance No. 433 of the City of Fremont, Nebraska 1
- Pepke v. Cronin, 155 U.S. 100 1
- United States v. McAleese, 95 Fed. 656 1
- U.S. Const. art. IV, § 2. 1
People
- Hoyt, R. C. (clerk) 2
- Lynch, Francis J. 2
- Munger, William H. 2
- Abbott, C. E. 1
- Baker, Benjamin S. 1
- Chase, Mrs. C. H. (customer, witness) 1
- Cook, J. C. 1
- Daugherty, Edward E. 1
- Day, George A. 1
- Dundy, Jr., Elmer Scipio (clerk) 1
- Dunn, Henry W. 1
- Edwards, W. A. (merchant) 1
- F. A. (deputy clerk) 1
- Flynn, Thomas J. (U.S. marshal) 1
- Foster, Charles E. 1
- Hein, Mrs. Christ (witness) 1
- Hollanbeck, Frank (witness) 1
- Hunt, G. J. 1
- Kent, John E. (witness) 1
- Knoppf, Mrs. Simon (witness) 1
- Kreader, Mrs. (witness) 1
- Kunkle, Adam (complainant) 1
- Lafferty, W. L. 1
- Lathrop, Orrin J. 1
- Lindsey, A. 1
- Marquis, H. M. (notary public) 1
- Matz, Anna (witness) 1
- McDonald (Witness for the state); Smith, Robert (Clerk); McShane, F. J. Jr. (Sheriff); 1
- McGuire, T. J. 1
- McHugh, William D. 1
- Monohon, William C. 1
- Moore 1
- Morrissey, Andrew Marcus 1
- Mulcahy, Bertram M. 1
- Neighbors, T. F. 1
- Nichols, Fred T. (solicitor) 1
- Nickerson, J. B. (deputy U.S. marshal) 1
- Peterson, H. P. 1
- Peterson, N. (notary public) 1
- Phelps, C. J. 1
- Proctor, J. H. (deputy U.S. marshal) 1
- Prosser, George E. (deputy clerk) 1
- Scoville, John 1
- Selicow, Max 1
- Smith, L. C. 1
- Stein, Hyman M. 1
- Stiles, G. F. (witness) 1
- Teitge, Fred (witness) 1
- Thummel, George M. (clerk) 1
- Van Housen, Oliver 1
- von Dorn, J. E. 1
- Wacha, Mrs. Thomas (witness) 1
- Warren, William P. (U.S. marshal) 1
- Webb, Archie M. 1
- White, Mrs. W. W. (witness) 1
- Woodrough, Joseph William 1
- Woods, Mrs. O. G. (witness) 1
- Zentunger, Miles (notary public) 1
5 results
Download JSON Download CSVIn the Matter of the Application of William C. Monohon for a writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: July 11, 1894
- Petition type(s): Carceral: selling samples without a license | Carceral: municipal violation | Carceral: peddling without a license
- Petition outcome: Unknown
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
In the matter of the application of W. L. Lafferty by his attorney Francis J. Lynch for a writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: December 10, 1903
- Petition type(s): Carceral: peddling without a license | Carceral: refusal or inability to pay fine | Carceral: municipal violation
- Petition outcome: Writ denied
- Fate of bound party: Remained in custody
In the matter of the application of Hyman M. Stein for a Writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: June 19, 1907
- Petition type(s): Carceral: peddling without a license | Carceral: contempt of court | Carceral: municipal violation
- Petition outcome: Writ allowed
- Fate of bound party: Released from custody
In the matter of the petition of Max Selicow
- Earliest record date: February 23, 1916
- Petition type(s): Carceral: municipal violation
- Petition outcome: Writ denied
- Fate of bound party: Remained in custody
In the matter of the Petition of Bertram Mulcahy for Writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: June 6, 1919
- Petition type(s): Carceral: peddling without a license | Carceral: refusal or inability to pay fine | Carceral: municipal violation
- Petition outcome: Unknown
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
