María Elvira Salazar: “Thank you, Senator Reid, for your recognition of Judge DeAnda. One of his most significant cases came in 1954, when he…”

“Thank you, Senator Reid, for your recognition of Judge DeAnda. One of his most significant cases came in 1954, when he worked on and argued a little-known but enormously significant case before the U.S. Supreme Court. I should also mention that Judge DeAnda, together with a legal team of three other Mexican-American attorneys, were the first Mexican-American attorneys to argue before the highest Court in our land. In Hernandez v. Texas, Judge DeAnda believed that their client, Pete Hernandez, could not receive a fair and impartial trial unless members of other races served on the jury. Through careful research, Judge DeAnda showed that Hispanics in Jackson County, TX, were essentially barred from serving as jurors despite comprising a significant proportion of the population at the time. In fact, no Hispanic had served on any jury in Jackson County for a quarter century. The Supreme Court agreed and overturned the murder conviction. They unanimously ruled that Mexican Americans and all other racial groups in the United States had equal protection under the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Despite this major legal victory, the Hernandez case was overshadowed by a companion case, Brown v. Board of Education, which was decided just a week later. But the results of this decision are evident in American courtrooms everywhere. Because of this decision alone, Judge DeAnda holds a special place in our country's history and our quest to become a more inclusive America.”