Diagram of How the Case Moved Through the Court System

Supreme Court of the United States (1944) By 6-3 margin, the Court upheld Korematsu’s conviction.  The Court adopted a new test (strict scrutiny), holding that any law or order that discriminated on the basis of race or ethnicity could only be constitutional if it served an extremely important purpose for the government (referred to as a compelling state interest).  However, the Court found that the Government had met its burden because discrimination against the Japanese in this case served the government’s military concerns about the possibility of Japanese spies.
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1943) The Court of Appeals upheld Korematsu’s conviction.
United States District Court for the Northern District of California (1942) Korematsu was convicted of being in a place from which all persons of Japanese ancestry were excluded.

Resources

•	About landmarkcases.org
•	Teaching Recommendations Based on Your Time
•	Background Summary and Questions • • • Reading Level • • Reading Level  • Reading Level
•	Diagram of How the Case Moved Through the Court System
•	Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion
•	Key Excerpts from the Dissenting Opinion
•	Full Text of the Majority Opinion

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Activities
    The Case

•	Classifying Arguments
•	Primary Documents: Executive Order 9066
•	A Question of Loyalty
•	Presidential Powers in Wartime: Standard level activity
•	Presidential Powers in Wartime: AP level activity
•	Cartoon Analysis

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    After the Case

•	Did the Court Err in Korematsu
•	Cases in the War Against Terrorism
•	Fred Korematsu's Obituary
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	Additional Resources
•	Densho: the Japanese American Legacy
•	Exploring the Japanese American Internment
•	Virtual Museum of San Francisco: Internment of the Japanese

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