United States v. Mendoza
United States Supreme Court
464 U.S. 154 (1984)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Mendoza (plaintiff) was a Filipino national who petitioned the United States for naturalization in 1978 based on a World War II statute giving foreigners who served for the U.S. during the War the right to receive citizenship. The statute was repealed after the War and only those who applied prior to the end of 1946 were entitled to naturalization under the statute. Between October 1945 and August 1946, however, the U.S. immigration office in the Philippines was closed, making it difficult for Filipinos to take advantage. In a 1975 lawsuit, 68 Filipino veterans were granted naturalization despite not applying until after 1946. Mendoza brought suit to be granted naturalization under the same reasoning and the court of appeals found in his favor, holding that the U.S. government was estopped from relitigating the issue in part because it failed to appeal the prior decision. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Rehnquist, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
