Hirabayashi v. United States

E95689

Hirabayashi v. United States is a 1943 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the wartime curfew and restrictions imposed on Japanese Americans during World War II.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
landmark case
areaOfLaw civil rights
constitutional law
military law
arguedDate 1943-05-10
1943-05-11
citation 320 U.S. 81
constitutionalProvision U.S. Constitution, Article II war powers context
U.S. Constitution, Fifth Amendment NERFINISHED
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1943-06-21
defendantBackground Gordon Hirabayashi was a U.S.-born citizen of Japanese ancestry and a college student at the University of Washington. NERFINISHED
docketNumber 870
fullCaseName Hirabayashi v. United States NERFINISHED
geographicScope U.S. West Coast military areas
historicalAssessment Later widely criticized as an endorsement of racial discrimination under the guise of military necessity.
holding The Supreme Court affirmed Hirabayashi’s conviction for violating the curfew and exclusion orders. NERFINISHED
The Supreme Court held that the curfew order was a valid exercise of the war powers of Congress and the President. NERFINISHED
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a wartime curfew imposed on Japanese Americans on the West Coast.
impact Influenced later Supreme Court analysis of race and national security.
Provided judicial support for wartime restrictions on Japanese Americans.
jurisdiction United States
laterDevelopment Hirabayashi’s convictions were vacated in the 1980s through coram nobis proceedings in lower federal courts.
legalIssue Equal Protection component of the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause
constitutionality of wartime curfew
restrictions on Japanese Americans
war powers of the President and Congress
locationOfEvents Seattle, Washington NERFINISHED
majorityOpinionBy Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone NERFINISHED
opinionType unanimous decision
pageInUnitedStatesReports 81
petitioner Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi NERFINISHED
reargued no
relatedCase Ex parte Endo NERFINISHED
Korematsu v. United States NERFINISHED
Yasui v. United States NERFINISHED
relatedTo Japanese American civil liberties
Japanese American internment
World War II NERFINISHED
respondent United States NERFINISHED
statuteInvolved Executive Order 9066 (contextual authority) NERFINISHED
Public Law 503 NERFINISHED
subjectMatter national security
racial discrimination
wartime civil liberties
timePeriod World War II era
volumeInUnitedStatesReports 320
vote 9-0
yearDecided 1943

Referenced by (2)

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