Korematsu Center for Law and Equality

Korematsu Center for Law and Equality
Name	Korematsu Center for Law and Equality
Founded	2009
Headquarters	San Francisco, California
Type	Nonprofit legal research and advocacy center

Korematsu Center for Law and Equality is a legal research and advocacy organization affiliated with academic and civil rights institutions that focuses on constitutional litigation, civil liberties, and racial justice. The Center engages in strategic litigation, public education, and policy advocacy across issues including civil rights, administrative law, and national security. It operates at the intersection of scholarly research and impact litigation, collaborating with law schools, advocacy groups, and community organizations.

History

The Center was established in the aftermath of renewed national attention to wartime civil liberties issues following scholarship on Fred Korematsu, Korematsu v. United States, Japanese American Citizens League, National Coalition for Redress and Reparations, and related litigation. Its creation drew on precedents set by legal clinics at University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and advocacy networks including American Civil Liberties Union, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Japanese American National Museum, and the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Early activities referenced activism by figures such as Minoru Yasui, Gordon Hirabayashi, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and organizations like Japanese American Citizens League and National Archives and Records Administration.

Mission and Activities

The Center’s mission emphasizes litigation, scholarship, and public engagement to combat discrimination exemplified in cases like Korematsu v. United States, Hirabayashi v. United States, and Ex parte Endo. It works on issues involving constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, and statutory protections such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Administrative Procedure Act. Activities include amicus briefs before the United States Supreme Court, impact litigation in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, policy reports for institutions like the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, and educational programs in collaboration with Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress.

Legal and Policy Impact

The Center has filed amicus briefs and supported litigation challenging surveillance programs associated with agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Security Agency, and the Department of Homeland Security. It has influenced executive branch review processes tied to Presidential Executive Order 9066, regulatory rulemaking under the Federal Register, and congressional oversight by committees such as the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the United States House Committee on Homeland Security. Its work intersects with landmark jurisprudence including decisions by the United States Supreme Court, circuit rulings from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and statutory reform efforts promoted by lawmakers like Mazie Hirono, Patsy Mink, and Dianne Feinstein.

Research and Publications

Scholarly output includes reports, amicus briefs, policy memos, and articles in law reviews such as the Yale Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, California Law Review, and the Stanford Law Review. Publications analyze precedent from cases like Korematsu v. United States, statutory interpretations under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and administrative law doctrines from cases like Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. and Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project. The Center collaborates with researchers affiliated with American Bar Association, Brennan Center for Justice, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Asian Law Caucus, and university research centers at University of California, Berkeley, Columbia Law School, and New York University School of Law.

Programs and Community Engagement

Public programming includes conferences, oral history projects, and curricula co-developed with the Japanese American National Museum, Densho, National Japanese American Historical Society, and local school districts like San Francisco Unified School District. It organizes moot courts, clinics modeled on those at Clinical Legal Education Association institutions, and community workshops partnering with organizations such as Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, and Southern Poverty Law Center. Educational efforts have been presented at venues including United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, and city cultural centers across California, Washington State, and Hawaii.

Partnerships and Funding

The Center partners with law schools, legal nonprofits, bar associations like the American Bar Association and the California State Bar, and philanthropic foundations including the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and regional funders such as the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation. Collaborative grants have supported projects with the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Equal Justice Initiative, and university research programs at University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and Georgetown Law. Funding sources include foundation grants, law school endowments, and pro bono support from firms like Covington & Burling, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and Morrison & Foerster.

Notable Cases and Advocacy

The Center has been involved in litigation and advocacy related to wartime exclusion orders, detention policies, surveillance statutes, and anti-discrimination enforcement. It has submitted amicus briefs or provided counsel in matters resonant with precedents like Korematsu v. United States, Hirabayashi v. United States, Trump v. Hawaii, Boumediene v. Bush, and cases addressing civil liberties before the Supreme Court of the United States and federal appellate courts. It has also supported policy campaigns involving the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 redress efforts, congressional hearings featuring testimony before the United States Congress, and administrative petitions filed with the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission.

Leadership and Staff

Leadership has included academics, civil rights litigators, and practitioners affiliated with institutions such as University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law, UC Davis School of Law, and organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Asian Law Alliance. Staff and fellows have included attorneys with clerkship experience at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States, as well as scholars connected to the Japanese American Citizens League, National Coalition for Redress and Reparations, and university history departments.

Category:Civil rights organizations in the United States Category:Legal research institutes