Korematsu v. United States (1944)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
Fred Korematsu, a U.S. citizen of Japanese descent, was convicted for violating a military exclusion order that required Japanese Americans to relocate to internment camps during World War II. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction, ruling that the exclusion was justified by wartime military necessity.

3) Why It Mattered
Korematsu is one of the most infamous Supreme Court rulings. It legitimized mass internment of Japanese Americans and stood for decades as precedent for extreme deference to the government in wartime.

4) What It Provided or Took Away

• Took Away: Constitutional protection for Japanese Americans’ liberty and property rights during WWII.
• Provided: Broad judicial deference to executive and military claims of necessity.

5) Overreach or Proper Role?
This was a profound overreach — the Court abandoned its duty to protect minority rights in the face of racial prejudice. The decision has since been universally discredited.

6) Plain-English Impact Today
Although never formally overturned, Korematsu was declared “wrong the day it was decided” by the Supreme Court in Trump v. Hawaii (2018). It stands as a stark warning about sacrificing civil liberties during crises.

• World War Ii
• Japanese Internment
• Equal Protection
• Civil Liberties