Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/343/717/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 14:46:11+00:00

Document:
At petitioner's trial for treason, it appeared that originally he was a native-born citizen of the United States and also a national of Japan by reason of Japanese parentage and law. While a minor, he took the oath of allegiance to the United States; went to Japan for a visit on an American passport, and was prevented by the outbreak of war from returning to this country. During the war, he reached his majority in Japan, changed his registration from American to Japanese, showed sympathy with Japan and hostility to the United States, served as a civilian employee of a private corporation producing war materials for Japan, and brutally abused American prisoners of war who were forced to work there. After Japan's surrender, he registered as an American citizen, swore that he was an American citizen and had not done various acts amounting to expatriation, and returned to this country on an American passport.
Held: his conviction for treason is affirmed. Pp. 343 U. S. 719-745.
1. The evidence was sufficient to support the finding of the jury that he had not renounced or lost his American citizenship at the time of the overt acts charged in the indictment. Pp. 343 U. S. 720-732.
(a) In view of petitioner's dual nationality, it cannot be said as a matter of law that his action in registering in the Koseki (a family census register) and changing his registration from American to Japanese amounted to a renunciation of American citizenship within the meaning of § 401 of the Nationality Act. Pp. 343 U. S. 722-725.
(b) Nor is such a holding required as a matter of law by the facts that, during the war, he traveled to China on a Japanese passport, used his Koseki entry to obtain work at a prisoner of war camp, bowed to the Emperor, and accepted labor draft papers from the Japanese Government. P. 343 U. S. 725.
applied for registration as an American citizen and for an American passport), the question whether he had renounced his American citizenship was peculiarly for the jury to determine. Pp. 343 U. S. 725-727.
(d) It cannot be said that petitioner was serving in the armed forces of Japan within the meaning of § 401(c), nor that his status as a civilian employee of a private corporation was so changed by the regimentation of the industry by the Japanese government that he was performing the duties of an "office, post or employment under the government" of Japan within the meaning of § 401(d) of the Nationality Act. Pp. 343 U. S. 727-729.
(e) Section 402 creates a rebuttable presumption that a national in petitioner's category expatriates himself when he remains for six months or longer in a foreign state of which he or either of his parents shall have been a national; but that presumption was rebutted by the showing that petitioner was not expatriated under § 401(c) or (d). P. 343 U. S. 730.
(f) If there was any error in the judge's charge to the jury that the only methods of expatriation are those contained in § 401, it was harmless error, since petitioner tendered no question of fact which was inadmissible under § 401 and since the judge charged that he could not be convicted if he honestly believed that he was no longer a citizen of the United States. Pp. 343 U. S. 730-732.
2. Notwithstanding his dual nationality and his residence in Japan, petitioner owed allegiance to the United States, and can be punished for treasonable acts voluntarily committed. Pp. 343 U. S. 732-736.
(a) Since the definition of treason in Art. III, § 3 of the Constitution contains no territorial limitation, an American citizen living beyond the territorial limits of the United States can be guilty of treason against the United States. Pp. 343 U. S. 732-733.
(b) Petitioner was held accountable by the jury only for performing acts of hostility toward this country which he was not required by Japan to perform. Pp. 343 U. S. 734-735.
(c) An American citizen owes allegiance to the United States wherever he may reside. Pp. 343 U. S. 735-736.
3. Each of the overt acts of which petitioner was convicted was properly proven by two witnesses, and each of them showed that petitioner gave aid and comfort to the enemy. Pp. 343 U. S. 736-742.
though their contribution to the enemy's war effort was minor. Pp. 343 U. S. 737-739.
(b) The other six overt acts (cruelty to American prisoners of war) gave aid and comfort to the enemy by helping to make all the prisoners fearful, docile, and subservient, reducing the number of guards needed, and requiring less watching -- all of which encouraged the enemy and advanced his interests. Pp. 343 U. S. 739-742.
(c) The overt acts were sufficiently proven by two witnesses, since each overt act was testified to by at least two witnesses who were present and saw or heard that to which they testified, and any disagreement among them was not on what took place, but on collateral details. P. 343 U. S. 742.
4. The evidence was sufficient to prove that petitioner was guilty of voluntarily "adhering the enemy." Pp. 343 U. S. 742-744.
5. The treasonable actions of petitioner were so flagrant and persistent that it cannot be said that the death sentence imposed by the trial judge was so severe as to be arbitrary. Pp. 343 U. S. 744-745.
In a Federal District Court, petitioner was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. See 96 F.Supp. 824. The Court of Appeals affirmed. 190 F.2d 506. This Court granted certiorari. 342 U.S. 932. Affirmed, p. 343 U. S. 745.
convicted of treason after a jury trial, see 96 F.Supp. 824, and the judgment of conviction was affirmed. 190 F.2d 506. The case is here on certiorari. 342 U.S. 932.
First. The important question that lies at the threshold of the case relates to expatriation. Petitioner was born in this country in 1921 of Japanese parents who were citizens of Japan. He was thus a citizen of the United States by birth, Amendment XIV, § 1 and, by reason of Japanese law, a national of Japan. See Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U. S. 81, 320 U. S. 97.
prisoners of war who were assigned to work at the mine and in the factory of this company. The treasonable acts for which he was convicted involved his conduct toward American prisoners of war.
In December, 1945, petitioner went to the United States consul at Yokohama and applied for registration as an American citizen. He stated under oath that he was a United States citizen and had not done various acts amounting to expatriation. He was issued a passport, and returned to the United States in 1946. Shortly thereafter, he was recognized by a former American prisoner of war, whereupon he was arrested and indicted and tried for treason.
"(a) Obtaining naturalization in a foreign state . . . ; or"
"(b) Taking an oath or making an affirmation or other formal declaration of allegiance to a foreign state; or"
"(c) Entering, or serving in, the armed forces of a foreign state unless expressly authorized by the laws of the United States, if he has or acquires the nationality of such foreign state; or"
foreign state or political subdivision thereof for which only nationals of such state are eligible. . . ."
The court charged that, if the jury found that petitioner had lost his American citizenship prior to or during the period specified in the indictment, they must acquit him even if he did commit the overt acts charged in the indictment, since his duty of allegiance would have ceased with the termination of his American citizenship. The court further charged that, if the jury should find beyond a reasonable doubt that, during the period in question, petitioner was an American citizen, he owed the United States the same duty of allegiance as any other citizen. The court also charged that, even though the jury found that petitioner was an American citizen during the period in question, they must acquit him if, at the time of the overt acts, petitioner honestly believed he was no longer a citizen of the United States, for then he could not have committed the overt acts with treasonable intent. The special verdicts of the jury contain, with respect to each overt act as to which petitioner was found guilty, an affirmative answer to an interrogatory that he was at that time "an American citizen owing allegiance to the United States, as charged in the indictment."
he used the Koseki entry to get a job at the Oeyama camp; he went to China on a Japanese passport, see United States ex rel. Scimeca v. Husband, 6 F.2d 957, 958; he accepted labor draft papers from the Japanese government; he faced the east each morning and paid his respects to the Emperor.
The difficulty with petitioner's position is that the implications from the acts, which he admittedly performed, are ambiguous. He had a dual nationality, a status long recognized in the law. [Footnote 2] Perkins v. Elg, 307 U. S. 325, 307 U. S. 344-349. The concept of dual citizenship recognizes that a person may have and exercise rights of nationality in two countries and be subject to the responsibilities of both.
The mere fact that he asserts the rights of one citizenship does not, without more, mean that he renounces the other. In this setting, petitioner's registration in the Koseki might reasonably be taken to mean no more than an assertion of some of the rights which his dual citizenship bestowed on him. The deposition of the Attorney General of Japan states that the entry of a person's name in the Koseki is taken to mean that one has Japanese nationality. But, since petitioner already had Japanese nationality, he obviously did not acquire it by the act of registration. The Attorney General of Japan further deposed that all Japanese nationals, whether or not born abroad, are duty bound to Japanese allegiance, and that registering in the Koseki is "not necessarily a formal declaration of allegiance, but merely a reaffirmation of an allegiance to Japan which already exists." From this, it would appear that the registration may have been nothing more than the disclosure of a fact theretofore not made public.
Japanese nationality, might reasonably mean no more than announcing the fact of his Japanese nationality to the interested authorities.
As we have said, dual citizenship presupposes rights of citizenship in each country. It could not exist if the assertion of rights or the assumption of liabilities of one were deemed inconsistent with the maintenance of the other. For example, when one has a dual citizenship, it is not necessarily inconsistent with his citizenship in one nation to use a passport proclaiming his citizenship in the other. See 3 Hackworth, supra, p. 353. Hence, the use by petitioner of a Japanese passport on his trip to China, his use of the Koseki entry to obtain work at the Oeyama camp, the bowing to the Emperor, and his acceptance of labor draft papers from the Japanese government might reasonably mean no more than acceptance of some of the incidents of Japanese citizenship made possible by his dual citizenship.
Those acts, to be sure, were colored by various other acts and statements of petitioner. He testified, for example, that he felt no loyalty to the United States from about March, 1943, to late 1945. There was evidence that he boasted that Japan was winning and would win the war, that he taunted American prisoners of war with General MacArthur's departure from the Philippines, that he expressed his hatred toward things American and toward the prisoners as Americans. That was in 1943 and 1944. This attitude continued into 1945, although, in May or June, 1945, shortly before Japan's surrender, he was saying he did not care "which way the war goes, because I am going back to the States anyway."
Japan to study Japanese; that he possessed dual nationality from birth, but that his name was not entered in the census register until March 8, 1943, and that he had "never been naturalized, taken an oath of allegiance, or voted as a foreign citizen or subject, or in any way held myself out as such."
"In 1943, his possession of Japanese nationality was made a matter of record by the entry of his name into his uncle's Family Census Register. He states that this action was taken under severe pressure by the Japanese police and by his uncle, on whom he was financially dependent after his supply of funds from the U.S. was cut off; this office has reason to believe this statement."
These representations led to the issuance of an American passport on which he returned to the United States in 1946.
nationality. We think, in other words, that the question whether petitioner had renounced his American citizenship was, on this record, peculiarly for the jury to determine. The charge was that the jury must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that, during the period specified in the indictment, petitioner was an American citizen. We cannot say there was insufficient evidence for that finding.
Petitioner concedes he did not enter the armed services of Japan within the meaning of § 401(c) of the Act, but claims that, during his tour of duty at the Oeyama camp, he was "serving in" the Japanese armed services within the statutory meaning of those words. In this connection, he also argues that his work in the Oeyama camp was the performance of the duties of an "office, post, or employment under the government" of Japan "for which only nationals of such state are eligible" within the meaning of § 401(d) of the Act.
the Japanese government, the freezing of its labor force, the assignment to it of prisoners of war under military command, were incidents of a war economy. But we find no indication that the Oeyama Company as nationalized, or its properties seized and operated by the government. The evidence indicates that it was a part of a regimented industry, but it was an organization operating for private profit under private management. We cannot say that petitioner's status as an employee of a private company was changed by that regimentation of the industry.
Section 402 [Footnote 4] creates a presumption [Footnote 5] that a national in Kawakita's category who remains six months or longer within a foreign state of which he or either of his parents shall have been a national shall be presumed to have expatriated himself under § 401(c) or (d). Section 402 does not enlarge § 401(c) or (d); it creates a rebuttable presumption of expatriation, and, when it is shown that the citizen did no act which brought him under § 401(c) or (d), the presumption is overcome. On that showing, the person never loses his American nationality. See Dos Reis ex rel. Camara v. Nicolls, 161 F.2d 860, 868. In other words, once it was shown that petitioner was not expatriated under § 401(c) or (d), the force of § 402 was spent.
"The loss of nationality under this Act shall result solely from the performance by a national of the acts of fulfillment of the conditions specified in this Act."
signing of the Koseki and the changes in the registration that followed that event tantamount to renunciation under § 401(b), it hardly could do so standing alone. Hence, if there was error in the charge, it was harmless.
That conclusion is reinforced by another aspect of the case. Petitioner testified that he believed when he signed the Koseki that he lost his American citizenship. He testified that, during the period charged in the indictment, he believed that he was no longer an American citizen. The District Court charged that, if the jury found (1) defendant had committed any overt act charged in the indictment, and (2) he was an American citizen, yet they should not convict if they further found that, at the time, "the defendant honestly believed that he was no longer a citizen of the United States," since, in that event, he could not have committed the act with treasonable intent. Under this charge, the belief of petitioner that he had renounced his American citizenship was sufficient to acquit if the jury believed him. His belief could not have been made more relevant to the issue of guilt if it had been admitted as proof of expatriation separate and apart from the other grounds specified in § 401 of the Act. Hence, even if we assume, arguendo, that the court was wrong in charging that § 408 made the grounds specified in § 401 exclusive, the error was harmless.
Second. Petitioner contends that a person who has a dual nationality can be guilty of treason only to the country where he resides, not to the other country which claims him as a national. More specifically, he maintains that, while petitioner resided in Japan, he owed his paramount allegiance to that country, and was indeed, in the eyes of our law, an alien enemy.
claims him as a national. The definition of treason, however, contained in the Constitution contains no territorial limitation.
"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. . . ."
Art. III, § 3. A substitute proposal containing some territorial limitations was rejected by the Constitutional Convention. See 2 Farrand, The Records of the Federal Convention, pp. 347-348. The Act of April 30, 1790, 1 Stat. 112, which was passed by the first Congress defining the crime of treason, likewise contained no territorial limitation, and that legislation is contained in substantially the same form in the present statute. 18 U.S.C. (Supp. IV) § 2381. [Footnote 7] We must therefore reject the suggestion that an American citizen living beyond the territorial limits of the United States may not commit treason against them. See Chandler v. United States, 171 F.2d 921, 929-930; Burgman v. United States, 88 U.S.App.D.C. 184, 185, 188 F.2d 637, 640.
of war, if he supports neither belligerent, both may be aggrieved. If he supports one belligerent, the other may be aggrieved. One state may be suspicious of his loyalty to it and subject him to the disabilities of an enemy alien, including sequestration of his property, while the other holds his conduct treasonable."
Orfield, The Legal Effects of Dual Nationality, 17 Geo.Wash.L.Rev. 427, 429.
"but so acted only because performance of the duties of his employment required him to do so or because of other coercion or compulsion."
In short, petitioner was held accountable by the jury only for performing acts of hostility toward this country which he was not required by Japan to perform.
renouncing his American citizenship. He cannot turn it into a fair weather citizenship, retaining it for possible contingent benefits but meanwhile playing the part of the traitor. An American citizen owes allegiance to the United States wherever he may reside.
So far as material here, the crime thus consists of two elements -- adhering to the enemy and giving him aid and comfort. See Cramer v. United States, 325 U. S. 1, 325 U. S. 29. One may think disloyal thoughts and have his heart on the side of the enemy. Yet if he commits no act giving aid and comfort to the enemy, he is not guilty of treason. He may, on the other hand, commit acts which do give aid and comfort to the enemy, and yet not be guilty of treason, as, for example, where he acts impulsively, with no intent to betray. Two witnesses are required not to the disloyal and treacherous intention, but to the same overt act. See Cramer v. United States, supra, at 325 U. S. 30-31.
The jury found petitioner guilty of eight overt acts. [Footnote 9] One overt act alone, properly proved, would be sufficient to sustain the conviction, all other elements of the crime of treason being established. Since the jury returned special verdicts and findings as to each of the eight overt acts, we could not upset the judgment of conviction unless all eight were insufficient. See Haupt v. United States, 330 U. S. 631, 330 U. S. 641. We conclude, however, that each of the eight overt acts was properly proved.
Each of these related to his treatment of American prisoners of war at the Oeyama camp. These prisoners were mostly from Bataan, and were in weakened condition on their arrival. All were below normal weight; many of them were suffering from disease; most of them were unfit for work. They were assigned to work either in the factory or at the mine of the Oeyama Company. They were under the supervision of the Japanese army. Petitioner was a civilian interpreter, as we have said. There was evidence that he had no authority and no duties, as respects the prisoners, except as an interpreter. Yet the record shows a long, persistent, and continuous course of conduct directed against the American prisoners and going beyond any conceivable duty of an interpreter.
trial was that, in May, 1945, petitioner kicked a prisoner named Toland, who was ill, because he slowed down in lifting pieces of ore rocks from the tracks at the factory to keep the tracks clear. Toland had suffered a dizzy spell and slowed down. Petitioner told him to get to work, and thereupon kicked him, causing him to fall flat and to cut his face and hand. Another prisoner wanted to pick Toland up; but petitioner would not let him. Overt act (j), as alleged in the indictment and developed at the trial, was that, in May, 1945, petitioner struck a prisoner named Armellino, who was weak and emaciated, in order to make him carry more lead. Armellino had been carrying only one bucket of lead. Petitioner thereupon struck him, causing him to fall. When he got up, petitioner forced him to carry two buckets, pushing him along.
conspiracy, are to be considered as traitors."
These two overt acts, if designed to speed up Japan's war production, plainly gave aid and comfort to the enemy in the constitutional sense.
Overt act (b) as alleged in the indictment and developed at the trial was that one Grant, an American prisoner, had been seen by a Japanese sentry coming out of the Red Cross store room with a package of cigarettes. He was thereupon thrown into a cesspool by a Japanese sergeant, ordered out, and knocked back repeatedly. While Grant was in the cesspool, petitioner hit him over the head with a wooden pole or sword, told him to squat down, and tried to force him to sit in the water. When Grant was taken from the pool, he was blue, his teeth were chattering, and he could not straighten up.
Overt act (c), as alleged in the indictment and developed at the trial, was that, in December, 1944, petitioner and Japanese guards lined up about 30 American prisoners and, as punishment for making articles of clothing out of blankets, struck them and forced them to strike each other. Petitioner hit prisoners who, he thought, did not hit each other hard enough.
Overt act (d) as alleged in the indictment and developed at the trial was that petitioner imposed cruelty on O'Connor, an American prisoner who was sick and had stolen Red Cross supplies. He was knocked into the cesspool by Japanese soldiers and then repeatedly hit and thrown back into the pool by them and by petitioner, with the result that O'Connor temporarily lost his reason.
were unable to run fast because of illness to run the course an additional four and six times, respectively. Petitioner threw pebbles and sod at them to make them run faster.
Overt act (i), as alleged in the indictment and developed at the trial, was that, in December, 1944, petitioner ordered one Carter, an American prisoner of war, to carry a heavy log up an ice-overed slope at the mine. When Carter slipped, fell, and was injured, petitioner, although he knew Carter was badly hurt and needed attention, delayed his removal back to camp for approximately five hours.
Overt act (k), as alleged in the indictment and developed at the trial, was that, in the spring or summer of 1945, petitioner participated in the inhuman punishment of one Shaffer, an American prisoner of war. Shaffer was forced to kneel on bamboo sticks on a platform with a bamboo stick inside the joints of his knees, and to keep his arms above his head holding a bucket of water, and later a log. When Shaffer became tired and bent his elbows, petitioner would strike him. When Shaffer leaned over and spilled some water, petitioner would take the bucket, throw the water on Shaffer, and have the bucket refilled. Then Shaffer was required to hold up a log. It fell on him, causing a gash. After the wound was treated, petitioner placed bamboo sticks on the ground and once more made Shaffer kneel on them and go through the same performance.
petitioner. The source of the law of treason is the Constitution. If an American citizen is a traitor by the constitutional definition, he gains no immunity because the same acts may have been unlawful under the law of the country where the acts were performed. Treason is a separate offense; treason can be committed by one who scrupulously observes the laws of other nations, and his acts may be nonetheless treasonable though the same conduct amounts to a different crime. It would take a long chapter to relate the numerous acts that supplement the crime of treason and build different and lesser crimes out of the same or related acts. See Cramer v. United States, supra, at 325 U. S. 45. But no matter the reach of the legislative power in defining other crimes, the constitutional requirements for treason remain the same. The crime of treason can be taken out of the Constitution by the processes of amendment, but there is no other way to modify or alter it.
in Trial of Captain Vaughan, 13 How.St.Tr. 485, 533. It is a sufficient measure of the overt act required by the Constitution. Cramer v. United States, supra, at 325 U. S. 28-29. All of the overt acts tended to strengthen Japan's war efforts; all of them encouraged the enemy and advanced its interests.
Petitioner contends that the overt acts were not sufficiently proved by two witnesses. Each witness who testified to an overt act was, however, an eye-itness of the commission of that act. They were present, and saw or heard that to which they testified. In some instances, there was a variance as to details. Thus, overt act (b) was testified to by thirteen witnesses. They did not all agree as to the exact date when the overt act occurred, whether in April, May, or June, 1945. But they all agreed that it did take place, that Grant was the victim, and that it happened between 3 and 6 o'clock in the afternoon, and most of them agreed that petitioner struck Grant. The Court of Appeals concluded, and we agree, that the disagreement among the witnesses was not on what took place, but on collateral details. "While two witnesses must testify to the same act, it is not required that their testimony be identical." Haupt v. United States, supra, at 330 U. S. 640. There is no doubt that, as respects each of the eight overt acts, the witnesses were all talking about the same incident, and were describing the same conduct on petitioner's part.
the war effort, Haupt v. United States, supra, at 330 U. S. 642, and from his own professions of loyalty to Japan.
Evidence of what petitioner said during this period concerning the war effort and his professions of loyalty, if believed by the jury, leaves little doubt of his traitorous intent. "It looks like MacArthur took a run-ut powder on you boys;" "The Japanese were a little superior to your American soldiers;" "You Americans don't have no chance. We will win the war." "Well, you guys needn't be interested in when the war will be over, because you won't go back; you will stay here and work. I will go back to the States, because I am an American citizen;" "We will kill all you prisoners right here anyway, whether you win the war or lose it. You will never get to go back to the States;" "I will be glad when all of the Americans is dead, and then I can go home and live happy." These are some of the statements petitioner made aligning himself with the Japanese cause. There was also evidence that he said that the prisoners would never go back to their wives and their families, that Japan would win the war, and that he would return to the United States as an important man, that Japan would win if it took 100 years, that the Japanese were superior to the Americans, and, if the American Army had Japanese officers, they could whip the world, that there were more American boys who would be available to do the work if the present prisoners were too weak to work. And, on the day the work at the camp ended after Japan surrendered, he commented, "You American bastards will be well fed," or "you will be getting fat from now on."
and that he intended to do everything he could to help Japan. He also testified that the first loyalty he felt to the United States, following the entry of his name in the Koseki, was when he applied for registration as an American citizen in December, 1945, and once more took the oath of allegiance. Yet we have already seen that, in connection with that application, he conceded his dual nationality and the continuance of his American citizenship during his entire stay in Japan.
If the versions of petitioner's words and conduct at the Oeyama camp, testified to by the various witnesses, were believed, the traitorous intent would be shown by overwhelming evidence. Petitioner indeed conceded at the trial that he felt no loyalty to the United States at this time, and had thrown his lot in with Japan. Yet, at the end of the war, he had taken the oath of allegiance to the United States, claiming he had been a United States citizen all along. The issue of intent to betray, like the citizenship issue, was plainly one for the jury to decide. We would have to reject all the evidence adverse to petitioner and accept as the truth his protestations when the shadow of the hangman's noose was on him in order to save him from the finding that he did have the intent to betray. That finding of the jury was based on its conclusion that what he did was done willingly and voluntarily, and not because the duty of his office or any coercion compelled him to do it. The finding that he had an uncoerced and voluntary purpose was amply supported by the evidence. Therefore, the second element of the crime of treason was firmly established.
the discretion of the court, shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined not less than $10,000, . . . and every person so convicted of treason shall, moreover, be incapable of holding any office under the United States. [Footnote 10]"
The trial judge imposed the death sentence. The argument is that that sentence was so severe as to be arbitrary. It was, however, within the statutory limits. Whether a sentence may be so severe and the offense so trivial that an appellate court should set it aside is a question we need not reach. The flagrant and persistent acts of petitioner gave the trial judge such a leeway in reaching a decision on the sentence that we would not be warranted in interfering. Cf. Blockburger v. United States, 284 U. S. 299, 284 U. S. 305.
See Blakemore, Recovery of Japanese Nationality as Cause for Expatriation in American Law, 43 Am.J.Int'l L. 441, 449.
For discussions of the subject of dual nationality, See Talbot v. Jansen, 3 Dall. 133, 3 U. S. 164-165, 3 U. S. 169; Inglis v. Trustees of The Sailor's Snug Harbour, 3 Pet. 99, 28 U. S. 126, 28 U. S. 157, 28 U. S. 161; Shanks v. Dupont, 3 Pet. 242, 28 U. S. 247, 28 U. S. 249; Perkins v. Elg, 307 U. S. 325, 307 U. S. 329, 307 U. S. 339, 307 U. S. 344-345; Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U. S. 81, 320 U. S. 97-98; Savorgnan v. United States, 338 U. S. 491, 338 U. S. 500; United States ex rel. Scimeca v. Husband, 6 F.2d 957, 958; Dos Reis ex rel. Camara v. Nicolls, 161 F.2d 860; Attorney General v. Ricketts, 165 F.2d 193; Uyeno v. Acheson, 96 F.Supp. 510, 514-515; Tomasicchio v. Acheson, 98 F.Supp. 166; Kondo v. Acheson, 98 F.Supp. 884, 886-887; Hamamoto v. Acheson, 98 F.Supp. 904, 905; Boissonnas v. Acheson, 101 F.Supp. 138, 147, 151-152; Di Girolamo v. Acheson, 101 F.Supp. 380, 382; Coumas v. Superior Court, 31 Cal.2d 682, 192 P.2d 449; Doyle v. Ries, 208 Minn. 321, 293 N.W. 614; Ludlam v. Ludlam, 26 N.Y. 356, 376-377; Lynch v. Clarke, 1 Sandf.Ch. (N.Y.) 583, 659, 677-679; State ex rel. Phelps v. Jackson, 79 Vt. 504, 520, 65 A. 657, 661; Borchard, Diplomatic Protection of Citizens Abroad, 575-591; Flournoy, Dual Nationality and Election, 30 Yale L.J. 545, 693; Hackworth, Digest of International Law, Vol. III, pp, 352-377; Hyde, International Law (2d ed.) Vol. 2, pp. 1131-1143; Moore, International Law Digest, Vol. III, pp. 518-551; Nielsen, Some Vexatious Questions Relating to Nationality, 20 Col.L.Rev. 840; Oppenheim, International Law (7th ed., Lauterpacht), Vol. I, pp. 606-610; Orfield, The Legal Effects of Dual Nationality, 17 Geo.Wash.L.Rev. 427; Van Dyne, Citizenship of the United States, 24, 34.
"With reference to subsections (c) and (d), attention is called to the following statement in an opinion of Attorney General Williams, dated August 20, 1873 (14 Op.Atty.Gen. 295, 297): "
" My opinion . . . is that, in addition to domicile and intent to remain, such expressions or acts as amount to a renunciation of United States citizenship and a willingness to submit to or adopt the obligations of the country in which the person resides, such as accepting public employment, engaging in military services, etc., may be treated by this Government as expatriation, without actual naturalization. Naturalization is without doubt the highest, but not the only evidence of expatriation."
"It seems to me the object of that is fairly clear. A foreign state has some position in its government which can be held only by its citizens, and an American accepts such a position and serves the foreign state and loses his American nationality. That is intended particularly for cases of persons of dual nationality, and there are not a great many of those cases. There are not many thousands of them. . . . This is intended particularly for those cases of dual nationality. Say an American is born here, and he goes to and is living in Mexico, and he takes a position in the Mexican Government -- that is regarded as equivalent to a choice of his citizenship, and he loses his American nationality."
"upon the special recommendation of the War Department with a view to checking the activities of persons regarded as prospective 'fifth Columnists.'"
"Whereas the right of expatriation is a natural and inherent right of all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and whereas, in the recognition of this principle, this Government has freely received emigrants from all nations, and invested them with the rights of citizenship, and whereas it is claimed that such American citizens, with their descendants, are subjects of foreign states, owing allegiance to the governments thereof, and whereas it is necessary to the maintenance of public peace that this claim of foreign allegiance should be promptly and finally disavowed: Therefore any declaration, instruction, opinion, order, or decision of any officer of the United States which denies, restricts, impairs, or questions the right of expatriation is declared inconsistent with the fundamental principles of the Republic."
"Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason, and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined not less than $10,000, and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."
Abstract of Passport Laws and Precedents, Passport Division Office Instructions, Code No. 1.6, May 19, 1941.
The form of interrogatory which the jury answered affirmatively to each of the eight overt acts is printed in United States v. Kawakita, 96 F.Supp. 824, 851-852.
18 U.S.C. (1946 ed.) § 2. For the present version see note 7 supra.
records as an enemy alien, secured employment subject to military control at a munitions plant, traveled to China on a Japanese passport, and prayed daily for the Emperor's health and a Japanese victory. These facts and petitioner's heinous treatment of American prisoners of war, recited in the opinion of the Court, convince us that petitioner, for over two years, was consistently demonstrating his allegiance to Japan, not the United States. As a matter of law, he expatriated himself as well as that can be done.
Petitioner's statements that he was still a citizen of the United States -- made in order to obtain a United States passport after Japan had lost the War -- cannot restore citizenship renounced during the War. Because we conclude, on this record, that petitioner's whole course of conduct was inconsistent with retention of United States citizenship, we would reverse petitioner's conviction of treason against the United States.

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