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Hirabayashi v. United States

United States Supreme Court
320 U.S. 81 (1943)

Written by Eric Miller, JD

Facts

Following Imperial Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt promulgated an executive order authorizing the creation of military zones in which the rights of people to enter, remain, or leave could be restricted by the Secretary of War. This was followed by an act of Congress imposing penalties for violations of military restrictions or orders issued under the authority granted by the executive order. A military order established an overnight curfew applying to citizens of Japanese ancestry in the military zone that encompassed the Seattle area. Hirabayashi (defendant), a Japanese American resident of Seattle who had never been to Japan, disobeyed the curfew and was convicted in district court of violating the act of Congress. He appealed, alleging violation of the Fifth Amendment in the form of racial discrimination.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Stone, C.J.)

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Concurrence (Douglas, J.)

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Concurrence (Murphy, J.)

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