Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Korematsu v. US

Case Name: Korematsu v. United States

Year:

Result: 6-3, favor United States

Related Constitutional Issue/Amendment: Amendment V, Amendment XIV

Civil Rights or Civil Liberties: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Significance/Precedent: The Supreme Court ruled that it was legal for the United States to discriminate against Japanese Americans during World War II in order to maximize national safety and security. Korematsu's rights and the rights of all Japanese Americans were not as important as the nation as a whole. Japanese Americans were denied due process.

Quote from Majority Opinion: "Citizenship has its responsibilities, as well as its privileges, and, in time of war, the burden is always heavier...when, under conditions of modern warfare, our shores are threatened by hostile forces, the power to protect must be commensurate with the threatened danger."

Summary of the Dissent: The dissent believed that this was clear and unconstitutional discrimination against Japanese Americans. They believed that discriminating against Japanese Americans was not permissible and that the government was violating their rights.
Quote: "...it is the case of convicting a citizen as a punishment for not submitting to imprisonment in a concentration camp, based on his ancestry, and solely because of his ancestry, without evidence or inquiry concerning his loyalty and good disposition towards the United States."

Six-word Summary: Compelling reason to imprison Japanese Americans



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