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	Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)

The Civilian Exclusion Order commanded that Japanese Americans be barred from designated areas as a wartime security measure, forcing over 100,000 Japanese to live in the brutal conditions of internment camps. Korematsu, an American citizen of Japanese descent who had shown no disloyalty to the U.S., remained in a designated area contrary to the order.


	Did the President and Congress go beyond their war powers by implementing exclusion and restricting the rights of Americans of Japanese descent?



		US Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black


		The Court sided with the government and held that the need to protect against espionage outweighed Korematsu's rights. Justice Black argued that compulsory exclusion, though constitutionally suspect, is justified during circumstances of "emergency and peril."



		On December 18, 1944, in the Endo case, the Supreme Court ruled that a civilian agency, the War Relocation Authority, had no right to incarcerate law-abiding citizens. Two weeks later the federal government began closing down the camps, ending a shameful chapter in American history. For a full summary of this case, go to: http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1944/1944_22/