Question

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Hernandez’s right to equal protection under the 14th Amendment had been violated. His conviction was overturned. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion for the Court, stating clearly that the 14th Amendment protects all races: “The State of Texas would have us hold that there are only two classes—white and Negro—within the contemplation of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decisions of this Court do not support that view.” The Court disagreed with Texas’s argument that the 14th Amendment only applied to African Americans because that was the reason the amendment was written and adopted after the Civil War.

Answer 1

This passage describes the Supreme Court’s decision in Hernandez v. Texas, 347 U.S. 475 (1954).

What the Court held
- Unanimous ruling (opinion by Chief Justice Earl Warren) that petitioner's 14th Amendment equal-protection rights were violated.
- The Court rejected Texas’s argument that the Fourteenth Amendment applied only to “white” and “Negro” races, holding instead that the Amendment protects all racial and national groups.
- The conviction was overturned because Mexican Americans in the community were excluded from jury service, showing a systematic denial of equal protection.

Why it matters
- Hernandez expanded equal-protection protection beyond a simple black/white framework, making clear that other distinct groups (here, Mexican Americans) can be entitled to constitutional protection against discriminatory state action.
- The decision relied on evidence of discrimination (jury-exclusion practices and community treatment) rather than creating a new formal “suspect class” test, and it has been cited in later cases addressing discrimination against other groups.

Citation
- Hernandez v. Texas, 347 U.S. 475 (1954).