Summary Of A Case: Korematsu V. United States

620 Words3 Pages

Laura Richart
S. DioGuardi
Criminal Law & Procedure
22 September 2016
CJ2300 Assignment 1: Case Brief
Case: Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944)
Procedural History: Fred Korematsu was a Japanese- American who was sent to an internment camp following the enactment of Executive Order 9066 in 1942. This executive order required that all Japanese- Americans, some Italian- Americans, and some Jewish refugees be taken from their homes and placed in internment camps around the United States, with many being on the West Coast. This was in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor and was intended to prevent supposed espionage. Korematsu refused to transfer from the original camp in Manzanar, CA that he was placed in and was arrested and …show more content…

Most of the people sent to internment camps were either born in the United States to legal immigrants, or people who had already become citizens. Fred Korematsu was born in the United States to a Japanese family who had been legal citizens for many years.

Holding: Korematsu was convicted of being in a military exclusion area after the date of his transfer. However, it has been argued that there were conflicting portions of Executive Order 9066. At one point, Japanese-Americans were told that they were not to leave the area where they lived and a curfew was imposed. It was during this time that the internment order was approved, and the argument is that they were unsure if they should stay (as they were told) or go (again, as they were told). Regardless of which order Korematsu followed, he was still in violation of at least one.

Rule: Executive Order 9066 was found to be constitutional based on the fact that we were at war, and that as a country, we have the right to defend our soil. It was believed that because the Japanese had already attacked the United States, there was imminent threat of further attacks, and of espionage or

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