Final answer:
The Supreme Court's decision in Korematsu v. United States to uphold Japanese American internment has been widely renounced, marking a troubling instance of civil liberties being overridden by wartime executive power.
Step-by-step explanation:
The constitutionality of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, upheld in Korematsu v. United States, remains deeply controversial. Although the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of the government's right to intern Japanese Americans for reasons of national security, this decision has been largely repudiated by the public and the courts alike. The internment violated the constitutional rights of over two-thirds of Japanese Americans who were citizens. The case also demonstrated the potential for abuses of executive power, particularly during times of war.
Later, redress was sought and partly achieved through actions such as the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and public apologies. Notably, in 2018, the Supreme Court acknowledged the error of its ways in Trump v. Hawaii, where Chief Justice John Roberts stated that Korematsu was wrong and had no place in law under the Constitution.
While the U.S. government, decades later, took steps toward acknowledgment and compensation, the Korematsu case is a stark reminder of the importance of protecting civil liberties even in times of national crisis.