T. Blake Kennedy served as U.S. District Judge of Wyoming from 1922 to 1955. He presided over two court cases in 1944 pertaining to draft evasion by Heart Mountain Nisei men. The Nisei (second generation) were part of the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee, which advocated for a restoration of Nisei civil rights as a precondition for compliance with the military draft and counseled noncompliance with the draft to create a test case of the lawfulness of conscripting incarcerated Nisei. Kennedy convicted all 63 of the Nisei draft resisters as well as several leaders of the Fair Play Committee of inciting others to evade the draft. His papers contain correspondence regarding the Heart Mountain court cases and his memoir.
To review this collection's contents, see the "Inventory for collection."
Letter from Mrs. John A. Horen to Judge T. Blake Kennedy, July 13, 1944
Horen questions the psychology behind Kennedy's decision to sentence the 63 Japanese Americans who had been interned at Heart Mountain to 3 years in prison after they violated the Selective Service Act.