2025 Marutani Fellowship Application

THE JUDGE WILLIAM M. MARUTANI FELLOWSHIP

The Judge William M. Marutani Fellowship (“Fellowship”) was established by the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (“APABA-PA”) in conjunction with the Philadelphia Bar Foundation. The Fellowship serves to honor the legacy of Judge Marutani, the first Asian American judge in Pennsylvania, a distinguished member of the judiciary who served both the Asian American community and the community at large for many years. Judge Marutani’s exemplary career is a model for current students who are committed to public service. 

Current first-year and second-year law students who are members of APABA-PA (1) attending law school in Pennsylvania and the Greater Philadelphia Area (including, but not limited to, Penn State Dickinson Law, Rutgers Law School-Camden, Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, Widener University Delaware Law School, Widener University Commonwealth Law School, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University, and University of Pittsburgh School of Law) are eligible to apply. Applicants are not eligible if they previously received the Marutani Fellowship.

The Fellowship will provide a stipend to subsidize a summer internship position with a non-profit public interest organization or with a federal, state or municipal government entity (including the judiciary) in Pennsylvania or in the Greater Philadelphia area. Internships must be secured by the time of the interview, but not necessarily by the time of the application.

Finalists will be selected based upon past and present work and community service experience, accomplishments and awards, character, demonstrated commitment toward advancing the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion and uplifting Asian Pacific American communities, demonstrated commitment to public interest work, law school transcripts, and an essay. Each finalist will be interviewed by the Fellowship Selection Committee. 2025 interviews are expected to take place during the last week of March or the first week of April. 

The Fellowship recipient(s) will receive a stipend, up to $6000, for full-time summer employment (of at least ten weeks) at an organization described above. Applicants are eligible for the Marutani Fellowship even if they seek or receive other sources of summer funding. 

After completing the internship, the Fellowship recipient will be required to complete a two-page report summarizing their summer experience. This report shall be submitted in a finished form appropriate for publication in the APABA-PA’s newsletter and on the Philadelphia Bar Foundation’s website. The Fellowship recipient will also be recognized at the APABA-PA’s annual banquet in the fall. Fellowship recipients are expected to attend the annual banquet. (2)

THE HONORABLE WILLIAM M. MARUTANI

The Honorable William M. Marutani served as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County from 1975 to 1986. When appointed to the bench in 1975, Judge Marutani became the first Asian American outside of the Pacific Coast states to preside as a judge of a court of general jurisdiction. Judge Marutani was later elected to a full ten-year term in 1977. During his tenure, he issued the decision requiring all-boys Central High School to admit female students in 1983.

In 1942, Judge Marutani, a second-generation Japanese American, served six months in an American internment camp following the Pearl Harbor attack. Later during the war, he served in the U.S. Military Intelligence Service (MIS). 

As an attorney, Judge Marutani participated in the civil rights drives in the South and helped organize the 1963 March on Washington for the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). From 1960 to 1970, he served as national legal counsel to the JACL, during which time he also served as a volunteer civil rights lawyer in cases involving the desegregation of schools and the promotion of voter registration drives in Mississippi. In 1967, Judge Marutani appeared on behalf of the JACL as an amicus before the U.S. Supreme Court to present oral argument in Loving v. Virginia, the seminal case that struck down anti-miscegenation laws in 17 states. 

Up until his death in November 2004, Judge Marutani also served on numerous civic and charitable boards and commissions. Most notably, in 1981 he was appointed to the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians by President Jimmy Carter. The Commission concluded that the internment of Japanese Americans was the unjust result of racism, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.


Applications are due March 10, 2025 by 5:00pm EST.
If you have any questions email, MF@philabarfoundation.org
(1) Membership to APABA-PA is open to everyone and is free for law students. To join APABA-PA, please click here.
(2) APABA-PA may subsidize transportation costs for recipients who reside outside of the Philadelphia area.
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Education Information



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References
Please provide the names of two references, their phone numbers, and their e-mail addresses (no letters of recommendation are required to be sent with application).

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Documents
Please attach the following application materials to this form:

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Certification

I understand that I must comply with all of the stated terms and conditions of the Judge William M. Marutani Fellowship (“Fellowship”) and that my failure to do so may result in the forfeiture of the entire Fellowship stipend.


I understand that all materials submitted to the Fellowship Selection Committee, as well as the two-page report summarizing my summer experience, become the property of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (“APABA-PA”) and that APABA-PA and the Philadelphia Bar Foundation reserve the right to issue public announcements regarding the recipient(s) of the Fellowship and to publish my essay and/or other information about my qualifications.


I understand that in order to be selected as a recipient of the Fellowship, I am required to inform the Fellowship Selection Committee of my choice of summer employment for confirmation that it complies with the terms of the Fellowship.


I understand that I assume responsibility for any and all tax obligations that arise from accepting a Marutani Fellowship. The Philadelphia Bar Foundation will issue an IRS Form 1099 to Fellowship recipient(s). Any concerns regarding tax implications associated with accepting a Marutani Fellowship should be addressed to a tax advisor.


I understand that I am required to also inform the Fellowship Selection Committee of all other sources of income for my summer employment as soon as such information becomes available.


I understand that I will be required to complete a two-page report at the conclusion of my summer internship, suitable for publication in the APABA-PA newsletter and that I will be required to attend the APABA-PA Annual banquet in the fall.


I certify that all of the information submitted with and all of the statements made in this application or in any document attached hereto are true and correct to the best of my knowledge as of the date below. I certify that the essay attached hereto was written solely by me and is my original work.


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