Ex parte Johnson

Application for a writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner was arrested upon a warrant issued out of the Police Court of the city of Stockton, charging her with the offense of frequenting, for the purpose of prostitution, a house kept for the purpose of prostitution. The arrest was made under section 2 of an ordinance of the city of Stockton, approved May 2,1887, providing “that it shall be unlawful for any person to be or become an inmate of, or for the purpose of prostitution to frequent, any building, house, room, or place kept, conducted, occupied, or maintained for the purpose of prostitution.” The city of Stockton was organized under the act of March 13,1883, section 622 of which provides that the city council shall have power to prohibit and suppress houses of ill-fame. The further facts are stated in the opinion of the court.