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James C. Purcell collection.
MANUSCRIPT3750-3761
Collection Overview

Title:

James C. Purcell collection
Purcell

Creator/Contributor:

Purcell, James C., creator

Abstract:

Documents, court records, and photographs rpertaining to legal work Purcell did on behalf of Japanese internees, particularly Mitsuye Endo. Also included are court transcripts and documents of the "People v Mooney" and "People v Schmidt" bombing trials.

Date:

1910 (issued)

Contents:

Box 3750: Biographical & Miscellaneous; Box 3751: Biographical & Miscellaneous, Japanese-American Books; Box 3752: Japanese-American Books, Alien Land Law; Box 3753: Alien Land Law, Japanese-American Citizens League; Box 3754: Civil Service Cases, Evacuation Claims; Box 3755: Korematsu, Endo; Box 3756: Relocation, Evacuation & Internment, Alien Property Custodian, Renunciation & Strandees, Deportations, Miscellaneous Japanese & Japanese-American cases; Box 3757: Miscellaneous Japanese & Japanese-American cases; Japanese-American Miscellaneous, People v Schmidt; Box 3758: People v Schmidt; Box 3759: People v Schmidt; Box 3760: People v Mooney; Box 3761: Warren K. Billings & Preparedness Day Bombing.

Subject:

n-us-ca
Endo, Mitsuye
Korematsu, Fred -- 1919-
Billings, Warren K -- 1893-1972
Mooney, Rena
Mooney, Thomas J -- 1882-1942
Bombings -- California -- Los Angeles
Bombings -- California -- San Francisco
Japanese Americans -- California -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
Legal documents -- United States

Note:

James C. Purcell was born in San Francisco in 1906. He joined Vincent Hallinan's law firm after graduation from the Stanford University Law School in 1930, and began his own practice in 1933. His most prominent case was Ex Parte Endo in 1944, in which he successfully represented a Japanese-American fired from her California State job after The United States' entry into World War II. Purcell continued to represent relocated Japanese-Amercians looking for compensation. He also represented San Francisco Mayor George Christopher, fellow attorney Vincent Hallinan, several mob figures in a well-known 1949 assassination case, and was also the first lawyer to assist San Francisco Supervisor Dan White after his 1978 assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and fellow supervisor Harvey Milk. James Purcell died in San Francisco on February 13, 1991.
Purcell.
Gift; James Purcell's daughter, Kathleen Purcell; 2012.
Inventory available in library; folder level control.
Unrestricted. Please credit California State Library.

Type:

biography

Physical Description:

print
12 archival boxes; 16 x 12 1/2 x 10 1/4 in.

Language:

English

Identifier:

Origin:

California

Copyright Note:

Unrestricted. Please credit California State Library.