Tag Archives: 14th Amendment

Today in Texas History – Jan 11

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From the Annals of Criminal Justice    In 1954, the landmark appeal styled Hernández v. the State of Texas was brought before the United States Supreme Court.  Hernandez is considered to be the only Mexican-American civil rights case decided by the Court in the post-war era.

Pedro Hernandez, a Mexican-American agricultural worker, was convicted by an all-white jury in Jackson County for the 1950 murder of Joe Espinosa. Hernandez’s pro bono legal team, led by Gustavo C. Garcia,  wanted to use Hernandez’s conviction as a test case to challenge “the systematic exclusion of persons of Mexican origin from all types of jury duty in at least seventy counties in Texas.”  The appeal was based on the established practice of systematically excluding Mexican Americans, a recognized minority in Texas, from service on grand juries and juries.  The evidence showed that although numerous Mexican Americans were citizens and had otherwise qualified for jury duty in Jackson County, during the previous 25 years no Mexican Americans were among the 6,000 persons chosen to serve on juries.  This was a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, as juries were restricted by ethnicity.  The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Hernandez, and required he be retried by a jury composed without discrimination against Mexican Americans. The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment protects persons beyond the racial classes and applies to discrimination based on nationality groups as well.

Photo of Pedro Hernandez with his attorneys Gustavo Garcia and Johnny Herrera.

 

Jan Mickelson Update – Yep, He’s Still Crazy

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Iowa radio host Jan Mickelson, who recently came out in support of slavery (you read that correctly – slavery), is back at it – this time cheering on Texas officials who have been violating the 14th Amendment by refusing to provide birth certificates to American citizens.   Mickelson has proposed that undocumented immigrants should become “property of the state” (or state-owned slaves) and be conscripted for forced labor unless they leave Iowa.  He is now applauding the Texas Department of State Health and Human Services’ plan to deny birth certificates to American children of undocumented immigrants. Media Matters has the details.

On his August 28 show, Mickelson criticized what he called “street hustler” civil rights groups who have filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of State Health Services for refusing to issue birth certificates to U.S. citizen children born to undocumented immigrant parents. [T]he plaintiff’s complaint alleges that Texas stopped allowing “matricula consular” identifications — official papers issued by the U.S.-based consulate of the immigrant parents’ home country — “to meet the requirements to acquire a birth certificate for their U.S.-born children” around two years ago.

Mickelson, who denies that the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship applies to the children of undocumented immigrants, said he thinks it is “cool” that Texas is refusing to issue these birth certificates and expressed his appreciation of Texas’ approach as “Iowa passive-aggressive,” which will prevent such children “to start this process of looting.”