Today in history, 1954: The Supreme Court unanimously rules that the Fourteenth Amendment applies to all races, nationalities and ethnicities. The decision in Hernandez v. Texas broadened civil rights laws to include Mexican Americans and other groups. /1
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Peter Hernandez was a Mexican American agricultural worker who was convicted of murder in 1951. His pro bono legal team appealed the ruling because there were no Mexicans on the jury, even though Jackson County, Texas, had a large Hispanic population. /2
The State of Texas argued that Mexicans were White and the 14th Amendment only guaranteed equal protection under the law to African Americans. The lawyers had to prove that Hernandez was deprived of equal protection because he was not tried by a jury of his peers. /3
In fact, the attorneys found no one with a Hispanic last name in 25 years’ worth of jury records. Texas did not officially bar Hispanics from jury service, but the lawyers argued there was “systematic exclusion of persons of Mexican origin … in at least 70 counties.” /4
Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the Supreme Court’s decision that the Fourteenth Amendment did apply. He said, “The Fourteenth Amendment is not directed solely against discrimination due to a ‘two-class theory’ — that is, based upon differences between ‘white’ and Negro.” /5
The decision has had immense consequences for every minority group that has sought equal protection in the face of racial discrimination. By the way, Hernandez v. Texas was the first case in which Hispanic lawyers argued before the Supreme Court. /end
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