Essay Example on Pedro Hernandez vs Texas: A 1951 Human Rights Case

At a bar, in the town of Edna, Texas, a Mexican Pedro Hernandez, who was an agricultural employee, killed Joe Espinosa in cold blood, who was his employers in the year 1951. The murder was a result of a disagreement at a gritty cantina. From the killing, there was an emergence of a significant human rights case that could alter entirely the lives as well as the legal standing of many Americans. Unknown Mexican American attorneys, who defended Pedro against Texas, took the case up to the Supreme Court and successfully and were able to challenge the Crow regime of prejudicial treatment of Mexican living in America.

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After the end of the Mexicans - American war of 1848, America gained control over a large area of land from the Mexican as it had the victory. About tens of thousands of the Mexicans, who occupied the territory, were allowed to become American citizens as a part of the deal to bring the war to an end. They were to be considered white and have privileges but were discriminated against and not treated as the Anglo citizens. Their citizens meant little.

In the early twentieth century, the first 100years of having the U.S citizenship, a large number of Mexican Americans lost their ownership of lands to unclear American laws. The losses of the ranches lead to loss of their status, too, and finally being farmworkers. Many southern whites relocated to south Texas after the civil war, where they brought rigidly, the social belief of Deep South. They applied them to both Mexican Americans and blacks.

Many stereotypes towards Mexican Americans led to widespread discrimination in school restaurants and courts and also in funeral homes whereby Mexican American bodies were not prepared for burial. Education level, race, and skin color were used as the basics of stereotyping. Due to the segregation, the rid social code kept Mexicans away from the whites and viewed as different classes of people.

More than300, 000 Mexican Americans served their country in the Second World War with big expectations of full citizenship rights. They suffered casualties and gained honors in the war. However, they were disappointed to return and continue facing the injustices and discrimination faced before. A live show of discrimination was the separation of Mexican American veterans and white veterans. The Mexican American soldiers were not treated equally in the veteran administration hospitals as the whites.

Despite the patriotism portrayed by the Mexican American soldier, it was unfair for them not to enjoy the full rights of an American citizen and also as committed veterans. The act of inequality influenced Hector Garcia, who was a Corpus Christi physician-led a motive to fight against the injustices. He had acted as a doctor during the war in European countries and, during his return to America, championed the formation of the American G.I Association.

Mexican Americans, after the war, used their military tactics to force their human rights by forming an organization that was dedicated to addressing their matters. Some Mexicans were recruited into the army. Generally, the Mexican American felt their worth to be treated equally to other Americans. An organization known as Europe G.I Forum was made by Garcia to advocate for equal treatments to Mexican American soldiers at the designated health centers. The discrimination after the Second World War as evidenced by Private Felix Longoria's case, who was a hero. When his remains were shipped back home to Three Rivers, Texas, after four years of his death in the Philippines, the funeral parlor denied the appeal of Beatrice to hold a wake in the chapel for his honor and Longoria could only be buried in Mexican cemeteries.

It was a common practice of Mexican Americans not using the chapel or their Anglo American allies. Sister to Beatrice decided to call Garcia to solve the disagreements with the funeral charnel house, which led Garcia to statements of protest to the media outlets which touched Lyndon. Lyndon B. Johnson, the junior a politician in Texas, eventually made arrangements for Longoria for resting at Arlington National Cemetery. The incident of Longoria gave pressure to American G.I Association to protest against segregation directed against Mexican Americans with the help of LULAC.

Although the Mexican lawyers and advocators were making significant steps in the national levels, the revolution of discrimination and segregation could be attained when the Mexican Americans would be recognized as per law in the 14TH amendment according to the Constitution (Latinos, 2020). It would be achieved by taking the case up to the Supreme Court. The fourteenth amendment was written to challenge Dred Scott, a new Supreme Court rule that made it hard for African Americans to have citizenship and constitutional rights. The change advocated for equality by having equal protection clause. In some states, there was an acquirement that the amendment didn't apply to the Mexican American as they were not blacks making it restricted to ethnicity.

Following the murder case facing Pedro Hernandez, his mother traveled several miles to San Antonia to meet Gus Garcia to ask him to defend Hernandez. Gus was a prominent lawyer who had faced the discriminations from whites too. The concern wasn't Hernandez guilty but receiving a fair trial with the well-represented jury to decide the case. Garcia formed a team of Mexican American lawyers who acted on behalf of Pedro from Jackson County Court of Texas, where the first trial began up to Supreme court.it was the first time Mexican American was making an appearance to Supreme Court.

The team of defenders plotted legal strategy in the case by saying Mexican Americans were 'a class apart' hence didn't qualify in the justice system that valued whites and blacks. By employing the strategy, they knew they would get attention for fair treatment for Mexican Americans, but still, there was a risk of being treated as a second class citizen in case of losing the case. When the funds for running the fact exhausted, the Mexican American community would donate despite their limited resources.

In 1954, Garcia, with help from Cadena on the case, faced the Supreme Court with nine judges. Cadena started the accusations. One of the judges asked whether Mexican Americans could speak in English. Then another judge also asked whether if the Mexicans had American citizenship. Lack of understanding by the judges surprised Gus Garcia, who decided to narrate arguments of his life. Garcia was allowed to extend the narration by sixteen minutes by Chief Justice Earl Warren. The incident had not been witnessed before for a civil rights lawyer, given the extension of allocated time.

Hernandez's legal team claimed Mexican Americans, although white, were valued as a class apart and discriminated in Jackson County. Jackson County was the place where the case had been tried, and they were searching for protection from the fourteenth amendment protection clause. The discrimination was based on the fact that there were no Mexicans in the jury that decided the case and found him the quilt.

Besides, they claimed Hernandez had the right to appear before the jury of his peers under the 14th amendment. The challenge was that the change was made exclusive for the blacks, and Hernandez was white. Due to the accusations raised, the defense lawyers were to demonstrate despite Mexican Americans been citizens and qualified for jury appointments, they were excluded.

It was found out that, for the last 25 years, none of Mexican Americans had been selected to work in the jury among 6000 people who served. So the discrimination from panels led to Pedro having been denied fair protection of the laws as stated in the 14th amendment as the jury was biased by not recognizing Mexican Americans. The team included Garcia, Carlos Cadena, John Herrera, and James and Alderete. They made history as they were the first Mexican Americans to defend a client before the American Supreme Court.

Hernandez called the members of the community to offer testimonies that Mexican Americans were treated differently. Evidence was given that Mexican American children were attending segregated schools, and community bathrooms and restaurants had signs to distinguish between whites and Latinos. While in the jury selection, the lawyers brought statistics showing that the county had many qualified Latinos for the jury, but the commissioners hadn't called any Latinos service in 25 years.

When the attorneys tried to use the courthouse bathrooms, they had to use the bathrooms downstairs that was for men of color. This incident was relevant since the lawyers themselves were subjected to the discriminatory system. The aspect of inequality had to be fought with dedication because they all had experience.

Supreme Court announced the ruling of Hernandez and Texas on May 3, 1954.EarnWarren then the Chief Justice and his fellow judges ruled in favor of Hernandez. Pedro had to receive a new test and be convicted before real juries of peers without discrimination against Mexican Americans. The court ignored emphasizing race and declared that other considerations could influence whether or not a group needs constitutional protection.

To know if indeed there were discriminatory aspects in Jackson County, the court launched its investigations on the treatment of Mexican Americans. They realized that there was countrywide discrimination of the Mexicans by the whites. Was proved by finding out that restaurants had assign which declared no Mexicans are served.

Moreover, Mexican children attended segregated schools and forced to drop before completion. With all these factors in mind, it made the court rule that the 14th amendment shielded persons beyond the race aspects of black or white, and it extends to protect nationality groups too. Hence Mexicans in American have been protected by the 14th amendment, keeping arguments in the "a class apart."

The ruling led to the extension of the protection in the human rights association to nationality groups in America. It also brought to light that it is possible that some groups, apart from black Americans, could be discriminated against. So any national, as well as ethnic groups of the country, are protected by the 4th amendment against any aspect of discrimination. It was an encouragement to the civil rights movement.

References

A Class Apart. (2020). Retrieved 1 April 2020, from https://www.films.com/id/16697

Latinos in World War II: Fighting on Two Fronts (U.S. National Park Service). (2020). Retrieved 1 April 2020, from https://www.nps.gov/articles/latinoww2.htm

Ortiz, V., & Telles, E. (2012). Racial identity and racial treatment of Mexican Americans. Race and social problems, 4(1), 41-56. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12552-012-9064-8