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.
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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.
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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.
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Points of Law Cited
- 1875 Constitution of the State of Nebraska 1
- Article 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution 1
- Article 1, Section 10 of the United States Constitution 1
- Article 1, Section 16 of the Nebraska State Constitution 1
- Article 1, Section 16 of the United States Constitution 1
- Article 2, Page 3145 of the Compiled Statutes of Nebraska for 1922 1
- Davis v. Burke, 179 U.S. 399 1
- Division 13, Article 2, Title 6, Chapter 190, Page 791 of the Sessions Laws of Nebraska for 1921 1
- Frank v. Mangum, 237 U.S. 309, 328 1
- Lower v. State, 109 Neb. 590 1
- Mathews v. State, 192 N.W. 966, 109 Neb. 613 1
- Nebraska State Constitution 1
- Seaton v. State, 109 Neb., 192 N.W. 501 1
- Section 1, Article 2, Chapter 182, Page 689 of the Session Laws of Nebraska for 1921 1
- Section 10248, Comp. St. Neb. 1922 1
- Section 6, Chapter 297, Page 951 of the Laws of Nebraska for 1921 1
- Section 8658 of the Revised Statutes of Nebraska for 1913 1
- Section 9152 of the Revised Statutes of Nebraska for 1913 1
- Section 9152, Rev. St. Neb. 1913 1
- U.S. Const. amend. V 1
- U.S. Const. amend. XIV, Section 9130 of the Revised Statutes of 1913 of the State of Nebraska 1
- U.S. Const. amend. V 1
- U.S. Const. art. I, § 10, para. 1. 1
- U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, para. 3. 1
- U.S. Const. art. IV, § 2, para. 2 1
People
- Hoyt, R. C. (clerk) 4
- Munger, Thomas C. 4
- Fenton, William D. 3
- Bayerlein, Frieda C. (notary public) 2
- Dort, Lloyd 2
- McClay, J. H. (deputy clerk) 2
- Priest, John M. (J. M. ) 2
- Spillman, O. S. 2
- Aldrich, Chester Hardy (justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court) 1
- Asa, C. M. (witness) 1
- Bahuaud, Julian (murder victim) 1
- Barnes, J. B. 1
- Begley, James T. 1
- Benson, Thomas P. (unspecified) 1
- Bird, Ernest (deputy sheriff) 1
- Bischof, A. A. (witness) 1
- Broady, J. C. (deputy sheriff) 1
- Brown, Norris (attorney) 1
- Buckridge, Tom (witness) 1
- Catron, Henry (witness) 1
- Clark, Michael L. (sheriff) 1
- Colby, (judge) 1
- Cole, A. G. (witness) 1
- Cole, Alson B. 1
- Cronin, D. H. (U.S. marshal) 1
- Davis, Clarence Alba 1
- Davis, Clarence Alba (attorney general of Nebraska) 1
- Davis, William C. (foreman) 1
- Dorsey, (judge) 1
- Du Teil, Bertha (deputy clerk) 1
- Du Teil, Bertha (notary public) 1
- Dunn, Lester L. 1
- Eiser, John M. (witness) 1
- Farrell, Cornelius (deputy clerk) 1
- Fischer, E. H. (sheriff) 1
- Fischer, E. H. (witness) 1
- Freichs, Theodore (witness) 1
- Fricke, E. A. (witness) 1
- Fricke, F. G. (witness) 1
- Fulriede, Mark (witness) 1
- Gardner, Edwin (witness) 1
- Goss, Charles A. (judge) 1
- Gottneid, Sidney J. (deputy clerk) 1
- Grammer, Vincent Allen (co-defendant) 1
- Gurley, (attorney) 1
- Harmon, N. J. (notary public) 1
- Hawxby, Fred G. 1
- Heinke, George H. (attorney) 1
- Hoeman, Freda (witness) 1
- Hoeman, Victor (witness) 1
- Ingoldsby, James G. V. 1
- Johnson, Hiram (governor of California) 1
- Jones, William H. 1
- Kavanaugh, O. G. (notary public) 1
- Keegan, F. R. (attorney) 1
- Koch, E. E. (clerk) 1
- Kopf, Joseph 1
- Kuse, Ed (witness) 1
- Kuse, F. C. (witness) 1
- Kuse, John (witness) 1
- Lambut, H. S. (unspecified) 1
- Lane, Ray (witness) 1
- Langford, R. L. (clerk) 1
- Leslie, Charles (judge) 1
- Livingston, D. W. (attorney) 1
- Long, George E. (witness) 1
- Marnell, R. O. (witness) 1
- Mathews, Mrs. W. V. (wife of petitioner) 1
- Mathews, Willard V. 1
- Matters, Thomas H. (co-defendant) 1
- McClay, J. (deputy clerk) 1
- McClung, J. C. (deputy U.S. marshal) 1
- McInich, M. S. 1
- McKelvie, S. R. (governor of Nebraska) 1
- Miller, John C. (clerk) 1
- Miller, Ray (witness) 1
- Morehead, John H. (governor of Nebraska) 1
- Morrissey, Andrew M. (chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court) 1
- Neff, Pat M. (governor of Texas) 1
- Nickerson, J. B. (deputy clerk) 1
- Nickerson, J. B. (deputy U.S. marshal) 1
- Pitzer, W. H. (witness) 1
- Quinton, C. D. (witness) 1
- Redick, (judge) 1
- Rein, Clifford L. (notary public) 1
- Rose, William B. (justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court) 1
- Rutledge, William G. 1
- Schnieder, Otto (witness) 1
- Shane, W. O. (witness) 1
- Shewell, James T. (witness) 1
- Smith, Ed P. (attorney) 1
- Smith, Robert (clerk) 1
- Stevenson, Julian (witness) 1
- Stickel, Walter L. (co-defendant) 1
- Stocker, A. E. (witness) 1
- Stough, Dale P. 1
- Sunderland, Ralph E. (co-defendant) 1
- Teten, Harvey (witness) 1
- Troup, (judge) 1
- Tyrrell, Frank M. 1
4 results
Download JSON Download CSVJoseph Kopf vs. William H. Jones, Sheriff of Nemaha County, Nebraska
- Earliest record date: September 18, 1913
- Petition type(s): Carceral: first degree murder | Carceral: fugitive from justice
- Petition outcome: Writ denied
- Fate of bound party: Remained in custody
In the matter of the application of Alson B. Cole for a writ of habeas corpus
- Earliest record date: January 14, 1920
- Petition type(s): Carceral: first degree murder
- Petition outcome: Writ dismissed
- Fate of bound party: Remained in custody
James G. V. Ingoldsby, Plaintiff v. W. T. Fenton, Warden State Penitentiary of the State of Nebraska, Defendant
- Earliest record date: June 16, 1922
- Petition type(s): Carceral: forgery | Carceral: uttering | Carceral: fugitive from justice
- Petition outcome: Writ denied
- Fate of bound party: Remained in custody
In the Matter of the Application of Willard V. Mathews for Writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: January 31, 1923
- Petition type(s): Carceral: embezzlement
- Petition outcome: Writ denied
- Fate of bound party: Remained in custody
