Fred Korematsu

Fred Korematsu was a welder who lost his job after the attack on Pearl Harbor when the Boilermakers Union expelled all Japanese American members. Korematsu decided to resist the mass removal orders, and planned to leave the state. On May 30, 1942, Korematsu was arrested for violating the exclusion order after failing to report to Tanforan Assembly Center. When Korematsu was contacted by an ACLU lawyer looking for a test case, he decided to fight the evacuation order. Korematsu lost his Supreme Court case in 1944. In the early 1980s, his case was reopened after the discovery of a crucial document indicating that in the original 1944 case, the federal government had lied to the high court. The conviction was vacated by U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel in 1983.

World War II (283)
Resistance and dissidence (97)
Supreme Court cases (16)
Fred Korematsu (85)

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85 items

vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 28 (ddr-densho-1000-113-28)

A case for vindication, not money, power of coalition as community comes together seeking redress at the same time

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-113-28/

vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 27 (ddr-densho-1000-113-27)

Explanation of legal procedure used in reopening case, writ of error coram nobis, assessing the risks, and support from the community

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-113-27/

vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 35 (ddr-densho-1000-113-35)

Supportive Japanese American community provides financial and emotional support for legal team and also appreciation for long-awaited vindication

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-113-35/

vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 26 (ddr-densho-1000-113-26)

Opportunity to work on "a case of a lifetime," meeting the "cultural icon" Fred Korematsu

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-113-26/

vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 30 (ddr-densho-1000-113-30)

Formation of the original legal team, "a very personal case to all of us"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-113-30/

vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 25 (ddr-densho-1000-113-25)

Explanation of Korematsu v. US (1944), and of new, powerful evidence instigating the reopening of the case

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-113-25/

vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 29 (ddr-densho-1000-113-29)

Taking on the case with optimism, "We had no idea what we were getting into"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-113-29/

vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 34 (ddr-densho-1000-113-34)

Government offers a pardon, Fred Korematsu stands firm and refuses to accept: "Why should I accept a pardon? ... I should be pardoning the government"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-113-34/

vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 39 (ddr-densho-1000-113-39)

Life after Korematsu: teaching law, community involvement, passing on lessons of tolerance and social responsibilities to children

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-113-39/

vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 38 (ddr-densho-1000-113-38)

Lessons learned from work on Korematsu: critical perspective of the law, value of coalition work, and importance of being a good lawyer

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-113-38/