Wayne M. Collins
Encyclopedia
Wayne M. Collins was a civil rights attorney
who worked on cases related to the Japanese American evacuation and internment
.
and was raised and educated in San Francisco.
Politically liberal, he became a leader in the legal fight against persecution of Japanese Americans, during and after World War II
, even enlisting a number of conservative colleagues (such as attorney Ted Tomba) to work with him.
With Ernest Besig of the Northern California ACLU, Collins led Fred Korematsu
’s constitutional challenge to the Internment beginning in 1942, and culminating before the U.S. Supreme Court
(Korematsu v. United States
) in 1944.
In August 1945, Collins began advising Japanese American
internees deceived or coerced into renouncing their American citizenship of their legal rights. On November 13, 1945, Collins filed two mass class equity suits (Abo v. Clark, No. 25294 and Furuya v. Clark, No. 25295) and two mass class habeas corpus proceedings (Abo v. Williams, No. 25296 and Furuya v. Williams, No. 25297) in the U.S. District Court of San Francisco. These cases sought to determine nationality, prevent removal to Japan, end internment, and cancel renunciation. Adopting Collins’ arguments, Federal Judge Louis E. Goodman found the mass renunciations unconstitutional, stating: “It is shocking to the conscience that an American citizen be confined without authority and while so under duress and restraint for this government to accept from him a surrender of his constitutional heritage.” “Not even the hysterics and exigencies of war,” Goodman had warned in his opinion, “excused the government for the egregious constitutional wrongs it had committed by imprisoning citizens not charged with a crime.”
When the federal appeals court decided that each renunciant’s case had to be individually decided, Collins embarked on a 20-year campaign, filing thousands of court cases to successfully recover the renunciants’ citizenships. Congress and President Richard Nixon
repealed the renunciation law in 1971.
Collins also represented some 3,000 Japanese Latin Americans kidnapped by the U.S. during the war to be bartered for American prisoners of war. While most were deported after the war as “undesirable aliens,” Collins successfully enabled hundreds to remain and make their homes in America.
Collins, with Besig and Tomba, also defended Iva Toguri D’Aquino. She was convicted of being "Tokyo Rose
" ” (who actually never existed), through the use of perjured testimony and falsified evidence, having been prosecuted by the FDR Administration in the most expensive trial in American history (as of that time). Even following her release from prison a decade later, Collins continued his efforts to get her name cleared, which was done by President Gerald R. Ford during his final days in office.
Collins died on July 16, 1974 on a plane bound to Honolulu, Hawaii
.
dedicated his book Swimming in the American: a Memoir and Selected Writings to Collins, saying that he "rescued me as an American and restored my faith in America." In the dedication for her influential book Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America's Concentration Camps, former internee Michi Nishiura Weglyn wrote that Collins "... did more to correct a democracy's mistake than any other one person."
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
who worked on cases related to the Japanese American evacuation and internment
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
.
Biography
Collins was born in Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
and was raised and educated in San Francisco.
Politically liberal, he became a leader in the legal fight against persecution of Japanese Americans, during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, even enlisting a number of conservative colleagues (such as attorney Ted Tomba) to work with him.
With Ernest Besig of the Northern California ACLU, Collins led Fred Korematsu
Fred Korematsu
was one of the many Japanese-American citizens living on the West Coast during World War II. Shortly after the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the Secretary of War and his military commanders to require all...
’s constitutional challenge to the Internment beginning in 1942, and culminating before the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
(Korematsu v. United States
Korematsu v. United States
Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case concerning the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II....
) in 1944.
In August 1945, Collins began advising Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
internees deceived or coerced into renouncing their American citizenship of their legal rights. On November 13, 1945, Collins filed two mass class equity suits (Abo v. Clark, No. 25294 and Furuya v. Clark, No. 25295) and two mass class habeas corpus proceedings (Abo v. Williams, No. 25296 and Furuya v. Williams, No. 25297) in the U.S. District Court of San Francisco. These cases sought to determine nationality, prevent removal to Japan, end internment, and cancel renunciation. Adopting Collins’ arguments, Federal Judge Louis E. Goodman found the mass renunciations unconstitutional, stating: “It is shocking to the conscience that an American citizen be confined without authority and while so under duress and restraint for this government to accept from him a surrender of his constitutional heritage.” “Not even the hysterics and exigencies of war,” Goodman had warned in his opinion, “excused the government for the egregious constitutional wrongs it had committed by imprisoning citizens not charged with a crime.”
When the federal appeals court decided that each renunciant’s case had to be individually decided, Collins embarked on a 20-year campaign, filing thousands of court cases to successfully recover the renunciants’ citizenships. Congress and President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
repealed the renunciation law in 1971.
Collins also represented some 3,000 Japanese Latin Americans kidnapped by the U.S. during the war to be bartered for American prisoners of war. While most were deported after the war as “undesirable aliens,” Collins successfully enabled hundreds to remain and make their homes in America.
Collins, with Besig and Tomba, also defended Iva Toguri D’Aquino. She was convicted of being "Tokyo Rose
Tokyo Rose
Tokyo Rose was a generic name given by Allied forces in the South Pacific during World War II to any of approximately a dozen English-speaking female broadcasters of Japanese propaganda. The intent of these broadcasts was to disrupt the morale of Allied forces listening to the broadcast...
" ” (who actually never existed), through the use of perjured testimony and falsified evidence, having been prosecuted by the FDR Administration in the most expensive trial in American history (as of that time). Even following her release from prison a decade later, Collins continued his efforts to get her name cleared, which was done by President Gerald R. Ford during his final days in office.
Collins died on July 16, 1974 on a plane bound to Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
.
Recognition
Although largely unknown to the general public, Collins' relentless efforts on behalf of the Japanese American renunciants have been recognized in various posthumous honors and dedications. For example, the poet Hiroshi KashiwagiHiroshi Kashiwagi
Hiroshi Kashiwagi is a Nisei poet, playwright and actor. For his writing and performance work on stage he is considered an early pioneer of Asian American theatre.-Biography:...
dedicated his book Swimming in the American: a Memoir and Selected Writings to Collins, saying that he "rescued me as an American and restored my faith in America." In the dedication for her influential book Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America's Concentration Camps, former internee Michi Nishiura Weglyn wrote that Collins "... did more to correct a democracy's mistake than any other one person."
Research resources
- Guide to the Wayne M. Collins Papers at The Bancroft Library