[8] While at the University of Maryland, Chuman took a course in which he became acquainted with the writ of error coram nobis — a legal order that would play an important role later in his life.
[7] In 1945, Chuman returned to Los Angeles, where he worked for a law firm which provided counsel to the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL).
[3] While serving as JACL president, Chuman facilitated the launch of the Japanese American Research Project (JARP) and assisted with its fundraising.
[3] In the 1960s, Chuman became involved in the civil rights movement and was named commissioner of the Los Angeles County Human Relations commission.
[4] Chuman repeated his suggestion of using the writ to help overturn the rulings during 1981 testimony before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), and shortly thereafter the scholar Peter Irons and attorney Dale Minami undertook a coram nobis petition in this effort.