In 1970, five Chinese resident alien civil service employees filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, challenging their dismissal from federal government jobs after it was discovered that they were not U.S. citizens. Plaintiffs sought to overturn regulation 5 C.F.R. § 338.101 (1971) of the United States Civil Service Commission, which excluded non-citizens from the competitive civil service jobs, as being unconstitutional.

The District Court (Judge Peckham) upheld the regulation and the plaintiffs appealed. Mow Sun Wong v. Hampton, 333 F.Supp. 527 (N.D.Cal. 1971). The Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal. Mow Sun Wong v. Hampton, 500 F.2d 1031 (9th Cir. 1974). The Supreme Court granted certiorari. Hampton v. Mow Sun Wong, 417 U.S. 944, 94 S.Ct. 3067, 41 L.Ed.2d 664 (1974).

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court (Justice John Paul Stevens) affirmed the Ninth Circuit opinion and found that the challenged regulation deprived the plaintiffs of liberty without due process of law and was therefore invalid. Hampton v. Mow Sun Wong, 426 U.S. 88, 96 S.Ct. 1895, 48 L.Ed.2d 495 (1976).

On remand, the named plaintiffs moved for injunctive relief consistent with the Supreme Court's decision. However, in response to that decision, President Ford issued Executive Order No. 11935 (September 2, 1976) which barred aliens from virtually all federal civil service jobs. The District Court denied plaintiffs' requested injunctive relief on the basis of President Ford's executive order, which the Court found to be within his authority. Mow Sun Wong v. Hampton, 435 F.Supp. 37 (N.D.Cal.1977). Plaintiffs appealed, but the Ninth Circuit affirmed. Mow Sun Wong v. Campbell, 626 F.2d 739 (9th Cir. 1980) Certiorari was denied Lum v. Campbell, 450 U.S. 959, 101 S.Ct. 1419, 67 L.Ed.2d 384 (1981).

We have no further information on the case.

Dan Dalton - 12/03/2007


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