The ruling determined that Japanese internment during World War II was constitutional. Chief Justice Hugo Black wrote that the need to protect American from espionage outweighed the individual rights of Fred Korematsu and the civil rights of all Americans of Japanese descent.
The Court refused to address all the other civil rights violations that marked the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Korematsu also lost a later ruling that established that individual rights are not absolute and could be suspended during wartime.
The Supreme Court case is a poignant reminder to anyone that is not concerned with the extent to which the last two administrations have become to scale back on civil liberties as a reaction to the war on terrorism. The Authorization for Use of Military Force grants the president the right to use all "necessary and appropriate force” against any person or country that was involved with the attack on September 11, 2001, including American citizens. The National Defense Authorization Act allows the military to detain United States citizens indefinitely without charge or trial for mere suspicions of ties to terrorism. The Patriot Act allows for warrantless wiretapping and electronic surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
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