Ex parte Endo

United States Supreme Court decision [1944]

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July 22, 2026

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The Supreme Court case Ex parte Endo addressed the detention of Japanese Americans during World War II. While the Court did not rule on the constitutionality of internment itself, it prohibited the government from detaining U.S. citizens whose loyalty was recognized. This decision prevented the continued incarceration of individuals like Mitsuye Endo, who had not been accused of disloyalty.123

This ruling was made on the same day as Korematsu v. United States, where the Court upheld the conviction of Fred Korematsu for violating an exclusion order. However, Ex parte Endo focused on the limits of the War Relocation Authority's power to detain citizens.23

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Japanese American internment
Life in the camps
…decision, in its ruling on Ex parte Endo, the Supreme Court skirted the constitutionality of internment as a policy but determined that the government could not detain a U.S. citizen whose loyalty was recognized by the U.S. government.
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…decision, in its ruling on Ex parte Endo, the Supreme Court skirted the constitutionality of internment as a policy but determined that the government could not detain a U.S. citizen whose loyalty was recognized by the U.S. government.
Read More