Dale Minami’s Most Significant Case

He defended a Japanese-American who refused to report for internment

Online Exclusive

Super Lawyers online-exclusive

By Beth Taylor on July 5, 2018

Share:
Dale Minami with Fred Korematsu

Plaintiff’s personal injury attorney Dale Minami, with Minami Tamaki in San Francisco, talks about his landmark case that overturned a conviction for Japanese-American citizen Fred Korematsu, who defied Executive Order 9066 by refusing to report for internment; his conviction was upheld in 1944 by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1983, Minami got that conviction vacated by U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel. An excerpt from Pate’s opinion:

“As a legal precedent [Korematsu] is now recognized as having very limited application. As historical precedent it stands as a constant caution that in times of war or declared military necessity our institutions must be vigilant in protecting constitutional guarantees. … It stands as a caution that in times of international hostility and antagonisms our institutions, legislative, executive and judicial, must be prepared to exercise their authority to protect all citizens from the petty fears and prejudices that are so easily aroused.” – Korematsu v. U.S., Apr 19, 1984

Editor’s Note: On June 26, 2018, Korematsu was officially overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court as a side note to its ruling in Trump v. Hawaii, in which the court upheld the president’s refusal to allow citizens from five Muslim-majority countries to enter the U.S. Minami calls the overruling of Korematsu “a hollow victory,” noting that “it still upheld a Muslim ban on travel, and so we’re still fighting those fights.”

Minami’s story was featured in the 2018 issue of Northern California Super Lawyers.

“Fred wouldn’t accept any pardon from the government. He said he should pardon the government.”

Dale minami

Search attorney feature articles

Online Exclusive

Featured lawyers

Photo of Dale Minami

Dale Minami

Top rated lawyer Minami Tamaki LLP San Francisco, CA

Other featured articles

Seven perennial Super Lawyers listees on the last two decades of life and law

A stroke forced Margaret Moses Branch to walk in the shoes of her med-mal clients

From angelic singing to javelin tossing, Janet Rhodes has great bar stories

View more articles featuring lawyers

Find top lawyers with confidence

The Super Lawyers patented selection process is peer influenced and research driven, selecting the top 5% of attorneys to the Super Lawyers lists each year. We know lawyers and make it easy to connect with them.

Find a lawyer near you