Legal cases/coram nobis cases

Coram nobis cases refer to the 1980s attempt to reverse the World War II-era convictions of Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu and Minoru Yasui, who challenged the constitutionality of the curfew and exclusion orders. The Supreme Court had upheld their convictions on the basis of military necessity. In the early 1980s, researcher Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig and legal historian Peter Irons discovered declassified documents verifying that the government had withheld information showing that there was no military necessity in the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans. Soon after, legal teams were assembled and identical coram nobis petitions were filed in three separate federal district courts on behalf of Hirabayashi, Korematsu, and Yasui. All three wartime convictions were subsequently vacated.

Redress and reparations (954)
Legal cases/coram nobis cases (204)

Related articles from the Densho Encyclopedia :
Frank Chuman, Coram nobis cases, Charles Fahy, Final Report, Japanese Evacuation from the West Coast, 1942 (book), Marilyn Hall Patel

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204 items
Peter Irons Interview II Segment 24 (ddr-densho-1000-127-24)
vh Peter Irons Interview II Segment 24 (ddr-densho-1000-127-24)
Gordon Hirabayashi's conviction is vacated in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, decision is made to not take the case to the Supreme Court
Peter Irons Interview II Segment 23 (ddr-densho-1000-127-23)
vh Peter Irons Interview II Segment 23 (ddr-densho-1000-127-23)
Gordon Hirabayashi's case in Seattle federal court, "a partial victory"
Peter Irons Interview II Segment 25 (ddr-densho-1000-127-25)
vh Peter Irons Interview II Segment 25 (ddr-densho-1000-127-25)
Legacy of the coram nobis cases and the incarceration: "the internment ... affected everybody in the country because it was done by the American government."
Peter Irons Interview II Segment 17 (ddr-densho-1000-127-17)
vh Peter Irons Interview II Segment 17 (ddr-densho-1000-127-17)
Dealing with various issues, e.g. redress movement, Japanese American Citizens League, publicity, information leaks
Peter Irons Interview II Segment 18 (ddr-densho-1000-127-18)
vh Peter Irons Interview II Segment 18 (ddr-densho-1000-127-18)
Filing petition for writ of error coram nobis, assigned Judge Marilyn Hall Patel
Peter Irons Interview II Segment 5 (ddr-densho-1000-127-5)
vh Peter Irons Interview II Segment 5 (ddr-densho-1000-127-5)
Attitude regarding legal profession, "...use the system to people's benefit..."
Peter Irons Interview II Segment 16 (ddr-densho-1000-127-16)
vh Peter Irons Interview II Segment 16 (ddr-densho-1000-127-16)
Initial meeting of the legal team: "One thing that impressed me was how well-organized everybody was"
Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig Segment 7 (ddr-densho-1000-16-7)
vh Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig Segment 7 (ddr-densho-1000-16-7)
Uncovering the past, locating the "tenth copy" of the original Final Report

This interview was conducted at the Voices of Japanese American Redress Conference, held on the UCLA campus and sponsored by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research. Because of the full conference schedule, our interviews …

Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig Segment 8 (ddr-densho-1000-16-8)
vh Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig Segment 8 (ddr-densho-1000-16-8)
Description of the "tenth copy" of the original Final Report

This interview was conducted at the Voices of Japanese American Redress Conference, held on the UCLA campus and sponsored by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research. Because of the full conference schedule, our interviews were limited …

Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig Segment 6 (ddr-densho-1000-16-6)
vh Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig Segment 6 (ddr-densho-1000-16-6)
Importance of the coram nobis cases to redress

This interview was conducted at the Voices of Japanese American Redress Conference, held on the UCLA campus and sponsored by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research. Because of the full conference schedule, our interviews were limited to one …

Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 28 (ddr-densho-1000-113-28)
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
Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 33 (ddr-densho-1000-113-33)
vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 33 (ddr-densho-1000-113-33)
Importance of public education campaign in conjunction with legal efforts, working with Fred Korematsu
Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 37 (ddr-densho-1000-113-37)
vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 37 (ddr-densho-1000-113-37)
Finally vindicated: a victory for Fred Korematsu, the legal team, and the entire Japanese American community
Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 36 (ddr-densho-1000-113-36)
vh Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 36 (ddr-densho-1000-113-36)
Original Supreme Court decision still stands: a continued threat to our civil liberties
Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 27 (ddr-densho-1000-113-27)
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
Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 26 (ddr-densho-1000-113-26)
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
Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 25 (ddr-densho-1000-113-25)
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
Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 29 (ddr-densho-1000-113-29)
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"
Lorraine Bannai Interview Segment 30 (ddr-densho-1000-113-30)
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"
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