Kawakita v. United States

SCOTUSCase
Litigants=Kawakita v. United States
ArgueDateA=April 2
ArgueDateB=April 3
ArgueYear=1952
DecideDate=June 2
DecideYear=1952
FullName=Kawakita v. United States
USVol=343
USPage=717
Citation=
Prior=In a Federal District Court, petitioner was convicted of treason and sentenced to death,96 F. Supp. 824. The Court of Appeals affirmed, [http://openjurist.org/190/f2d/506/tomoya-kawakita-v-united-states 190 F.2d 506] . Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 343 U.S. 717.
Subsequent= [http://openjurist.org/190/f2d/506/tomoya-kawakita-v-united-states 190 F.2d 506] , affirmed.
Holding=A US citizen owes allegiance to the United States and can be punished for treasonable acts voluntarily committed regardless of dual nationality or citizenship.
SCOTUS=1949-1953
Majority=Douglas
JoinMajority=unanimous court
NotParticipating=Frankfurter and Clark
LawsApplied=

"Kawakita v. United States", 343 U.S. 717 (1952)ref|citation, was a case in which the United States Supreme Court reviewed a treason accusation against the defendant Tomoya Kawakita, a dual U.S./Japanese citizen.

Accusations

Kawakita was found guilty of torturing American prisoners of war while living in Japan during World War II. During this time, he was hired by the mining company Oeyama Nickel as an interpreter between the Japanese and the prisoners of war assigned to work at the factory. His crimes occurred during this period. He worked at the company as a civilian until Japan's surrender. Shortly after his return to the United States, he was recognized by one of the former POWs and subsequently arrested.

Controversy

The U.S.-born Kawakita asserted that during his time in Japan, he had effectively renounced his U.S. citizenship, and thus could not be tried for treason. He also claimed that he lost his U.S. citizenship when he was registered in Japan's family census, the Koseki, in 1943. However, his statements were undermined by his reapplication for a US passport in 1945, in which he affirmed he had never renounced his US citizenship while in Japan.

He further argued that a person who has a dual nationality can be guilty of treason only to the country where he resides, not to the other country which claims him as a national. However, the U.S. Constitution places no territorial limitations on treason.

Decision

The court found that Kawakita owed allegiance to the United States during his time in Japan. He was found guilty of eight overt acts, his U.S. citizenship was revoked, and he was sentenced to death. President Dwight D. Eisenhower commuted the sentence to life imprisonment in 1953. Ten years later President John F. Kennedy, during the closing of the Alcatraz prison where he was serving his time, ordered him released on the condition that he be deported and barred from re-entering the United States. [Greg Krikorian and Richard B. Schmitt, [http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-me-gadahn12oct12,1,2630883.story?ctrack=1&cset=true "Videos Prompt Treason Charge for Southland Man"] , "Los Angeles Times", 12 October 2006]

ee also

* List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 343

Notes and references

External links

*caselaw source
case="Kawakita v. United States", 343 U.S. 717 (1915)
enfacto=http://www.enfacto.com/case/U.S./343/717/
findlaw=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=343&page=717