Dale Minami

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, 2017

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.

Minami's San Francisco-based law firm, Minami Tamaki LLP, specializes in personal injury, immigration, consumer protection and employment 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.

“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.

Japanese American Redress, African-American Law & Policy Report, Vol. 6, Number 1, 2004.

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

Korematsu v. United States: A “Constant Caution” in a Time of Crisis, Asian Law Journal, Vol. 10, Number 1, May, 2003.

In 2001, he was selected as one of America's Top 50 Bachelors by People magazine.

In 1996, he was appointed by President Bill Clinton 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 to educate the public about the incarceration of Japanese Americans.

He received honorary juris doctor degrees from the McGeorge School of Law in 1995 and the University of San Francisco School of Law in 2010.

Perspectives on Affirmative Action, contributor of an article, Common Ground, 1995, p. 11.

In 1993, students at the University of California at Santa Cruz voted to honor Dale Minami as one of the top-two vote getters alongside Queen Liliʻuokalani when voting on name preferences for what is now the Liliʻuokalani-Minami block at the university.

"Internment During World War II and Litigations", Asian Americans and the Supreme Court, edited by Hyung-Chan Kim, 1992, pp. 755-789.

"Guerrilla War at UCLA: Political and Legal Dimensions of the Tenure Battle", Amerasia Journal, Vol 16, Number 1, 1990.

"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.

In the early 1980s, Minami helped lead a legal team of pro bono attorneys in successfully reopening Korematsu v. United States, a landmark United State Supreme Court Case in 1944 which upheld Fred Korematsu’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.

"Asian Law Caucus: Experiment Alternatives", Vol. 3, No. 1, Amerasia Journal, Summer, 1975.

"Shikata ga nai: Legal Justice and Asian Americans", Church and Society, January - February, 1971, 6- 14.

He attended the University of Southern California magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1968. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 1971 from University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

Dale Minami (born October 13, 1946) is a prominent Japanese American civil rights and personal injury lawyer based in San Francisco, California. He is best known for his work leading the legal team that overturned the conviction of Fred Korematsu, whose defiance of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II led to Korematsu v. United States, which is widely considered one of the worst and most racist Supreme Court decisions in American history.

Minami was born in Los Angeles, California on October 13, 1946 to Nisei 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 where he was active as student body president and played varsity basketball and baseball.