United States v. Ah Sou
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
138 F. 775 (1905)
- Written by Emily Laird, JD
Facts
The parents of Ah Sou (defendant), a Chinese girl, sold her to a cruel man who brought her to the United States and forced her into prostitution. Ah Sou was apprehended, and a United States commissioner determined that Ah Sou was illegally in the United States. The commissioner then entered an order for Ah Sou’s deportation to China. Ah Sou appealed the commissioner’s order to the federal district court. In the district court, the prosecutor (plaintiff) argued that Ah Sou was in the United States illegally and should be deported to China. Ah Sou testified that if sent back to China, she would be forced to live the rest of her life in sexual slavery. The trial court determined that Ah Sou was indeed illegally in the United States, but it directed the order requiring Ah Sou’s deportation to be vacated on humanitarian grounds, finding that returning Ah Sou to China would equate to sentencing her to a life of sexual servitude. The United States appealed the court’s order to the appellate court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gilbert, J.)
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