The Japanese
American Citizens League (JACL) believes that all American citizens have the
right to a fair and impartial trial, which
includes the right to have a
trial presided over by an impartial judge and to be protected from double
jeopardy.
As the oldest Asian Pacific American civil rights organization
in the
United States, the JACL has lodged numerous principled defenses of
constitutional rights. History has taught us a valuable lesson that true
affirmation of American ideals and rights requires conscientious
reflection
and action based on those ideals. The Japanese American experience, with
120,000 people unjustly imprisoned without due
process or equal protection
under the law during World War II, has taught JACL the importance of
defending civil rights and civil
liberties.
On June 7, 2006, First
Lt. Ehren Watada publicly declared his intent to refuse deployment to Iraq
based upon his oath to defend the
Constitution. Lt. Watada explained his
convictions again on August
12, 2006. Each time, Lt. Watada spoke while out
of uniform, off his military base, and on his own time -- in accordance with
the limits
on free speech under military law that Lt. Watada's superiors emphasized to him. During subsequent court-martial proceedings, the
presiding judge repeatedly refused to allow Lt. Watada to present testimony about his convictions. However, before the prosecution
rested
its case, the prosecution's own expert witness acknowledged
that an
officer must ultimately follow the demands of his or her
conscience. The
judge eventually declared a mistrial over defense counsel's
objections.
Serious issues of fairness have been raised concerning
selective prosecution, freedom of speech, judicial bias, the ability to
present
witnesses in one's defense, due process and the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy with respect to Lt. Watada's
case.
While legal minds and good people can disagree about Lt. Watada's beliefs in
this case, the JACL is committed to raising
awareness and educating other
organizations about his principled
stand to ensure he is treated with
fairness and receives due process
within the U.S. military justice system
and under the U.S. Constitution.
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