In re Ah Yup was an 1878 landmark court decision in the United States that deemed residents of Asian descent ineligible for naturalization.
A federal court in California dismissed this contention with reference to then current pseudoscientific and popular ideas about race, emphasizing that "Orientals" were unfit for participation in republican government because of the unsatisfactory political culture which existed in Asia at the time.
He not only wanted to rely on the opinions of the amici, but also the scientific evidence as he searched for a clue to the meaning of the question of Chinese naturalization.
The judge carefully examined congressional debates that came about because of Senator Charles Sumner's opposition to racial restrictions.
After careful consideration, Sawyer decided that he was "of the opinion that a native of China, of the Mongolian race, is not a white person" and due to this Ah Yup was denied citizenship to the United States of America.