A national group is honoring University of Hawaii law professor Eric Yamamoto to recognize his devotion to the struggle for justice and his mentorship of promising legal scholars.
The William S. Richardson School of Law said Wednesday the Consortium of Asian Pacific American Law professors created an annual award in Yamamoto's name.
The "Professor Eric Y. Yamamoto Emerging Scholar Award" will be given to an early-career law professor at a U.S. law school who demonstrates outstanding promise.
Yamamoto served as a member of the legal team that, in 1984, successfully argued the unconstitutionality of the government's incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.
The case became the cornerstone for the 1988 Civil Liberties Act, which included a presidential apology, reparations, and a public education fund.
