Hernandez v. Texas was a landmark Supreme court case that decided that Mexican Americans and all other racial groups in the United States had equal protection under the 14th Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment may refer to the: Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution - contains the due process and equal protection clauses. ...

Background

Pete Hernandez, a Mexican agricultural worker was convicted for the murder of Joe Espinoza. Hernandez believed that the jury could not be impartial unless members of other races were allowed on the jury-selecting committees, seeing that a Mexican-American had not been on a jury for more than 25 years in Texas. Hernandez and his lawyer took the case to the Supreme Court.

Ruling

Chief Justice Earl Warren and the rest of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Hernandez. The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment protects those beyond the racial classes of white or Negro, and extends to other racial groups, such as Mexican-American in this case.

Social Implications

The ruling was yet another step forward in the Civil Rights movement and another hit to segregation. This time, other racial minorities than African Americans benefieted from such a ruling. The ultimate impact of this ruling, however, was that now all racial groups of the United States were protected under the 14th Amendment.

See Also

• Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932)*
• Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)*
• Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649 (1944)*
• Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 (1948)*
• Mendez v. Westminister School District, 64 F.Supp. 544 (1946)*
• Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950)*
• McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, 339 U.S. 637 (1950)*
• Briggs v. Elliott, 347 U.S. 483 *
• Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, Civ. A. No. 1333*
• Gebhart v. Belton, 33 Del. Ch. 144*
• Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (1954)*
• NAACP v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449 (1958)*
• Boynton v. Virginia, 364 U.S. 454 (1960)*
• Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 (1964)*
• Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. 1 (1971)*
• Milliken v. Bradley, 418 U.S. 717 (1974)*
• List of United States Supreme Court Cases

* See court citation for an explanation of these numbers. Powell v. ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Holding Racial segregation in public education violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; separate facilities are “inherently unequal. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Smith v. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Shelley v. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Mendez v. ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Sweatt v. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... McLaurin v. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Briggs v. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Davis v. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Gebhart v. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Bolling v. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... NAACP v. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Boynton v. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Heart of Atlanta Motel Inc. ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Swann v. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Milliken v. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... This is a chronological list of notable cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ...