Case Summary

In 1954, LULAC won a landmark Supreme Court victory securing Latinos the right to serve on juries and barring government discrimination against Latinos. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously for LULAC, holding that the Equal Protection Clause guarantees equal treatment to Latinos.

“Hernandez secured Constitutional protection for Latino civil rights,” reflected past LULAC National President Hector Flores. “We are still building on that foundation as we work, inside and outside of the courthouse, to secure full justice for Latinos in the United States.”

After the Civil War, Congress adopted the 14th Amendment to guarantee equal protection under the laws. But many states argued that equal protection did not apply to Mexican Americans, and continued to discriminate against them both officially and unofficially. By 1951, for instance, Jackson County, Texas, had “by chance” failed to call a single Mexican American person for jury service in over 25 years.

In the early 1950s, an all-Anglo jury in Jackson County convicted Pete Hernandez, a Mexican American man, and sentenced him to life in prison. LULAC’s lead counsel, Gustavo García, took Hernandez’s case to challenge this discriminatory treatment. García argued that Texas unconstitutionally discriminated against Mexican Americans in its jury selection process. Despite repeated setbacks in the Texas courts, García kept fighting, appealing all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Hernandez was the first time Mexican American lawyers ever argued before the Supreme Court. García won unanimously.

Hernandez’s acknowledgement that the Constitution protects Latinos from discrimination has had implications far beyond the right to serve on juries. It has served as the foundation for subsequent equal protection victories both for Latinos and for many other ethnic groups.

Legal Documents

01/11/1954 Opinion

Further Reading

Latinos and American Law: Landmark Supreme Court Cases by Carlos R. Soltero