In the 1953 Supreme Court case Hernandez v. Texas, Pete Hernandez, a Mexican-American agricultural worker, was convicted for murder by an all-white jury in Jackson County, Texas. His legal team appealed to the Supreme Court arguing that Mexican-Americans were systematically excluded from serving as jurors in cases involving Mexican-American defendants. The state of Texas argued that since there were no laws specifically barring people of Hispanic descent from juries and because Hispanics weren't considered a distinct racial group under U.S law at the time, they couldn't claim discrimination. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Hernandez stating that equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment applies not just to African Americans but also other racial groups who might be discriminated against. It held that if any identifiable group is being intentionally excluded from jury service due to their race or nationality then it violates their constitutional rights. This landmark decision expanded civil rights protections beyond black and white racial dynamics and recognized Latinos as a separate class deserving protection against discrimination.

In the case of Hernandez v. Texas, there was no dissenting opinion recorded. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Hernandez, establishing that Mexican Americans and all other racial groups in the United States had equal protection under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This decision marked a significant moment for civil rights by acknowledging that discrimination extended beyond black and white racial lines.