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
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Filter by:
State
- Washington 6
- Nebraska 5
- Missouri 1
Petition Subtype
- Carceral: robbery 12
- Carceral: fugitive from justice 1
Court Name
- Douglas County District Court (Omaha Nebraska) 5
- King County Superior Court (Seattle Washington) 4
- St Louis County Law Commissioners Court (St Louis Missouri) 1
- Third Judicial District Court For The Territory Of Washington (Seattle Washington) 1
- Us District Court For The Western District Of Washington (Seattle Washington) 1
People
- Cudihee, Edward (Cudahee) 2
- Frater, Archibald Wanless 2
- Gordon, John B. 2
- Hanford, Cornelius Holgate 2
- McDonald, John W. 2
- McGraw, John Harte (J. A. McGraw) 2
- Murphy, John Francis 2
- Reets, August (Alleged Robbery Victim) 2
- Rivers, Claudius M. 2
- Scott, Cunningham R. 2
- Sickels, W. K. (Clerk) 2
- Steele, S. H. (Notary Public) 2
- Steele, Samuel H. (Steel) 2
- Welch, Robert (Notary Public) 2
- Campbell, Jason (complainant) 1
- Ahko, Louis (witness on behalf of the defendant) 1
- Allen, George (Hawkins' co-defendent in robbery case) 1
- Bachelor, J. C. 1
- Baker, Benjamin S. 1
- Bebish, (complainant) 1
- Bebout, Alvin Adams 1
- Becker, Louis 1
- Borchsenius, George V. (Clerk of US District Court of Alaska) 1
- Brennan, Thomas (witness) 1
- Brewer, Harry 1
- Brewer, Harry (Alleged Robbery Accomplice) 1
- Britt, C. W. 1
- Brown, Louise [Scott's girlfriend] 1
- Byrnes, John (City Jailor) 1
- Campbell, J. (witness) 1
- Carpenter, F. B. 1
- Christmann, Frank 1
- Clark, Michael L. [sheriff] 1
- Cline, Phillip (witness on behalf of the defendant) 1
- Colvin, John W. 1
- Conway, Ed [notary public] 1
- Crawford, J. P. (Deputy Clerk) 1
- Crompe, Joe (witness on behalf of the defendant) 1
- Daniel, Rees P. (Notary) 1
- Davis, Charles E. (Notary Public) 1
- Delbridge, Frank 1
- Dempsey, Michael F. (Police Captain) 1
- Dolan, Thomas (Hawkins' co-defendent in robbery case) 1
- Dore, 1
- Drake, James (clerk for US District Court) 1
- du Breuil, Louis 1
- Dunn, Henry W. (Chief of Police) 1
- Dunn, Ignatius J. 1
- Eberstein, Marshall 1
- Embleton, R. J. (victim in robbery case) 1
- Erickson, Ralph [allegedly robbed by Scott and Rogers] 1
- Felps, James A. 1
- Fenton, James E. 1
- Ferguson, William H. 1
- Fleharty, Harry B. 1
- Foster, Charles E. 1
- Frank, Albyn L. (clerk) 1
- Fuller, Melville (Chief Justice of the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals) 1
- Garner, Otto (witness on behalf of the defendant) 1
- Gordon, Samuel I. 1
- Gordon, T.W. (Clerk) 1
- Graham, Chas 1
- Greenwalt, Maurice (Morris) 1
- Grigsby, Melvin 1
- Halter, N.V. [deputy] 1
- Harbik, Joseph (witness) 1
- Hawkins, George 1
- Hayes, Thomas (witness) 1
- Holmes, M. M. (Clerk) 1
- Hopkins, R. M. (Clerk) 1
- Humes, Thomas J. (Judicial Witness) 1
- J. M. Nash (Witness) 1
- Jamieson, William Nicholas (Jameson) 1
- Jeffries, 1
- Jeffries, A. W. 1
- Johnson, Elmer (additional plaintiff) 1
- Johnson, W. H. 1
- Langley, James Weston 1
- Lee, Frank P. (Notary Public) 1
- Magney, A. George (County Attorney) 1
- Maloney, Steven (Chief of Detectives) 1
- McCorry, F. J.(Deputy) 1
- McGinn, John L. 1
- McNamara, T. M. 1
- McShane, Jr., Felix J. (F. J.) 1
- Milder, William (witness on behalf of the defendant) 1
- Miller, J. S. 1
- Mills, J. W. 1
- Monckton, F. D. (Clerk of US Circuit Court of Appeals) 1
- Moore, Alfred S. 1
- Moore, Frank E. (clerk) 1
- Mostyn, Patrick (witness) 1
- Mr. Liesch (witness on behalf of the State) 1
- Mr. Mahoney (Witness) 1
- Mr. Sharp (Witness) 1
- Mrs. Weiss, Fred F. (witness on behalf of the State) 1
- Myers, G. B. (Deputy Clerk) 1
- Myers, G. B. (Deputy) 1
- Oakley, Joseph (Alleged Accomplice in Robbery) 1
- Porter, Edward 1
12 results
Download JSON Download CSVHabeas Corpus in the matter of Wm. H. Ferguson
- Earliest record date: October 25, 1855
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery
- Petition outcome: Writ allowed
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
In the matter of the application of William Warden for writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: May 27, 1889
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery | Carceral: fugitive from justice
- Petition outcome: Unknown
- Fate of bound party: Custody transferred to third party
In the matter of the Application of J. F. Riley for a Writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: August 9, 1890
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery
- Petition outcome: Unknown
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
In the matter of the Application of G. P. Van Dyke for a writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: March 19, 1894
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery
- Petition outcome: Writ denied
- Fate of bound party: Remained in custody
In the matter of the application of Chas. Graham for a writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: August 29, 1894
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery
- Petition outcome: Writ dismissed
- Fate of bound party: Released from custody
In the Matter of the application of J. W. Mills for a writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: December 6, 1897
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery
- Petition outcome: Unknown
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
In the Matter of the application of Frank Delbridge and Edward Porter for a writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: July 26, 1898
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery
- Petition outcome: Unknown
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
In the matter of the application of George Hawkins for a Writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: January 23, 1901
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery
- Petition outcome: Writ allowed
- Fate of bound party: Released from custody
Habeas Corpus of Herbert Wolff against Edward Cudihee, Sheriff
- Earliest record date: May 20, 1914
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery
- Petition outcome: Unknown
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
Habeas Corpus of Harry Brewer against Edward Cudihee (Sheriff)
- Earliest record date: May 20, 1914
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery
- Petition outcome: Unknown
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
In the matter of the application of Maurice Greenwalt for a Writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: June 27, 1916
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery
- Petition outcome: Unknown
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
In the matter of Application of H. S. Scott and J. H. Rogers for writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: June 1, 1920
- Petition type(s): Carceral: robbery
- Petition outcome: Unknown
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
