Tomoya Kawakita v. United States

Tomoya Kawakita appeals from a judgment of conviction and a sentence of death imposed after a United States District Court jury returned a verdict finding him guilty of treason against the United States of America.

I.

Appellant was born in Calexico, California, on September 26, 1921, of Japanese-born parents who were nationals of Japan. By virtue of his birth appellant was a citizen of the United States. United States Constitution, Amend XIV, Sec. 1; United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 1898, 169 U.S. 649 , 18 S.Ct. 456 , 42 L.Ed. 890 . By virtue of the nationality of his parents appellant was at birth a national of Japan. Kiyoshi Hirabayashi v. United States, 1942, 320 U.S. 81, 97 , 63 S.Ct. 1375 , 87 L.Ed. 1774 .

In 1939, at the age of 17, appellant applied for and was issued a passport and, with his father, went to visit his grandfather in Japan. The father returned to the United States but the son remained in Japan and attended a preparatory school *508 for “Niseis”, or persons born in the United States of Japanese parents. In March, 1941, appellant entered Meiji University in Japan where he took a course in commerce and also received military training. In April, 1941, he renewed…

On Rehearing.

After a re-examination of the evidence in this capital punishment case and after a renewed study of the applicable authorities in the light of appellant’s comprehensive petition for a rehearing, we do not find good cause for the granting of such petition. Accordingly, the petition for a rehearing is hereby denied.

190 F.2d 506 TOMOYA KAWAKITA v. UNITED STATES. No. 12061. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. June 22, 1951. Rehearing Denied September 24, 1951. Morris Lavine, Los Angeles, Cal., for appellant. Ernest A. Tolin, U. S. Atty., Norman W. Neukom, Robert J. Kelleher and Jack E. Hildreth, Asst. U. S. Attys., all of Los Angeles, Cal., for appellee. Before STEPHENS, BONE and ORR, Circuit Judges. STEPHENS, Circuit Judge. 1 Tomoya Kawakita appeals from a judgment of conviction and a sentence of death imposed after a United States District Court jury returned a verdict finding him guilty of treason against the United States of America. I. 2 Appellant was born in Calexico, California, on September 26, 1921, of Japanese-born parents who were nationals of Japan. By virtue of his birth appellant was a citizen of the United States. United States Constitution, Amend XIV, Sec. 1; United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 1898, 169 U.S. 649 , 18 S.Ct. 456 , 42 L.Ed. 890 . By virtue of the nationality of his parents appellant was at birth a national of Japan. Kiyoshi Hirabayashi v. United States, 1942, 320 U.S. 81, 97 , 63 S.Ct. 1375 , 87 L.Ed. 1774 . 3 In 1939, at the age of 17, appellant applied…