Dale Minami (born October 13, 1946) is a prominent

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

civil rights and personal injury lawyer based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He is best known for his work leading the legal team that overturned the conviction of

Fred Korematsu was an American civil rights activist who resisted the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Shortly after the Imperial Japanese Navy launched its attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Or ...

, whose defiance of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

led to ''

Korematsu v. United States ''Korematsu v. United States'', 323 U.S. 214 (1944), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold the exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast Military Area during World War II. The decision has been wid ...

'', which is widely considered one of the worst and most racist

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

decisions in

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...

. In addition to his civil rights work, Minami has been recognized as one of the top personal injury attorneys in the United States. He was named a top ten personal injury lawyers in Northern California in each year from 2013 through 2018 by Law & Politics Magazine. He is regularly ranked as a top " Super Lawyer" and regularly recognized as a "Best Lawyer" by the eponymous peer-reviewed publication.

Early life and education

Minami was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on October 13, 1946 to

Nisei is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generation, ...

parents who were victims of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. He grew up in Gardena, a suburb south of the city of Los Angeles. He graduated from

Gardena High School Gardena High School (GHS) is a public high school in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles, California, United States, adjacent to the City of Gardena. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Small Learning Co ...

where he was active as student body president and played varsity basketball and baseball. He attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

magna cum laude and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

in 1968. He received his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree in 1971 from

University of California, Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

Civil rights work

In the early 1980s, Minami helped lead a legal team of

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

attorneys in successfully reopening ''

,'' a landmark United States Supreme Court Case in 1944 which upheld

’s conviction for refusing military orders aimed at the incarceration of Japanese Americans resulting in the imprisonment of 125,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry, 2/3 of whom were American citizens. They were denied notice of any charges, the right to a trial and the right to attorneys. The later lawsuit resulted in the erasure of Fred Korematsu’s criminal conviction. He was also involved in numerous legal cases and issues promoting the

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

of Asian Pacific Americans.Lorraine K. Bannai & Dale Minami, ''Internment during World War II and Litigations'', in Asian Americans and the Supreme Court: A Documentary History 755-88 (H. Kim, ed. Greenwood Press 1992). Among the cases were United Filipinos for Affirmative Action v. California Blue Shield which was the first employment

class action lawsuit A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...

brought by Asian-Pacific Americans on behalf of Asian-Pacific Americans. The case resulted in a settlement for promotions to Asian Americans, programs to accelerate promotions and a community monitoring organization.. Spokane JACL v. Washington State University was a class action to establish an Asian American Studies program at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

which resulted in a settlement to establish an Asian American Studies program at the university. 3 Minami also represented a UCLA professor, Don Nakanish, in several grievance claims against UCLA for unfair and discriminatory decisions initially resulting in the denial of tenure. After several successful grievances and a prolonged struggle that became a cause célèbre in the Asian American community, the University granted tenure. Minami has been involved in the judicial appointment process and in public policy and legislation. He served as a member of the California

Fair Employment and Housing Commission The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) (formerly known as the ''Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)'') is an agency of California state government charged with the protection of residents from employment, housing and public ac ...

. He chaired the

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...

's Asian Pacific Advisory Committee where he grew the committee's mandate to more assertively advocate for Asian American communities. He has also been a Commissioner on the

California State Bar Association The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

’s Commission on Judicial Nominee's Evaluation and Senator

Barbara Boxer Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U.S. ...

's Judicial Screening Committee. In 1996, he was appointed by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

as chair of the board for the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund in 1996. The board which administered grants created by the

Civil Liberties Act of 1988 The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (, title I, August 10, 1988, , et seq.) is a United States federal law that granted reparations to Japanese Americans who had been wrongly interned by the United States government during World War II. The act was ...

to educate the public about the incarceration of Japanese Americans. Minami is a co-founder of the Asian Law Caucus, first Asian American public interest/community supporting Asian Americans in the country. He also cofounded the Asian-American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, the Asian Pacific Bar of California and the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans.

Practice

Minami's

-based

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

, Minami Tamaki LLP, specializes in

personal injury Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. In common law jurisdictions the term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit in which the person bringing the suit (t ...

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

and

employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

law. Mr. Minami has been recognized as one of the top personal injury lawyers in the Bay Area. He was selected one of the Top Ten personal injury lawyers in Northern California in each year from 2013 through 2018 by Law & Politics Magazine, one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers for Northern California in 2005, 2007 through 2019 and a Super Lawyer for each year from 2004 through 2019 in the Personal Injury category. He is regularly recognized as a "Best Lawyer" in the United States by the eponymous peer-reviewed publication. Clients have included

Kristi Yamaguchi Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American former figure skater. In ladies' singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (1991 and 1992), and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first ...

Philip Kan Gotanda Philip Kan Gotanda (born December 17, 1951) is an American playwright and filmmaker and a third generation Japanese American. Much of his work deals with Asian American issues and experiences. Biography Over the last three decades Gotanda h ...

, and

Steven Okazaki Steven Toll Okazaki (born March 12, 1952) is an American documentary filmmaker known for his raw, cinéma vérité-style documentaries that frequently show ordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances. He has received a Peabody Awar ...

. He is counsel to several community organizations, including the

Center for Asian American Media The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) was founded in 1980. The San Francisco-based organization, formerly known as the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA), has grown into the largest organization dedicated to the adv ...

(formerly NAATA), and the

Asian American Journalists Association The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational and professional organization based in San Francisco, California with more than 1,500 members and 21 chapters across the United States and Asia. The current presi ...

Awards

Minami has received numerous awards. These include the American Bar Association’s 2003 Thurgood Marshall Award and its ABA Medal in 2019, the highest award given by the association. In 2008,

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

awarded Minami its Citation Award, its highest honor. In 2003, he received the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

Civil Liberties Award and the State Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award. A public interest fellowship has been named for him at UC Berkeley Law. In 1993, students at the

University of California at Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

voted to honor Dale Minami as one of the top-two vote getters alongside

Queen Liliʻuokalani Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

when voting on name preferences for what is now the Liliʻuokalani-Minami block at the university. He received honorary juris doctor degrees from the

McGeorge School of Law University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on t ...

in 1995 and the

University of San Francisco School of Law The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law) is the law school of the private University of San Francisco. Established in 1912, it received American Bar Association accreditation in 1935 and joined the Association of American Law Sc ...

in 2010.

Partial list of awards

* Honorary Juris Doctor,

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on t ...

, 1995 * Boalt Hall Distinguished Service Award, Berkeley Law Alumni Association, 1996 * Spirit of Excellence Award,

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

, 1997 * Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Award, KQED, 1998 * America's Top 50 Bachelors, ''People'' magazine, 2001 * Matthew O. Tobriner Public Service Award, Legal Aid Society Employment Law Center, 2002 * Thurgood Marshall Award,

, 2003 * Civil Liberties Award, ACLU of Northern California, 2003 * Legal Impact Award, Asian Law Alliance (San Jose), 2006 * Vision Award,

Japanese American Citizens League The is an Asian American civil rights charity, headquartered in San Francisco, with regional chapters across the United States. The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) describes itself as the oldest and largest Asian American civil right ...

National Youth Council, 2007 * Citation Award,

, 2008 * Justice in Action Award,

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) is a New York-based national organization founded in 1974 that seeks to protect and promote the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organiz ...

, 2009 * Honorary Juris Doctor,

, 2010 * Silver Spur Award,

SPUR A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...

, 2011 * Inaugural From Roots to Branches Award, USC Asian Pacific Islander Students, 2012 * ABA Medal,

, 2019 * Inaugural Norman Y. Mineta Lifetime Achievement Award, Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, 2021 * Yuri Kochiyama Honorary Visionary Award, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, 2022

Other activities

Minami was co-executive producer with

of ''Drinking Tea'' and ''Life Tastes Good'', both of which were screened at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. In 2001, he was selected as one of America's Top 50 Bachelors by ''People'' magazine. He is active in Asian American community organizations and has served on the board of governors for the

Japanese American National Museum The is located in Los Angeles, California, and dedicated to preserving the history and culture of Japanese Americans. Founded in 1992, it is located in the Little Tokyo area near downtown. The museum is an affiliate within the Smithsonian Affil ...

. He has been a lecturer at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

and an instructor at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

Personal life

Minami is married to Sandra Ai Mori. They have two daughters, ages 10 and 13 and a dog of unknown ancestry, Coco. He has two brothers, Dr. Roland Minami and Neil Minami.

Publications

''"Shikata ga nai: Legal Justice and Asian Americans"'', Church and Society, January - February, 1971, 6- 14. ''"Asian Law Caucus: Experiment Alternatives"'', Vol. 3, No. 1, Amerasia Journal, Summer, 1975. ''"Coram Nobis and Redress:"'' in Japanese Americans, From Relocation to Redress, Edited by Sandra C. Taylor and Harry H.L. Kitano, 1986, p.200-202. "''Guerrilla War at UCLA: Political and Legal Dimensions of the Tenure Battle"'', Amerasia Journal, Vol 16, Number 1, 1990. ''"Internment During World War II and Litigations"'', Asian Americans and the Supreme Court, edited by Hyung-Chan Kim, 1992, pp. 755-789. ''Perspectives on Affirmative Action,'' contributor of an article, Common Ground, 1995, p. 11. ''Korematsu v. United States: A “Constant Caution” in a Time of Crisis'', Asian Law Journal, Vol. 10, Number 1, May, 2003. ''Japanese American Redress'', African-American Law & Policy Report, Vol. 6, Number 1, 2004. ''“One Man Seeks Justice from a Nation: Korematsu v. United States”'', Untold Civil Rights Stories: Asian Americans Speak out for Justice, 2009, Eric Yamamoto, Dale Minami and May Lee Heye. ''“A Chance of a Lifetime"'', Pacific Citizen, December, 2008. Echoes of History – 1942 – 1983 – 2017: From the Incarceration of Japanese Americans to the Travel Ban, Contra Costa Bar Journal October 1, 2017 Echo of History Resounds Today, Hawaii Herald, February 17, 2017Echo of History Resounds Today, Hawaii Herald, February 17, 2017

References

External links

minamitamaki.com
- official biography on law firm site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Minami, Dale 1946 births American civil rights lawyers American people of Japanese descent Japanese-American civil rights activists Internment of Japanese Americans Living people Lawyers from San Francisco University of Southern California alumni UC Berkeley School of Law alumni Activists from California