After the bombing of Hawaii in World War II, martial law was declared, habeas corpus was suspended, and military trials proceeded against civilians.
Military tribunals lack sufficient authority to convict civilians of crimes.
The procedure aroused much opposition, and suits were brought to test the validity of the convictions of civilians by the military courts. In February 1944, Duncan, a civilian shipfitter employed by the Navy, was convicted of assault for engaging in a brawl with two Marine sentries. He was tried by a military tribunal rather than by a civil court. Civilians in Hawaii are entitled to their constitutional privilege of a fair trial. When, in 1900, Congress passed the Hawaiian Organic Act it never intended to overstep the boundaries of military and civilian power.