ID SCR106

Minoru Yasui was born October 19, 1916, in Hood River, Oregon, and became the first Japanese American admitted to the Oregon State Bar in September 1939.

On March 28, 1942, Yasui intentionally violated a curfew imposed on all persons of Japanese ancestry and was arrested to challenge its constitutionality; he was subsequently transported to the Minidoka Relocation Center in Jerome County, Idaho.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 21, 1943, that while recognizing Yasui's citizenship, the curfew could be lawfully applied to him as an American citizen due to "wartime necessity," upholding his conviction.

After his release from internment in June 1944, Yasui moved to Denver, Colorado, passed the bar exam, and spent four decades as an attorney and advocate working for civil and human rights for Japanese Americans, immigrants, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and people with disabilities.

Yasui died on November 12, 1986, at age 70, and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 24, 2015; the Legislature honors his legacy and commitment to liberty and justice.