Introduction
The case Hernandez v. Texas, which occurred on May 3, 1954, defined how the American legal system handles discrimination charges against indigenous peoples. Based on this case study, the Supreme Court concluded that the Fourteenth Amendment applies to all forms of racial discrimination against minorities and other ethnic groups vulnerable to discrimination. Peter Hernandez, the defendant in this case, is an agricultural laborer. The defender had murdered Joe Espinosa and was being tried in a court of law, thus violating human rights (Greenberg, 2019). The defendant’s lawyers argue that he was not afforded equal protection under the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment.
Case Outline
Title: Supreme Court Rules in Hernandez v. Texas
Facts of The Case
The first fact of this case is that the jury must focus on racial orientation and other factors to determine whether or not citizens require equal constitutional protection. Another factor that the court must consider in this case is determining the discriminatory factors (Olivas, 2020). This is critical because the court would require sufficient evidence of racial discrimination to justify the defendant’s plea. As a result, the court will have to investigate the situation of racial discrimination against minority groups in Texas, such as Mexican Americans.
History of the Case and Legal Questions
Mexicans are considered white in Texas, and the Fourteenth Amendment does not protect them. According to Garcia (2022), Texas law denied Sanchez’s request for equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. Mexicans are now considered part of the white family and are protected from racial discrimination. The main question for the court was whether the Fourteenth Amendment could be applied to all minority communities in the United States rather than just African Americans.
Decision or Holding
As in the case of Sanchez, his plea was rejected by both the local court of Texas and the Texas criminal court of appeal. According to reports, the Supreme Court accepted his pleas and justified the Fourteenth Amendment by implying it could protect all minority groups against racial discrimination rather than just African Americans.
Conclusion
The defendant’s legal counsel presented the jury with several issues to consider in deciding the case outcome. First, the legal counsel claims that people of Mexican descent were not given a fair chance to serve as jury commissioners (Garcia, 2022). Later, the Supreme Court considered the issues raised before it and determined that the Fourteenth Amendment applied to all racial discrimination against minorities in Texas and black Americans.
References
GarcĂa, I. M. (2022). White but not equal: Mexican Americans, jury discrimination, and the Supreme Court. University of Arizona Press.
Greenberg, E. S. (2019). Struggle for democracy, 2018 elections and updates edition revel access card. (12th ed.). Pearson.
Olivas, M. A. (Ed.). (2020). Colored men and hombres aquĂ: Hernandez v. Texas and the emergence of Mexican American lawyering. Arte PĂşblico Press.