Case Brief Pete Hernandez

Facts: In 1951, Pete Hernandez, was a 21-year-old agricultural worker, whom found himself drinking with a friend in a local bar in a small town in Jackson County, Texas. He later was asked to leave the establishment after becoming disruptive. Hernandez went home, got a gun, returned to the bar and shot one of the individuals inside, Joe Espinosa. Consequently, he was indicted for murder, in September 1951. Preceding the trail, Hernandez’s lawyers priority was to rescind the indictment as well as the jury panel, due to the exclusion of people of Mexican descent from the jury from this case. Their argument was that Mexican-Americans have been purposely excluded, from serving as grand jurors, petit jurors, and jury commissioners. Even though a few of the Mexican-Americans who lived in Jackson County met all the requirements necessary to be entitled to serve in the jury, were

Yet, the trial court denied the motions since those of Mexican descent were categorized as part of the class of whites or caucasians. Resulting in the court to deny these motions presented by the petitioners due to insufficient evidence of Mexican-Americans treated as a “special class” within this community.

Due to the insufficient substantial evidence to prove otherwise against the accusations Hernandez was facing, he was then found guilty by an all-Anglo jury, for premeditated murder of Joe Espinosa and sentenced to life in prison.

Question: If an individual is being trialed in court, and those who are members of his or her race, are excluded from serving as jurors, does this deprive that individual from the equal protection rights that are upheld by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States