| Hernandez v. Texas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued January 11, 1954 Decided May 3, 1954 | |
| Full case name | Pete Hernandez v. State of Texas |
| Citations | 347U.S.475 (more) 74 S. Ct. 667; 98 L. Ed. 866; 1954 U.S. LEXIS 2128 |
| Prior history | Certiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals for Texas.Hernandez v. State, 160 Tex. Crim. 72, 251 S.W.2d 531, 1952 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1421 (Tex. Crim. App., 1952) |
| Holding | |
| The Court decided thatMexican Americans and all other racial and national groups in theUnited States had equal protection under the14th Amendment to theU.S. Constitution. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Warren, joined byunanimous |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. XIV | |
Hernandez v. Texas,347U.S.475(1954),[1] was alandmark decision by theUnited States Supreme Court.[2] In aunanimous ruling, the Court held thatMexican Americans and all otherracial ornational groups in theUnited States hadequal protection under the14th Amendment of theU.S. Constitution.[2] The ruling was written byChief JusticeEarl Warren.[2] This was the first case in which Mexican-Americanlawyers had appeared before the US Supreme Court.[3]
Pete Hernandez, a Mexican-Americanagriculturalworker, wasconvicted for the 1950murder of Joe Espinosa. Hernandez'spro bonolegal team, including Gustavo C. García, wanted tochallenge what they knew was "the systematic exclusion of persons of Mexican origin" from all types ofjury duty in at least seventy counties inTexas.[4] Hisdefense lawyers argued that persons of Mexicandescent had not been allowed to serve on juries even though numerous Mexican Americans werecitizens and hadqualified for jury duty inJackson County. Even though 14percent of the county wasHispanic, none had served on juries for at least the last 25 years.[4] This meant Hernandez had beendeprived of his Fourteenth Amendmentrights. Hernandez and his lawyers appealed to theSupreme Court of Texas, then to the United States Supreme Court through awrit of certiorari.
The unanimousmajority opinion was delivered by Chief Justice Earl Warren.[2] The Court ruled the Fourteenth Amendment protects persons beyond the racial classes ofwhite orblack, and extendsprotection to other racial or national groups, as well as legal classes.[2] Mexican Americans were such a "special class" and were entitled to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Pete Hernandez was granted a newtrial with a jury that included Mexican Americans. Hernandez was found to be guilty of murder. The ultimate effect of this ruling was that the protection of the 14th Amendment was ruled to cover any racial, national and ethnic groups of the United States for whichdiscrimination could be proved. The Court's ruling served as a legalprecedent used in legal challenges against unfairhousing laws,school segregation, andvoting rights of Mexican Americansnationwide.[3]