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.